“Great, let’s get you started today.”
Peter quickly raised his hand. “Sorry, Walter, but I’m leaving soon to pick up my girlfriend at the airport.”
“Oh, you have a girlfriend. What’s her name?”
“Anya. She’s Russian.”
“Is she flying in from Russia?”
“Yeah, and we haven’t seen each other in awhile.”
“I get it. You want to spend some time together. Tell you what. I have a nice beach house in Galveston. How about you two enjoy a nice quiet weekend there alone and you can come back Monday morning all charged up and raring to go.”
Peter loved Galveston, and felt it would be the perfect romantic backdrop to propose. “That would be great, thank you.”
Walter opened a drawer and pulled out a set of keys. He tossed them to Peter. “Here are the keys. The place is stocked with food and booze. Don’t worry about cleaning up; I have a service that takes care of that.” He ripped off a piece of paper from a small notepad on the corner of his desk and began to write. “Here’s the address.” He handed the paper to Peter.
Peter grabbed the small slip. “This is perfect. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem. Enjoy yourself. Right now you’re my commander, and I want you to be energized and excited.”
“You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be pumped and ready to go on Monday.”
A SOFT EVENING breeze blew off the Gulf toward Anya and Peter as they sat together on Galveston’s sandy beach. Anya was between Peter’s legs leaning back against his chest. His arms were wrapped tightly around her as they both stared out at the open sea. The small waves sparkled from the reflection of the full moon in the clear, night sky above, shining down over the deserted beach. Peter dug his feet deeper into the sand as he pulled her even tighter against him, his chin resting on her shoulder. The heavy salty breeze mixed with Anya’s beautifully scented hair. With his lips inches from her ear, he whispered, “This is wonderful.”
Without moving her head, Anya’s sultry voice mixed perfectly with the smooth sound of the waves. “Like a dream.”
Peter grinned as he turned and lightly kissed her neck through her hair. This was turning out to be a perfect romantic evening. He had grilled up a couple of prime filets on an outside BBQ earlier in the evening, which they ate on the deck of Walter’s beach house. They had practically polished off two bottles of wine and were feeling quite relaxed. His plan was to propose to her later at the house. His little scheme was to surprise her with a child’s pirate-themed birthday cake that had the words “Soul Mates Forever” written on it. Placed in the icing was a tiny pirate treasure chest that had the ring inside.
As he looked up at the moon, he thought of how close he had come to missing out on all of this. Twice. He gave a quick thanks to God before setting his chin back on her shoulder. Immediately he thought of the mission he would soon be training for. Though the odds were slim he would actually fly, he wondered if he should warn Anya of the possibility. Because it might alarm her, he decided to wait until the substitution became more definite. He looked back up at the moon, Viktor’s final resting place. “I miss your father.”
Anya reached up to his arms and lightly squeezed. “I miss him too.” She looked skyward. “Every time I see the moon, I think of dad and send him my love.”
“It was great getting to know him better. I can’t tell you how many times he made me laugh, especially when things got tough. He always seemed so cool under pressure.”
“Did you see him die?”
Peter was surprised by the question. Up to this point, they had never discussed the details of Viktor’s death. He figured she had finally come to terms with his passing and wanted to know how his last moments played out. “He was behind me in the Soyuz when I opened the hatch, which we both knew would kill him. He was in his flight suit with his helmet on. We had already said our goodbyes. I heard him over the headset take his last breath before dying. I purposely did not look back. He was a strong man.” Anya’s hands squeezed his arms even tighter. “But over the next few hours, whenever I returned to the spacecraft, I poked my head through the hatch and talked to him as if he was still alive, which was reassuring and comforting. Thanks to him, I never felt alone, even on the back side of the moon as I prepared to die.”
Anya’s voice cut through the humid night air as she spoke in an even tone. “I never told you this, but during that last pass on the backside when Dad was going to die, I felt a tingling sensation in my stomach while sitting in mission control. A feeling I had never experienced before. I assumed this was around the time he probably died. To better cope with his passing, I imagined the tingle was a part of his soul shifting into our unborn child. So when I lost the baby, I felt like I was losing Dad all over again, adding to the grief of hearing that I had lost you too. It was all a terrible nightmare.”
This was the first time Anya had discussed the miscarriage. Peter had wanted to talk about the grim subject, hoping to comfort her, but whenever he addressed it she immediately redirected the conversation. He was pleased she was finally opening up. Peter brought his legs in tighter as he rubbed her arms. “I know losing your dad was heartbreaking. Then to think you were given false information about me which led to losing the baby.” He started shaking his head. “It just pisses me off every time I think about it. My heart breaks thinking of you having to deal with all those tragedies alone.”
Anya’s voice perked up. “Thank God he didn’t take you.”
A flash of light streaking through the sky caught Peter’s attention. He quickly lifted his hand to point. “Look, a shooting star.”
Anya quickly jerked her head up. “I see it.”
“Make a wish.”
Anya took a moment to think. “I wish for this moment to never end.”
So did Peter. He couldn’t contain himself. His gut told him this was the right time to propose. Screw the cake. He moved out his legs as he slid back in the sand.
Anya said sarcastically, “So much for not ending the moment.”
Peter grinned as he stood up and walked over in front of her. His shadow covered her face until he nervously fell to one knee. Her eyebrows were crinkled as she tilted her head, questioning what he was up to. He took her hand with both of his, cradling it as he caressed the soft skin across the back. “Anya, I also want this moment to last forever.”
Anya’s eyes widened as her lips parted.
“In fact I want us to last forever. I never want to think of being without you. I love you too much.” Peter leaned in slightly. He was surprised by the butterflies flying around in his stomach. “Anya, will you marry me?”
Anya’s jaw dropped. Without saying a word, she slowly worked her way up onto her knees. A big grin was on her face, inches from his. “Peter Novak, you’ve just made me the happiest woman alive. Yes, I would love to marry you!” As she leaned in he put his hand into her hair and pulled her toward him so their lips pressed tightly together. They shared a long and passionate kiss.
As they pulled apart, Peter said, “I’m sorry I don’t have the ring, it’s at the house. I planned on a more elaborate proposal later, but this seemed like the right time.”
She leaned back in, her breath warming his lips. She softly purred. “You did it perfect.” She kissed him and stood.
He was surprised to see her start pulling off her shirt. He stared at her white bra glistening in the moonlight as she dropped the shirt to the sand. “What are you doing?” He was unable to make out her facial expression as she looked down at him. Without answering, she unbuttoned her shorts. She seductively unzipped them before letting them fall to her feet. She slowly stepped out of them. In shock, Peter did a quick scan of the area to double-check no one was around. The beach was empty. With an evil grin, he looked back at his beauty, curious if the bra and panties were coming off, too.