Odyssey_Double Helix

by R. Patricia Wayne

  Monday, October 18th, 2257, 6:00 a.m.

  Mars, Scythia Colony

  The Dr. Cordell James Residence

  Amy James awoke with the alarm, like she always did. She quickly rolled over and sat up, then tapped the display screen near the bed to silence the chirping alarm. She never hesitated to get up, as it would disturb her husband, who was still sleeping soundly next to her.

  According to the display screen on the wall, she had exactly one hour before Cord would be up. If she lay in bed for a while, like she wanted, then she’d be too rushed to get everything done by 7:00. It was important that when her husband awoke that she looked presentable, calm, and had everything prepared for him to start his day. So, Amy jumped out of bed, wrapped herself in her white, silk robe and walked into the master bathroom to begin her usual morning routine.

  Today was Amy’s birthday. Her thirty-third birthday. She didn’t expect gifts; there wouldn’t be any. For the last several birthdays she’d asked Cord for a kitten to keep her company while he worked, but it never happened. She couldn’t remember the last time she got a present on her birthday, or a card, or even a birthday kiss. This time, all she hoped was that he’d at least acknowledge her birthday. Even if he just remembered to say happy birthday, it would be enough.

  They had been married for twelve years and she’d heard those two words only the first few birthdays after they were married, and not since. She hoped this year would be different. It might be. She had nearly drowned in their backyard pool eight months ago, and for the following two months after she left the hospital, Cord was in love with her again. Or at least he seemed like it. It was always so hard to tell. When he wasn’t at work, he was always thinking about his job, or conferencing with others about work. Before he shuttled off to work this morning, she’d know if things were still good between them. If she could just hear a simple “happy birthday, Amy,” she’d be happy to keep doing everything for him. She’d keep his house, and herself, just the way he liked it.

  She showered, styled her blonde hair, and had her makeup done within a hurried thirty minutes. After dressing in her black slacks and white blouse, she headed to the kitchen.

  Their kitchen, much like any other upscale suburban home, was spacious and full of all the modern conveniences. Amy kept each appliance clean and neatly organized. Upon entering the kitchen, Amy pushed the button on the coffeemaker to start her normal breakfast routine.

  The time illuminated on the refrigerator read 6:33. She had plenty of time. She paused to scroll through the computer interface on the refrigerator’s smoky glass door with her index finger. A dozen eggs, plenty of bacon, bread was fine, some of the vegetables were close to their discard dates, milk was low, no potatoes, one onion, and she had some pork and chicken, but no beef. They had plenty of food for breakfast, but dinner was in question. Depending on what Cord wanted for dinner, of course, she’d probably have to go shopping today.

  Swiping her hand across the interface, she scrolled past the recipes and nutritional information screens, and stopped on her calendar. A calendar that was full of tasks for today. After her appointment this morning, she had barely enough time to make a quick stop at the supermarket. With it being laundry day and her day to scrub the windows and floors, she had too many chores that needed to be done to get behind. She should’ve insisted her doctor’s appointment be on any other day but a Monday. But, like she always did with people, she never said anything. She’d find a way to get everything done. Why did Cord insist both the floors and windows be done on the same day? And on a Monday of all days? Every wall in their home was made of glass. With a sigh, Amy tapped the interface and the refrigerator door slid down into the floor. She grabbed the eggs and bacon and made her way to the stove.

  Having done this same routine hundreds of times, she had breakfast timed perfectly. By 6:55, she had the table set, the eggs, coffee, and bacon were done, so she pulled the bread from the overhead cabinet to start the toast. And just as the two slices of toast popped up from the toaster, she could hear the alarm in the bedroom chirping followed by the usual and unmistakable sound of a fist punching the display on the wall. Cord was up. He’d be headed straight for the kitchen. She filled one plate with eggs, bacon, two slices of dry toast and set it on the table. Then, she grabbed a coffee cup from the neatly stacked cups on the counter, filled it, and as she was placing it on the table, her husband strolled into the kitchen wearing only his black boxers and with his usual grouchy morning growl.

  “Morning, honey,” she said in her cheeriest voice.

  He grunted.

  With the little eggs and bacon that remained, Amy made herself a plate, filled another coffee cup, and sat down across from Cord. She studied him and his matted blonde hair, patiently waiting for him to say something, silently hoping this morning would be better. But, he remained quiet.

  “How’s breakfast?” After waiting for a reply that never came, she asked, “Did you want something different?”

  After another eternity of silence, Amy picked at her eggs with her fork. It hadn’t escaped her notice that he hadn’t even looked at her yet. He just sipped coffee and nibbled at his food. Five long and silent minutes passed until he abruptly rose from his chair. He took one more sip of coffee, then made his way into the bedroom. Knowing this meant he would be headed to the shower and then dress for work, she moved their plates to the counter. She scrapped the food into the garbage disposal, rinsed the plates and silverware, and set everything in the sink to be washed later. She then topped off Cord’s white ceramic coffee mug with fresh coffee.

  Amy wished she knew what had happened between them. She loved being married to a successful man, and she wanted a fulfilling marriage, but she had failed somewhere along the line. When they were younger, they were madly in love. And somehow along the way she’d made a mistake and ended up back where she started. Alone. Lonely. She wasn’t as good at being the perfect housewife as she thought she’d be when she was younger.

  As an only child whose mother passed away when she was nine, Amy was accustomed to being lonely until she dated Cord. She grew up in a foster home to a woman who only seemed to take her in so she’d have someone to do her chores. The woman was nice enough, wealthy, gone all day, and yet indifferent to having a child in her home. Or maybe inexperienced. Or she really didn’t care about Amy and her needs. In any case, the woman never got any better as a foster parent, only more distant. Amy quickly learned that if she did all her daily chores, the woman wouldn’t bother her at all. And after a while, she also found that if she did them well, the woman gave her a small allowance. Just enough of an allowance to buy handfuls of secondhand books.

  Amy’s only joy, back then, was her books. So, after learning the way her foster mother liked things done, Amy got accustomed to getting out of bed at dawn and rushing through all the house cleaning, laundry, and cooking. She learned to do everything perfectly and quickly, just so she’d have more time to read. And Amy did. She bought books whenever she was sent out to do the shopping. She couldn’t afford much more than the cheap and flimsy paper books, and secondhand at that, but they were still books. And in the afternoons, she was free to read until she had dinner and dishes to do in the evening. After that, she was back in her room reading fantasy and romance tales until bedtime.

  But that was when she was a little girl. When she turned an adult at fifteen, Amy took a job at a downtown coffee shop. Then, as soon as she could afford it, she moved into a rundown studio apartment in a rundown neighborhood. It wasn’t an attractive place, and she had very little furniture, but it was hers. She spent six long years serving coffee to morning commuters with little to eat and little luxuries, but she always had books. Lots of them. And she read every day.

  Life changed for the better when she met Cord. He was successful, well-dressed, and pleasant. She liked him immediately. Amy served him coffee in the mornings on his way to work. During the lunch hour, she liked to read in the park and that’s when she discovered Cord
liked to jog there at the same time. She’d always wave to him and he’d always wave back. After that, he’d make small talk with her as he ordered coffee in the mornings. By the third time they’d barely spoken, she’d already fallen for the man.

  On the day Cord asked her out on a date, Amy almost cried. With all the beautiful women that worked downtown, she’d never imagined that someone like him would be interested in someone like her. But as unlikely as it seemed, he did. That was when Amy thought she’d finally found her purpose in life. She didn’t want to serve coffee for the rest of her life, she wanted to be a wife. She wanted to be his wife. And less than a year later, when he asked her to marry him, she promised that she’d always be good to him. She’d be the perfect wife.

  Those were wonderful memories she kept, but that was twelve years ago. And things hadn’t been the same since. He was a different man back then. Thinking back, that was about the time he began his career at Guardian Security Systems. And when things changed. Cord was hired to be the well-paid director for one of their top-secret research divisions. The job sounded important and lucrative. She was happy for him. Shortly after that, they could afford their own shuttle and a luxurious ranch-style home in the upscale community of Sunset Ridge. After that, only the upper class lived better than they did. She was happy then, too.

  For the longest time, Amy tried to get Cord to talk about his work, simply because she was interested in his career. She wanted to hear all the exciting things he did. Yet, he wouldn’t talk about his job. He said it was a sensitive research project and to stop asking. Then she would only ask how his day was, and eventually he tired of her asking that too. And since then, she stopped asking about both.

  At the time, Amy didn’t mind. He provided for her, let her buy nice things, and she could have all the books she wanted. All she had to do was be a housewife, have sex whenever he wanted it, and do as she was told. It wasn’t how she dreamed a marriage would be, but all he wanted were things Amy already knew how to do. It was an easy request for her to fulfill.

  By the time Amy had sipped down half of her mug of coffee, it was shortly after 7:30. Cord rushed into the kitchen dressed in his black business suit. This was odd, she thought. If he was going to work, he should’ve been wearing his white Guardian Securities lab coat.

  “Want me to get your lab coat for you?” She asked.

  “No.”

  Now Amy was confused, but she kept silent. She knew he was ready to walk out the door, but they shouldn’t be leaving until 7:45. And Cord never left without his lab coat. Then again, she was sure he knew what he was doing. And she already knew he wouldn’t explain it to her, so there was no point in asking.

  Cord stopped at the table long enough to gulp down most of his coffee, then he patted his pockets for some unknown item. Apparently not finding what he needed, he rushed back into the bedroom. Amy took the opportunity to top off his mug with more coffee. Then she returned the coffee pot to the counter where a blue halo illuminated around the base to keep the coffee warm.

  As her mind wondered why Cord wasn’t wearing his normal work clothes, she remembered that he had a conference in Delphi Colony to attend tomorrow and he’d be gone for three days. She decided he must be taking Amy to her therapist appointment earlier than expected so he could run an important errand before he left town. She looked back at the refrigerator with the current date and time prominently illuminated on the door. While she had a moment, she scrolled through the menu with her fingertip until she found the weather forecast. It would rain today. Since she’d have to walk three miles to get home, she’d need to take her raincoat.

  Amy downed the last of her coffee, rinsed her mug, then set it in the sink with the other dishes, then crossed into the foyer. Pressing the button in the wall, a section of the frosted glass wall slid aside revealing their spacious walk-in closet. She grabbed her black heels from the shelf of shoes, and her black raincoat from the coat rack. Then she closed the closet by pressing the button again. As she finished dressing, she peered through the glass walls that separated the interior of the house from the outside world. The day was already gloomy and overcast, hopefully the rain would hold off until lunch. She should be back by then, or close to it. Amy made her way back to the kitchen as Cord returned from the bedroom.

  “Why are you all dressed up?” he asked. “You’re not going anywhere. You have things to do at home today.”

  “I have my appointment. It’s every Monday morning. Aren’t you taking me?”

  He ignored her question, as usual. “I should be home by noon. I’m in the mood for a roast for dinner. Run down to the supermarket if you have to. I also need laundry done today. I’ll need enough clothes for three days, so pack me four suits; two black, one navy, one casual. Plenty of dress shirts. Then the usual matching shoes, socks, and underwear. I’ll pack everything else myself.”

  “Are you still taking me to my appointment?”

  “Skip it. I just told you, you have things to do today.” Then he walked out of the kitchen, through the foyer, which was followed by the sound of the front door sliding open, then closed. He had forgotten to take his coffee with him. Also unusual. She grabbed the mug and ran after him.

  Their home was in the middle of a winding block and set inside a gated community. The streets were lined with palm trees and dotted with other ranch-style houses, almost identical to theirs. Their shuttle was much like most of the others in the colonies; white, with a cargo door on one side, which was standing open waiting for him to enter. She called for him as she ran down the three concrete steps, and she called again as she raced across the lawn to the circular, asphalt shuttle pad. Both times he just kept walking. She caught up to him just before he got in.

  “Your coffee.” She held out the mug for him, but he just turned and glared. “Are you dropping me off at my appointment?” When he didn’t take the mug, she drew it back and wrapped her hands around it, waiting until he wanted it.

  “Not a chance,” he said in what was becoming a usual dismissive tone. “I got a call last night... There’s something I need to do. Tomorrow, I’ll be gone for three days, so it has to be today. It can’t wait.”

  She didn’t understand, but at least he’d offered a vague explanation.

  “But,” she paused, hesitant to disagree with him. “I’m supposed to see the therapist every week. You told me to.”

  “And I said skip it!” He shouted. “Why are you always arguing with me? Is this her doing?” Their shuttle pad was right next to their neighbor’s. Cord pointed past the two shuttles at the woman standing in front of her house and watching the argument. This was Dr. Miriam Santiago. She was leaning against the glass walls of her home with arms crossed and gardening shears in her hand. It appeared his yelling had interrupted her while she was pruning her pink rose bushes, which separated her property from Cord’s.

  Cord and Miriam hated one another. Although Amy rarely spoke to the woman, Miriam was the closest thing Amy had to a friend. And she suspected that was precisely why Cord didn’t like her. Amy never let her chats with Miriam interfere with her chores, so she never quite understood why he resented her so much.

  “No,” Amy said. “It’s not Miriam’s fault. I haven’t talked to her in several days. It’s just... I want to get better and seeing Dr. Carson helps.”

  “Then why don’t you see if the bitch will take you?” He pointed at Miriam again.

  “I... I can’t ask her that.”

  “Amy, grow a spine for fuck’s sake! Ask her. If she says no, then you’re obviously not going, are you? If I were her, I wouldn’t take you anywhere. Who would want to be seen with you?”

  “I’m sorry,” Amy stuttered out. “I... I didn’t... I didn’t mean to...”

  “Where would you be without me? What would you do if I wasn’t here to argue with you? Would you go to your appointment? Or stay home and do what I told you to do?”

  Amy shrugged, but bit her lip to keep words from escaping her mouth. The last t
hing she wanted was him angry with her and somehow she had managed to do just that. Again.

  “Stop acting like a child, Amy. Figure your own shit out. I really don’t care what you do anymore. Go, if you want. Don’t go, if you want. Just remember this. Whether you do or don’t, you still need to get all your shit done before I get home. Got it?”

  She nodded. It was the safest and shortest way to end this argument.

  “I’ll tell you what. If you don’t want to do what I’ve told you to do, then pack your shit. Be gone before I get home. I don’t care if I ever see that face again.”

  Tears stung the corner of Amy’s eyes. His words were harsh, and each one was a dart sinking into her heart.

  He gave her a particularly contemptuous look. “I should just drop you off where I found you.”

  Although she was trying to maintain her composure, she couldn’t stop tears falling from her eyes.

  “Coffee!” he shouted.

  With trembling hands, she handed him his mug. He snatched the cup and climbed into the shuttle. As it took off and headed toward his unspoken destination, Amy was sure things were never going to be the same between them. As hard as she tried, somewhere along the way, she had failed. And she couldn’t guess when or where. As if she needed no other proof, he had left, completely forgetting her birthday.

  “Amy?” Miriam called out. She paused until Amy turned to face her. “Come on. I’ll take you to your appointment.”

  Amy wiped the tears off her cheeks, “You heard all that?”

  Miriam shrugged. “I could’ve heard his voice down at the end of the block. He’s not exactly quiet when he yells at you.”

  “I can’t,” Amy said. “I have too much to do and he’ll just—”

  Miriam interrupted. “I’ll help you get all your work done before he gets back.”

  II

  8:06 a.m.

  Downtown Scythia Colony

  Dr. Nora Carson’s Office