The maître d’ approached Peter. “Hello, Mr. Novak. It’s been a while, welcome back.” No matter how long it had been since Peter last frequented, he was always impressed Johnny remembered his name. He assumed it was because he usually arrived with a new girl on his arm.
“Hello, Johnny. It has been a while. How are you?”
“Fine, thank you. I see you have no lady friend tonight, are you dining alone?”
“No Johnny, I’m going gay tonight,” Peter said with a wink.
Johnny was pretty straight-laced with no sense of humor. “I see. Would you like your regular table, then?”
Peter smiled. “Privacy would be perfect, my man.”
Johnny showed no reaction as he turned to escort Peter to his table. Peter followed, double checking the dining room to make sure his friend was nowhere to be seen.
As they reached the table Johnny asked, “What does your gay friend look like?”
Peter chuckled. “He’s a short, dark-haired Russian. You can’t miss him. I’ll have my usual drink too.”
Johnny slightly bowed his head in acceptance, turned and left.
Peter was looking forward to seeing his old friend. Though he hoped to learn helpful information on both the laser and China, he was also looking forward to catching up with his buddy. Peter had known Dmitri ever since they were young boys playing and getting into trouble at the Soviet Union Space Complex in Star City, near Moscow. Their fathers were both a part of the U.S.-USSR space mission of the mid-’70s where the superpowers would each send up their own spacecraft and dock together in space. Peter’s dad was the backup commander for the United States while Dmitri’s father, Viktor, was the flight engineer on the Soviet’s prime crew.
Since Tom was a moonwalker, he had enough clout to request his son come along during his training at Star City. Against this request at first, the Soviets eventually gave in due to the prestige Tom brought to the mission. In fact, the Soviets went a step further and had Viktor bring along his eleven-year-old son, Dmitri, so Peter had someone to play with. Though they spoke different languages, the two boys still found ways to communicate, mixing a little Russian with a little English and using a lot of hand gestures. As adventurous boys and admirers of their fathers, both Dmitri and Peter dreamt of flying into space one day. They played on the grounds of the space complex and often pretended they were on a space mission, taking turns who was the commander. They eventually made a blood pact that if one flew in space, the other would do what he could to make sure the other flew.
Dmitri went on to become a cosmonaut, flying a couple of successful missions, while Peter had yet to go in space. Dmitri and Viktor became the only Russian father and son to have flown in space. The Alexandrovs were considered Russia’s first family of space and were famous throughout their country. This prestige they held within Russia’s space program helped Dmitri obtain the assistant director position at the Russian Federal Space Agency, also known as Roscosmos, or FKA. Peter knew his friend would be as open as he could on any intelligence as long as it did not jeopardize his country or FKA in any way, just as Peter would be with him. Dmitri might have never become a cosmonaut if not for Peter and his father.
Before too long, Dmitri walked in the restaurant. The short, forty-seven-year-old Russian man with dark hair still had that boyish face Peter knew from years ago. Though his waist looked a little bigger, he still looked to be in good shape. Peter stood and casually waved in Dmitri’s direction. Seeing his wave, Dmitri smiled and began walking toward the table. Peter, in Russian tradition, greeted his old friend with a gentleman’s hug.
Dmitri said, “It’s been a long time, my dear friend, how are you?”
As they both took their seats, Peter once again was impressed with Dmitri’s English, even though he still had his Russian accent. He remembered back when they were boys and spoke different languages. Back then Dmitri basically knew two English words, “yes” and “no,” the same two words Peter knew in Russian, “da” and “nyet.” Yet they were able to communicate, play, and be friends. Today, Dmitri spoke English with confidence which Peter assumed was because of his current position having to deal with NASA and so many Americans. Peter responded, “I’m good, considering what has been going on.”
“Yes, it must be tough on your family, and especially your dad. How is he handling all of this?” asked Dmitri.
“It’s been hard on both Dad and Mom. We just hope all of these lies are proven wrong soon!”
Johnny approached the table with Peter’s drink and asked what Dmitri would like.
“Give us two shots of your best vodka and a glass of Chianti,” replied Dmitri.
Peter smiled. It was a tradition between them to always start off with a shot of premium vodka.
After Johnny left to get the drinks, Peter asked, “So, how is your father?”
“He’s good, but he misses Mom. Ever since she died, he seems to be lost with what to do with his life. He’s living a nice retired life in a beautiful home in southern Russia, but he is lonely and bored. He calls me all the time wanting to know what’s going on at FKA and giving me advice. He means well, but he can sometimes be bothersome. Unfortunately with my schedule, I just can’t get down to see him as much as I would like.”
“I was sorry to hear about your mom passing away. She was a wonderful person, and what a great cook!”
Dmitri smiled. “Yes, she was a good cook. We all miss her cooking, especially Dad. He has a lady who comes over to cook and clean, yet he complains about her all the time. I try to explain to him no one can come close to Mom’s Russian cooking. No matter what I say, he’s just hard on this lady.” Slightly chuckling Dmitri continued, “He even says the food he had in space tasted better. Bottom-line, he misses Mom and the space program. I know he wishes he could go back in space one last time, but of course that’s unrealistic at his age.”
“Well at least the two of you got the opportunity,” remarked Peter with a slight burn of jealousy.
Dmitri tilted his head to one side. “Peter, why didn’t you ever get to fly? You had to have been one of NASA’s top astronauts?”
“Chris Riddick, plain and simple,” snapped Peter.
“Yes, I remember how Chris treated us at Star City. All the other comrades were nice to us, but not him. He was jealous of your dad. He probably should have been dismissed back in the ’70s. It’s amazing he is still at NASA with his shoddy background.”
“Maybe he slept his way to the top,” Peter suggested with a smirk. Then in a more serious tone he said, “I was surprised he still held a grudge after all those years. Dad tried to warn me, but I thought he only had issues with Dad. Regardless, I’m happy with my current situation. I still might get up in space someday.”
Dmitri nodded. Peter hadn’t told him the specifics of his current job, only that he worked somehow with the government. Secrets involving national security always stood between them, but Peter knew Dmitri understood that all too well. Rarely did either of them let it dim their friendship.
Johnny arrived with the drinks and Dmitri grabbed the two vodka shots, giving one to Peter. He raised the shot glass in the air. “As is our tradition, a toast to Comrade Tom, for saving my ass.”
Peter held his glass high before drinking the full shot in one gulp, as did Dmitri.