Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 83368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Now Hersch had to laugh. He’d always been a little playful, and the idea of the video had tickled him as well as being a fitting tribute to his hardworking mom. He could never have predicted that it would be shared so widely. He said as much to Jay, who again cut him off midsentence.
“Don’t be so modest. It was a stroke of comic genius. Plus, you have a great singing voice. Then you nearly didn’t make it back to your mom or anyone else. You can’t make that stuff up.”
Hersch tried not to shrink. He wasn’t one for praise. He’d been raised in a very loving family, but they weren’t the kind of folks who doled out heaps of praise. Hard work pays off was his mom’s motto, and he owed his career to her. It was one of the many reasons he’d made the birthday video in the first place.
“And the cake?” Jay continued. “How did you even manage that in a microgravity environment? Magic?” He laughed.
Now this Hersch didn’t mind talking about. “It wasn’t easy, but it sure was fun getting creative with some prepackaged food and Velcro strips to stop the ingredients from floating away while I assembled it. I had a stash of thermostabilized fruitcake and wrapped it in a sheet of almond paste that I’d dyed with pink food dye. That was the icing.”
“My favorite bit was when you lit the candle.”
“A trusty LED light and a touch of showmanship.”
“Well, that you’ve got in spades. If you feel like quitting the space game, I could represent you.”
Hersch chuckled again. “You flatter me.”
“Just a genuine fan.” Jay looked down at his phone. “Since I saw you here, I’ve been reviewing your story, and I’m in awe. You came from pretty humble beginnings, I see.”
Hersch nodded. “But my mom never let that stop us from dreaming big.”
“That’s why she named you Herschel—after the astronomer.”
Hersch was impressed and nodded. “You really have done your homework. My mom always said we could go to the moon and back as long as we worked hard. And, well, I took her words literally.”
“You always wanted to go to space. It was your big ambition from the age of four.”
“Right. Not the only four-year-old who ever wanted to become an astronaut.”
And then he began to worry. Jay was shrewd, that much was obvious, and it wouldn’t take much more digging to uncover Hersch’s fear of the ocean since the crash. If it got out, his entire career would be over. Everything he had worked so hard for all his life would vanish.
But Jay didn’t seem to notice that Hersch was feeling increasingly uncomfortable. “And you made that ambition come true. A scholarship to Yale to study medicine and then a PhD in molecular biology. And somehow in your spare time, you completed thousands of hours of jet training. Then the space program.”
Hersch didn’t know what to say. It was all too much. And then he noticed they were no longer alone. Mila Davenport had reappeared, and was playfully punching Jay’s solid-looking bicep. The two of them must have known each other for a long time. At the sight of her, he felt his heartbeat quicken, admiration for her beauty overtaking his mounting sense of panic.
“Leave the man alone, Jay,” she said. “You’re worse than my brother when it comes to turning everything into a Hollywood story.” How had she known Herschel had needed someone to intervene in such a chance encounter?
Jay grinned as if Mila were paying him a compliment. It was clear he had no intention of stopping his rousing recitation of Hersch’s life story. In fact, he barely paused for breath as he continued to rattle off the details of Hersch’s career until he reached that fateful last mission.
“Of course I followed the story as it unfolded in the news. Those were rough seas your capsule came down in. The splashdown nearly killed you.”
Hersch watched, silently horrified as Jay told the story of his life. The familiar panic set in. He could feel Mila’s presence, so near him, as she listened to Jay, but he wondered if she could also hear his heart pounding too hard in his chest.
“Jay,” Mila interrupted, her tone firmer now, though it was clear Jay was so persistent a meteor wouldn’t stop him.
“But you were a hero,” he continued. “You made sure your fellow astronauts got out first.” Jay’s brilliant eyes were sparkling now, and it was clear to Hersch that he thought triumph concluded this tale, not fear.
Jay pinched the air between thumb and index finger, finally pausing his monologue to take a breath. “You were this close to death when they managed to rescue you. Look at you. You’re a true hero. These are the kinds of stories people love.”
Jay stood back as if waiting for applause. Hersch’s horror hadn’t faded. He couldn’t tell Jay that despite all his training, all his hard work, he could barely even look at the ocean.