With a sigh, Sam swept her blonde hair into a ponytail and opened the car's back door, where her nonstop chatterbox had been holding court for twenty minutes. She was late, with groceries to unload and a video conference looming—another round of explaining to her clueless boss that, competent as she was, miracles still took longer than 72 hours.
Three-year-old Grace Carter climbed out of the car, a book on fish clutched tight, her passion of the week. "Mommy, why don't fish sink? They're not boats." the little girl suddenly asked as Sam attempted to carry all the grocery bags in one go.
Moments like these made Sam think of her old Volvo, which she had resigned herself to giving up after her daughter was born. When Grace asked about fish, Sam smiled through her exhaustion. Moments like these reminded her why parenthood—despite the sacrifices—was worth it.
"Well, that's a good question, pumpkin. Fish don't sink to the bottom of the water because they have a little air-filled sac inside their bodies. It's like a balloon that helps them float at a certain depth. It's as if they have a built-in submarine that lets them go up and down depending on what they want!" Sam replied, taking the time to turn toward her daughter.
Her recent interest in fish pushed Sam to do some research to answer her daughter's many questions. Despite her young age, Grace had already proven her intelligence, scoring 145 on the WPPSI-IV. However, Sam had no intention of turning her daughter into a sideshow—having herself experienced a difficult childhood due to her own intelligence—and had chosen to let Grace pursue a normal childhood, content to provide her with answers to all her questions herself rather than placing her in a specialized school.
Closing the trunk, the astrophysicist grabbed Grace's small hand while balancing the grocery bags, which threatened to burst, on her shoulder. "Come on, sweetheart, Mommy needs to hurry."
Grace nodded, following in her mother's footsteps before suddenly asking, completely changing the subject: "Mommy, if black holes are so hungry, why don't they eat everything? Are they hiding so they can't swallow it all at once?"
Sam smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Another brilliant question. But maybe we should check that out after we put the groceries away, don't you think?" She could feel the weight of the groceries digging into her shoulder, but Grace's voice, curious and persistent, cut through her fatigue. It was hard to be tired when her daughter saw the universe like a puzzle waiting to be solved.
"But Mommy, I need to know."
Sam turned her head to smile at her daughter, her arms still stretched under the weight of the bags. "Black holes are like super-strong vacuums, but with a tiny mouth." She mimicked a vacuum noise for effect, earning a giggle from Grace. "See? They only swallow things that get super close—right up to the edge. That's what we call the event horizon."
They finally reached their door, and she stepped inside, placing the bags on the kitchen counter.
"But luckily for us, they're not sucking in everything in the universe because there's a lot, a lot of space between them and everything else. The universe is really big, and things like stars and planets are very far away from black holes. Sometimes, a star gets too close, and yes, the black hole can 'eat' it. But otherwise, they stay quiet in their own corner." Happy to discuss a subject she mastered far better, Sam crouched down in front of her daughter, gently smoothing back her blonde hair with a smile.
She added with a wink, "And they're not really hiding. We can detect them because of the things they do, like bending light around them or swallowing up gas and making it shine really bright before it disappears. They're kind of like magicians in space."
Sam traced an imaginary circle in the air, watching Grace's wide-eyed fascination. "And that is why black holes don't eat everything."
The front door slammed open, punctuating her explanation. "Auntie Liz!" Grace shrieked, her focus shifting instantly.
"Munchkin!" Liz exclaimed, stretching her arms wide for the little girl.
Liz swung Grace into the air, laughter filling the space like it always did. Watching them, Sam felt a familiar warmth. "You're just in time! Miss Grace was waiting for you to take her to the bath."
Liz flashed a grin. "Grace, or her overworked mom battling groceries, gravity, and grumpy bosses?"
Sam smirked as she straightened up to finish putting away the groceries. "Okay, you caught me. My boss is driving me crazy, I swear. It's like he'll never understand that I have a life outside of work."
"Mmh," Liz replied, heading toward the bathroom with Grace still in her arms. "Maybe if heknewyou had a life outside of work, things would be different."
As Sam watched her roommate disappear down the hall with Grace, she remembered high school where she met Elizabeth Owski, tending to an unlikely alliance forged over math help and biker gang introductions. Rebellion and brilliance had collided, and the two had been inseparable ever since.
Unfortunately, their well-oiled routine ended when General Carter received a new assignment, forcing his family to move to another state. Despite their efforts to stay in touch, Sam and Liz slowly lost sight of each other.
Years later, however, fate intervened when the two friends bumped into each other by chance in the streets of D.C.
Sam had just signed a contract at the Pentagon while Liz was celebrating the opening of her tattoo shop. Seizing the providential sign, they wasted no time and decided to move in together.
Their friendship was a cornerstone in each other's lives; even as adults, they still complemented one another perfectly. Liz had supported Sam through Grace's pregnancy and birth, never once questioning her friend's decisions regarding the situation.
Shaking her head to refocus, Sam headed for her desk, powering up her computer to connect to her scheduled video conference.
Grace's arrival in her life had been carefully planned and anticipated, but it had still forced Sam to leave the military and settle for a civilian job. Her father, Jacob Carter, had long criticized her decision to abandon her dream of joining NASA—until she introduced him to Grace.
Sam's gaze lingered on her laptop as it whirred to life, the screen glow blurring her reflection. She could still hear Grace's giggles down the hall—her little star.
Area 51, black holes, the Pentagon—she'd touched the edges of the universe, yet every path seemed to point further west. Colorado. She wasn't done dreaming, not by a long shot.