When Tom reached Dick’s office, his blood was still boiling. He took a moment to get his emotions in check before entering.
His boss could tell something was up. “You look rattled.”
Tom mopped his brow. “I’m fine.”
Dick closed the file in front of him. “Good. So, sounds like all went well in Switzerland?”
Tom put what just happened in the hallway in the back of his mind as he took a seat. “It did. The transaction unfolded as planned.”
“Good, and no issues with the cosmonaut?”
Leaning back in the chair, Tom crossed his legs. “Nope. In fact, he was actually a pretty swell guy. The two of us ended up at a bar when we finished our business. After a few drinks, even his broken English became easier to understand. We were probably there well over an hour talking about all kinds of stuff, laughing and having a good ole time before he was called away.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. He’s a pilot like you, and I bet he’s even a family man. I doubt he has any hidden political agenda. He just wants to fly in space, which requires following orders passed down by the Communist Party leaders, regardless if he agrees with them or not.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Well I’m glad it all worked out and the two of you got along.” Dick put his hands behind his head as a magnanimous smile appeared on his face.
Tom could tell good news was coming, and he hoped it was what he expected.
“So, are you ready to start working on your mission, Commander?”
Adrenaline surged through Tom, hearing those words. He was finally going to fulfill his dream. He shot up in his chair. “You bet!”
“Good. Have you decided on who you want as your crewmates?”
Without hesitation, Tom shared his thoughts. “I have. I was thinking of Kirk Cooley as the Command Module Pilot and Dusty Robinson as my Lunar Module Pilot.”
Dick looked out his window while tapping a pen on his bottom lip. After a few seconds, he turned around with a relaxed expression. “I like it. Considering what the objectives are for the mission, I think those are good choices. I’ll submit the selections today and let you know what I hear. Once they’re approved, expect your training schedule to increase. You may want to tell Anne you won’t be spending much time at home over the next few years.”
“Don’t worry, she knows the drill.” Tom leaned forward. “So, can I tell her I’ve been selected for Apollo 16?”
“Absolutely. But keep in mind, even if your crew choices are accepted, we probably won’t make an official announcement until sometime next year. So please keep it between the two of you until then.”
Tom understood. He couldn’t wait to get on the phone and tell Anne to buy some champagne to celebrate some wonderful news. He expected her to press him for details over the phone, but he was confident he wouldn’t break under pressure. He wanted to tell her in person that her husband was going to the moon.
ONCE TOM ENTERED the house, Dino was the first to welcome him. He bent down to pet the excited dog. “Buddy, it’s always nice to be greeted by you. And to think you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for some lion cub.” As he scratched behind the dog’s ear, Tom whispered, “But you know who wears the pants in the family, right?” Tom smiled at his little joke. He looked up, surprised his son wasn’t close behind. Dino rolled over on his back hoping for more scratches. Tom obliged the wiggling dog, giving him a good, hard belly rub. “Dino, where is everybody?”
Tom figured Anne must have stepped out with Peter to pick up the bottle of champagne he had requested. To confirm his guess, he walked into the kitchen to see if there was a bottle in the refrigerator. The sound of the dog’s paws slapping wildly across the linoleum floor broke the silence as he followed his master. Dino bolted straight toward the treat jar on the counter, jumping up on his hind legs, loudly barking at the container. Tom quickly snagged a doggie biscuit and tossed it to the eager dog, quieting the mutt.
When Tom reached the refrigerator he saw a note on the door. He slid the magnet aside, unfolded the paper and read the hand-written message:
Tom, I thought it would be nice to celebrate your good news over a steak dinner. Peter is over at the Grants. Meet me at the Seville Club. Love, Anne.
Tom looked over at the dog chewing his treat. “Looks like I’m eating steak tonight, buddy.” He knelt down and opened a bottom kitchen cabinet where the bag of dog food was kept. Tom quickly scooped out Dino’s dinner, dumping it into a bowl on the floor. “Enjoy, my friend!” As the dog dug in, Tom gave Dino one last pat before hustling out of the kitchen.
Tom knew how much his wife hated sitting alone, so he went straight to his car and raced to the Seville Club. When he entered the elegant restaurant he instantly smelled the cigarladen air. The dimly lit room with its polished cherry wood furnishings and deep, red velvet drapes was a favorite drinking hole for many of the astronauts. Through the smoky haze he began to search the scarcely crowded room for his wife. Unable to locate her at first glance, he walked over to the bar. Maybe she stepped into the bathroom?
Nabbing one of the available leather barstools, Tom took a seat and motioned to the bartender.
The man walked over and set a white paper napkin in front of Tom. “Can I get you a drink?”
Tom answered with a mischievous smile. “Absolutely.” What do I want? He began scanning the bottles on the glass shelves in front of him when he noticed the reflection off the mirror of an attractive blonde sitting alone a few barstools over. “Tell you what, how about a martini.”
“Got it.”
To get a better view of the blonde, Tom decided to do a more thorough search of the room for his wife. He slowly swiveled around on the bar stool until he was facing the pretty lady. He casually checked her out. The blonde had her back to him, smoking a cigarette, wearing a form-fitting white mini dress with white high heels. Nice. He eventually turned his seat around so his back was to the bar. He scanned over the handful of tables in search of Anne, but she was nowhere to be found. Where could she be?
Frustrated, he swiveled back around to find his drink sitting in front of him. As he took a sip, he was surprised to see the blonde had moved one barstool closer, her back still toward him. That’s odd. Without looking too obvious, he took another sip while nonchalantly peering over his glass, studying her. He smiled big when he spotted Anne’s wedding ring on the girl’s hand. This beautiful lady he was ogling was his own wife, wearing a blonde wig. He was tickled pink she actually went through with the crazy idea. He decided to have a little fun. Grabbing his drink, he slid over to the barstool next to her. He moved in close, whispering into her ear, “Hello, beautiful. Can I buy you a drink?”
Without turning, Anne let out a puff of smoke and answered in an uncharacteristically deep and seductive tone. “That would be wonderful. A martini please.”
At that moment, Tom felt amazingly close to Anne. He wanted to hug her right then and tell her how much he loved her, how much he appreciated her little scheme. But instead, he kept his cool and played along. He caught the bartender’s eye, and, pointing to his drink, signaled he wanted another. After the bartender acknowledged the order, Tom turned back. “My wife was supposed to meet me here, but it doesn’t look like she’s coming. I think you’re very attractive, and I have always had a thing for blondes.”
Anne set her cigarette in the ashtray and turned slightly.
Tom got his first glimpse of the big, round sunglasses she was wearing, similar to the Jackie O style of glasses. His grin got bigger.
“I assume your wife isn’t a blonde?”
“Correct. She’s an attractive brunette and she’s a wonderful lady. But sometimes you want to try something new, if you know what I mean.”
Anne turned completely toward him, and her look showed she knew that her cover was blown. “You sound like you love your wife. Is it worth risking all that for one night of fun?”
“Good point. I have an idea. How about we pretend you
’re my wife in a blonde wig?”
The bartender arrived with Anne’s drink. She took a sip seductively, before tilting her sunglasses down and looking Tom in the eye. “That’s an interesting concept. Ask me that again after a few martinis.”
Tom couldn’t hold back his news any longer. “Since my wife isn’t here, how about I tell you some exciting news.”
Anne set her drink down. “I’d love to hear it.”
Tom looked around to double-check no one was within earshot, leaned closer to her and whispered, “You are looking at the commander of Apollo 16.”
Anne broke out of character, letting out a high-pitched squeal before jumping off her barstool into his arms. “That’s fantastic news. Congratulations, Tom!”
Hugging his wife, Tom wanted to stay in character. He pulled away with a raised eyebrow. “How do you know my name is Tom?”
She hit him playfully on the chest. “Silly, I know you knew it was me.”
He smiled. “You look nice as a blonde.”
Anne settled back into her chair. “Don’t get too comfortable with it. I just wanted to do something special for you.”
“It was incredibly special and I very much appreciate it. Of course, you look good no matter what.”
Anne took off her sunglasses and flashed him a wink, “Right answer.” She took another sip of her drink and said enthusiastically, “I’m so happy for you. We need to celebrate.”
Tom wiggled his eyebrows. “We will, later tonight. Me and the blonde.”
Anne smiled. “Wow, my husband will be walking on the moon.”
“Yep, and I’m sure he’ll be missing you.”
She put her hand on his leg. “We’ll miss each other. But what an adventure it will be.” Her face turned serious. “Honey, I really have to pee. I’ve been sitting at this bar for almost an hour waiting for you.”
Tom chuckled. “Sorry. I’ll pay the tab so we can go to dinner.”
Leaning over, Anne gave Tom another kiss, this time on the cheek. “I’m so proud of you.” She flashed a seductive grin before slipping her glasses back on. She spun around on the barstool, then hopped off. She patted his knee before walking with a spring in her step toward the restrooms.
With a lecherous grin, Tom watched his wife’s backside sway before he turned back to the bar. The bartender was standing right in front of him casually wiping the inside of a glass with a towel. Tom pulled out his wallet. “I’d like to settle up our bill.”
The bartender leaned over the bar and asked with a smile, “What’s up with those sunglasses on that lady? She’s been in here for over an hour smoking cigarettes. You wonder if she can even see anything with those on.”
Tom smiled. “That’s my beautiful wife, and she has an eye infection.”
“Oh, sorry about that. Sure, bud, I’ll get your tab.”
18
MISS YOU
1972
During the two years since landing the commander slot on Apollo 16, Tom and his crew had been working their butts off training for the moon mission. When the three weren’t training together, Dusty and Tom were working on preparing for the lunar landing and moonwalks, flying all over the country doing specialized training and geological field trips. Their crewmate, Kirk Cooley, was just as busy doing his own training as the Command Module Pilot. With a little over a month before launch, their schedules were getting even more hectic. The reality that the three would soon be circling the moon was starting to set in.
No matter how hard Tom worked, he couldn’t help feeling he was behind on the studying aspect of the flight. He needed to be fully up to speed on the equipment manuals, lunar maps, and star maps as well as becoming a geology expert. The scientific community wanted science to be the number one priority on Apollo 16, putting added pressure on the trained pilot. As the commander, Tom had to make certain his team could carry out all the science-related tasks and still be able to handle emergencies and all other spacecraft duties the mission would require.
Different from the Gemini flight where his main focus had been his spacewalk, Tom was essentially responsible for every aspect of Apollo 16, including two other lives. The gravity of this responsibility motivated him to study during any spare moment he could find. Consequently, he rarely saw his family. Whenever he was home, he was holed up in his office, working. Even with David and Joan patching things up, the nights of playing cards had long ago stopped. As a result, Tom had become a stranger in his own home. Out of necessity, Anne and Peter were forced to get along without him, basically developing their own routine. If a problem came up with the house, the car, or even Peter, Anne took care of it without consulting her husband. She understood he needed the freedom to focus only on his job.
Finally, Tom had set up an opportunity to spend some quality time with his family, even though the underlying reason was still the mission. He had invited Dusty and Jean over for a barbeque. Though Anne knew Dusty’s wife, Jean, from the regular gatherings of the astronaut wives, they weren’t very close. Tom hoped to change that with the get-together. He wanted the ladies to be friends so they could support each other during the moonwalks.
With Beatles music coming softly through the living room screen door, the couples were sitting around the patio table sharing laughs and sipping cold margaritas on the breezy March afternoon.
Jean moved her bangs away from her emerald eyes. “Can you believe it’s been over a year since the Beatles broke up?”
Tom looked at the young-looking woman. “It was only a matter of time. They were all musical geniuses. I betcha each one goes on to have his own successful solo career.”
Anne chimed in. “I remember when their first album came out. I was in college.”
“Me too.” Jean took a sip of her cocktail as she looked across at Anne. “So where did you go to school?”
“University of Texas.”
Jean raised an eyebrow as she set her drink down. “How does a UT girl end up with a boy from Texas A&M?”
Jean obviously knew Texas A&M was the rival to Texas. Tom lifted his hands as if presenting himself. “Could you have turned this down?”
Jean answered jokingly, “Yes, I could have.”
All chuckled as Tom brushed off his ego. “Good. Then I would have still ended up with Anne.”
Jean smiled. “So how did you two meet?”
A sensuous smile brightened Anne’s face as she swept her gaze over to Tom. “Tom was my knight in shining armor, coming to my rescue.”
Dusty piped up, “Did he ride in on a white horse?”
Anne turned. “Not exactly. It was a yellow VW bug. During my freshman year some girlfriends and I were visiting College Station for the Texas game. Afterward we wandered over to a local bar. Some UT guys were being obnoxious and started to hit on us. We decided that we had to get out of there. Some of the boys followed us out of the bar. One of them started harassing me. Tom was sitting in his car at a red light and saw what was going on. He leaned over the empty passenger seat and yelled out his side window for the guy to stop. The boy started getting all macho and told Tom to mind his own business. Tom immediately jumped out of his car, leaving the engine running. He strolled over calmly and got right into the boy’s face. Before doing anything, he looked to me and asked, ‘Sally, are you okay?’”
Dusty chimed in, “Sally?”
Anne smiled and continued, “Yeah. At the time I had no idea where he was going with that, but I played along and nodded yes. Then Tom turned back to the boy and said I was his cousin, and if he messes with me, he messes with him. After a few intense seconds, the boy laughed it off, pretending nothing had happened. Then he told his friends it wasn’t worth it, and they left.”
Dusty said to Tom, “Good thing that guy didn’t know Anne’s name.” He lifted his drink. “Gutsy call, buddy.”
Tom raised his glass in a toast.
Jean licked salt off the rim of her glass and looked over at Tom. “Wow, good for you. After a stunt like that, you would be tou
gh to turn down.”
Tom extended his arms, teasingly presenting himself for a second time.
Anne pushed Tom playfully. “He offered us a ride, but our car was around the corner. The traffic was starting to build up behind his VW, and he said he’d better get going. I could see in his eyes that we had made a connection. Even though he didn’t ask, I quickly wrote my name and number on a piece of paper and handed it to him before he left.”
Tom called out victoriously, “And the rest is history.”
Still looking at Tom, Jean set her glass down. “That’s a great story. By the way, my dad graduated from A&M and speaks very highly of you. He brags about you all the time, proud you’re an Aggie. He was impressed you flew that jet pack, showing up those Commies.”
Tom exchanged a look with Anne. Only they knew the real danger he had been in during that EVA. “That’s nice to hear, especially with all the problems on that mission.” Tom rubbed his finger along the side of his glass, leaving a trail in the condensation. “Actually, I learned a lot from that flight, specifically, to know your limits.” He looked at his wife. “Now that I’m commander, I have to make smart decisions.” He turned back to Joan. “I have two other men and their families to consider.”
“I appreciate you saying that.” Jean reached across the table and patted Tom’s hand. “I’m confident Dusty is in good hands.”
Tom nodded. “He is.” He grasped the pitcher of margaritas and started topping off everyone’s glass. “You know, since your dad sounds like a fan and is a fellow alumnus, I’d be more than happy to give him one of the American flags I carried in my spacesuit during my EVA.”
“Wow! No, you don’t have to do that.”
“It’s no big deal. They’re just sitting up in our closet gathering dust.”
“That would be wonderful. I know he’d love it.”
“Great, I’ll go get one and sign it.” Tom got up. “Does anyone need anything while I’m inside?”
USSR Hoax (Hoax Trilogy Book 3) Page 17