bars, meet with their friends for dinner. But they hardly ever find their way here.”
After settling down next to each other, Gillian looked up. The ceiling was roundish. She scanned the room. Where was the projector?
Sam leaned slightly over and whispered in her ear, “Is it okay to hold hands in the dark?”
Gillian coughed. “Yes, it is. But only holding hands. No second or third base in here.”
Sam leaned back again. “All right. I can live with that. But all bets are off later in the car.”
“Nope. No way. I’m not turning into a teenage version of myself.”
“Oh…so do tell me what happened in cars during your teenage days.”
Gillian lifted an eyebrow. “That is going to be my secret.”
The light dimmed slowly.
“It’s about to start.” Sam had barely uttered those words when, without further warning, the sound system nearly blew Gillian’s ears away with Richard Strauss’ “Also sprach Zarathustra”. She blinked. This volume could certainly wake the dead.
Something began to move out of the huge gap in the middle of the room but it was too dark to make out more than contours. Gillian leaned forward.
“That is the Zeiss Starmaster projector and the music is from “2001: A Space Odyssey”, the opening of the movie,” Sam whispered.
“Oh.” There was the projector. Amazing.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” a deep male voice said over the loudspeaker system. “Welcome tonight and thank you for joining us on a very special journey. ‘Destination Solar System’ will take us all through the small part of the universe that we believe we know and yet surprises us, again and again, with its beauty and majesty. Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride.”
Minutes into the show, Gillian had nearly forgotten where she was. A gigantic eruption exploded out of the sun. She pressed her back deeper into the seat and grabbed Sam’s hand. “This is like sitting in a starship.”
A deep laugh rumbled out of Sam. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool, right?”
Gillian was lost. Positively, absolutely lost. And she loved every second of it. “It’s unbelievable.” Her breath caught in her throat as Sam’s fingers skimmed the top of Gillian’s thigh. “Stop that. Holding hands is where the line is drawn tonight.”
Sam chuckled. “What a shame.”
Instead of continuing the verbal play, Gillian wrapped her hand around Sam’s arm and squeezed it slightly when they flew through Saturn’s rings. “They are made out of small stones?”
“Well,” Sam whispered, “the official description is ‘small particles’ and they’re mostly made out of ice.”
A comet brushed past them with a loud whoosh.
“Would it burst your bubble if I told you that there are no sounds in space because of the vacuum?”
Gillian turned her head and stared at Sam. “You’re a geek.”
“No, I’m not.”
Gillian smiled and patted Sam’s hand. “Shush now.” She looked up again, just in time to see a blue planet coming closer. Wow.
Way too soon for Gillian, the male voice once again came over the sound system, “Thank you very much for travelling with us. We hope that you enjoyed the journey and that you will be joining us again in the future.”
Seconds later the light came slowly up again.
Gillian took a deep breath. “That was awesome.”
Sam got up from her chair and offered her hand to Gillian. “So, did you enjoy it?”
Gillian reached out, took the hand, and stood up. “More than that. This was mind blowing and beautiful and amazing and I can’t believe I’ve never been here before.” Her eyes locked onto Sam’s. Those brown, gentle eyes. Breathing was becoming hard—as was forcing her hands to not reach out and touch Sam or not allowing herself to kiss those tempting lips. With all the discipline she could muster, she cleared her throat. “I have to take the children to one of these shows.” She took a step away from Sam.
Sam opened her mouth and closed it again, thrusting her hands into
After settling down next to each other, Gillian looked up. The ceiling was roundish. She scanned the room. Where was the projector?
Sam leaned slightly over and whispered in her ear, “Is it okay to hold hands in the dark?”
Gillian coughed. “Yes, it is. But only holding hands. No second or third base in here.”
Sam leaned back again. “All right. I can live with that. But all bets are off later in the car.”
“Nope. No way. I’m not turning into a teenage version of myself.”
“Oh…so do tell me what happened in cars during your teenage days.”
Gillian lifted an eyebrow. “That is going to be my secret.”
The light dimmed slowly.
“It’s about to start.” Sam had barely uttered those words when, without further warning, the sound system nearly blew Gillian’s ears away with Richard Strauss’ “Also sprach Zarathustra”. She blinked. This volume could certainly wake the dead.
Something began to move out of the huge gap in the middle of the room but it was too dark to make out more than contours. Gillian leaned forward.
“That is the Zeiss Starmaster projector and the music is from “2001: A Space Odyssey”, the opening of the movie,” Sam whispered.
“Oh.” There was the projector. Amazing.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” a deep male voice said over the loudspeaker system. “Welcome tonight and thank you for joining us on a very special journey. ‘Destination Solar System’ will take us all through the small part of the universe that we believe we know and yet surprises us, again and again, with its beauty and majesty. Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride.”
Minutes into the show, Gillian had nearly forgotten where she was. A gigantic eruption exploded out of the sun. She pressed her back deeper into the seat and grabbed Sam’s hand. “This is like sitting in a starship.”
A deep laugh rumbled out of Sam. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool, right?”
Gillian was lost. Positively, absolutely lost. And she loved every second of it. “It’s unbelievable.” Her breath caught in her throat as Sam’s fingers skimmed the top of Gillian’s thigh. “Stop that. Holding hands is where the line is drawn tonight.”
Sam chuckled. “What a shame.”
Instead of continuing the verbal play, Gillian wrapped her hand around Sam’s arm and squeezed it slightly when they flew through Saturn’s rings. “They are made out of small stones?”
“Well,” Sam whispered, “the official description is ‘small particles’ and they’re mostly made out of ice.”
A comet brushed past them with a loud whoosh.
“Would it burst your bubble if I told you that there are no sounds in space because of the vacuum?”
Gillian turned her head and stared at Sam. “You’re a geek.”
“No, I’m not.”
Gillian smiled and patted Sam’s hand. “Shush now.” She looked up again, just in time to see a blue planet coming closer. Wow.
Way too soon for Gillian, the male voice once again came over the sound system, “Thank you very much for travelling with us. We hope that you enjoyed the journey and that you will be joining us again in the future.”
Seconds later the light came slowly up again.
Gillian took a deep breath. “That was awesome.”
Sam got up from her chair and offered her hand to Gillian. “So, did you enjoy it?”
Gillian reached out, took the hand, and stood up. “More than that. This was mind blowing and beautiful and amazing and I can’t believe I’ve never been here before.” Her eyes locked onto Sam’s. Those brown, gentle eyes. Breathing was becoming hard—as was forcing her hands to not reach out and touch Sam or not allowing herself to kiss those tempting lips. With all the discipline she could muster, she cleared her throat. “I have to take the children to one of these shows.” She took a step away from Sam.
Sam opened her mouth and closed it again, thrusting her hands into
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