#1

The room was dark, despite the blinding light outside. He saw her, sitting at the bar, nursing a half-empty glass. Of all the places she could have been, here was the last place he expected. The dank stench of sawdust and stale alcohol lay heavily over the groups of patrons participating in lively games of pool; a fog of acrid smoke circled another rowdy group placing bets at the mechanical bull. The few, shady men propped against the bar eyed her leeringly. Her neatly pressed slacks and spotless blouse stood out in the dull surroundings. Cautiously, he sits on the stool beside her.

Silences encases them, shutting out the raucous laughter coating the room. The minutes feel like hours before she pushes her glass to him, eyes cast down, studying the grain in the bar surface. A quick sniff and a taste, he’s satisfied. He hands the glass back, fingers touching. She looks up for the first time since she entered, their eyes meet. A soft smile and she nodded. He settled the bill, pulling her out into the dusty street. Together, they run into the barren plane, away from the small settlement, towards the half earth sinking below the horizon.

* * *

“Is this seat taken?”

“It is now.”

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“Neither should you…Don’t worry, it’s only seltzer.”

“May I?”

“…why are you here?”

“Why are you?”

“Did you just come to ask me a lot of questions or did you need something?”

“You.”

“Excuse me?”

“You…I came here because I need you. The ship doesn’t run as well if you’re not on board…and, despite my better judgment…I like your company. Lonnie and Clyde miss you too…”

“I’ve only been gone a day.”

“Still, I…We need you.”

“How long did it take?”

“What?”

“For you to realize I was gone. Was this the first place you looked?”

“…”

“Did you even start looking or did you come in here for a drink?”

“I’m…starting to understand now…what you hear when you listen to the ship. I woke up in the middle of the night and the ship sounded different. I thought maybe you were working on something…I went down to tell you to go to bed and you weren’t there or in your bunk…”

“I couldn’t sleep…I went for a walk.”

“I haven’t slept since. Trying to remember the last time I saw you, trying to figure out how long you’d been gone…this was the last place left to look…”

“Shall we?”

“Are you sure?”

“Completely.”

“Really?”

“Irrevocably.”

“Clyde’s waiting…we have to leave by earthset if we’re picking Ina up before we head back to the belt.”

“Now that’s a site that never gets old.”