| Jovian APAworks | Volume 1, Number 5 | April, 2001 |
Carolyn wandered out across the building-top quad, overlooking the city. Elysée's cylinder had entered nighttime operations, polarizing the axial lightbar into a dim moon-like light. The city lights of the downtown now appeared to struggle against the darkness of the artificial night. Carolyn leaned against the railing first peering down at the street far below, then she looked out across the skyscape that arced upward into an enclosed horizon of glittering lights. Carolyn could barely make out the lights in Hiesenberg Park on the far side of the colony cylinder.
Carolyn glanced back across the quad, and then, looking back, let her chin sink into her palm, leaning atop the railing. The reception was likely over at this point, but Mama had needed to take Christine and Catherine home over two hours ago. Mama had asked Carolyn to bring her sister, Colleen, home after the reception. Carolyn hated waiting for people. She could wait an eternity for a fusion chamber or an AI to come online but not people, especially Colleen.
"Hey," a voice intruded with the clapping of heels across the tile. It was Colleen's voice.
Carolyn turned to greet Colleen. "Hey."
"Thanks for waiting, Carolyn." Colleen smiled. "I know that it is hard for you to wait for me."
"What are you talking about," Carolyn questioned rhetorically. "Mama and the others needed to get home, and you’re my sister. What do you expect?"
Colleen placed her hands on her hips. "Carolyn, yes, you are my sister, which is why I know that you would wait. Still, you hate waiting for anyone, including me."
Carolyn frowned briefly. "Can we change the subject?" Carolyn advocated. "I'm not in the mood to argue."
"Yeah," Colleen conceded. "That's no problem." She then pointed to the café nearby. "You want to get a cup of espresso before we head home?"
Carolyn almost looked at her watch, but decided against it, for Colleen's sake. She didn’t want to hurt Colleen's feelings. Colleen had had a rough day, at least for a budding fashion designer. "Sure."
They were silent walking to the café. When they arrived, Colleen excused herself to freshen up in the ladies' room. Carolyn appropriated a small table in the far corner of the outside seating. Carolyn continued her stare out into the dim lightbar overhead. She could see the vernier flashes of engineering Deckers moving along the lightbar’s surface.
"Would you like anything to drink, ma'am?" a kindly, young waitress asked.
A bit startled, Carolyn responded, "Uh, yeah, how about two water's for now. My sister will be here shortly. We can order our espresso drinks then."
Very good ma'am," the girl smiled as she hurried off to tend to another newly seated table.
"You miss me?" Colleen interjected as she maneuvered to sit down.
"Not really, but it is good to see you again," Carolyn jested.
Colleen looked down at the table and then at Carolyn. "Are you upset about something?"
"No," Carolyn replied. "I'm just tired. It's nothing that a double shot of espresso couldn’t fix." Carolyn smiled, but the intended comic relief still wasn't funny, even for Carolyn.
"I can understand," Colleen responded. "You've been away for a long time with the quarantine and all, and you were only released two days ago."
"That’s not it," Carolyn rebuffed. "I’m ju…"
"Hello," the waitress greets in returning with a pair of filled water glasses. "Are you ready to order?"
"Yes," Colleen answered. "I'll have a large, triple, decaffeinated, caramel macchiato with soy, no foam, extra hot…. Oh, also, can you bring a lemon twist on the side? Oh, I would also like extra caramel, please." Carolyn tried to raise her eyebrows inconspicuously in bewilderment, but failed to allude Colleen notice.
"Sure," the girl frantically writes everything down. Turning to Carolyn, she asks, "And you ma'am?"
"I'll have a double espresso and a biscotti," Carolyn requests.
"Oh, I'll have a biscotti too," Colleen added. "Do you have those macadamia-anise ones?"
"I think so," the waitress responded. "If not will a regular vanilla-nut one do?"
"Sure," Colleen responded, looking disappointed.
"I forgot to ask ma’am," the waitress addressed Carolyn. "Did you want decaffeinated?"
"No," Carolyn answered, looking aloof. "I want to feel insomnia, please."
"Uh, OK," the girl responded, seeming a bit puzzled at first. "Thank you. I'll be out with your order soon," she acknowledged.
The two sisters nodded. The following silence was deafening within the confines of the table. Only the gentle breeze that always runs down the length of the station provided a reprieve from the stillness at the table. Finally, Carolyn broke the silence. "So, I liked the show. You have quite a talent in fashion. I mean, I'm not an artist by any stretch, but the stuff you designed looked very flattering."
"Thank you, Carolyn," Colleen responded. "What was your favorite piece?"
"Well," Carolyn stared back up at the cylinder's lightbar overhead, exhaling. "I think I liked the fourth evening gown the best."
"Oh, really," Colleen replied excitedly. "You did? What did you like about it? Was it the drawn in waist that ruffled in the lower back under the scooped bare back?"
Carolyn thought really hard. "I guess. I don’t really know what I liked most about it. The gown just looked very elegant."
Colleen smiled brightly. "I designed that dress over seven years ago in school, but my instructor thought it was too conventional. I only received a passing grade on it."
Carolyn nodded. "Now that you remind me, I think I remember that, except you changed the color for tonight, didn’t you?"
'Yes, I did," Colleen responded, sounding a bit astonished. "I am surprised that you remembered. I would hav…."
Just then the waitress brings the sister's order, carrying them awkwardly on a small tray. "Here we are. Let's see." She looks over toward Carolyn. "You had the double espresso and biscotti, yes?" Carolyn acknowledged with a simple nod. The waitress then turned to look at Colleen. "…And you had the other drink, with a lemon twist on the side. Also, you were in luck, we had one macadamia-anise biscotti left."
"Thank you," Colleen replied, nodding in affirmation. The girl smiled silently, leaving the sisters to continue.
"So, where were we," Colleen asked. Carolyn just sips her espresso, not answering. "I can’t remember," Colleen continued. "Anyway, so what are you planning on doing these next few weeks before you have to report back to work?"
"Not much," Carolyn stated. "Sarah is coming onto colony tomorrow at noon, so I plan on visiting with her while she's on station."
"Sarah's a big ZOnet field reporter now isn’t she?"
"Yeah, she's something like that," Carolyn acknowledged. "She's stopping here between jobs."
"Do you think she'll be over for dinner?" Colleen asked.
"I'm sure Mama will insist," Carolyn replied. "Not that that is a bad thing though." Carolyn picks up her espresso and takes another sip. Placing it down on the saucer, she notices a strange stare from Colleen. "What's wrong."
"Your ignoring telling me what you really want to talk about," Colleen accused.
"What!" Carolyn responded, seeming a bit exasperated. "No I’m not."
"Yes, you are Carolyn," Colleen rebuffed. "You are trying to avoid talking about the thing that is on your mind by talking about surface stuff."
"What are you talking about?" Carolyn asked, now definitely exasperated.
"You know exactly what I am talking about. Carolyn, what happened to you out there?" Colleen asked sheepishly. "A lot of conjecture persists around you still, for all of us. Why were you really held under quarantine?"
"Conjecture? Who? You want the truth?" Carolyn asked. Colleen nodded. Carolyn took another sip of her drink. "The truth is that I don’t remember. I can’t remember anything significant. We went out to space and came back. That's that. Why?"
"Nothing," Colleen responded. "It's just that I've heard things."
"What kind of things?" Carolyn questioned.
"Just words in the noise of high society," Colleen answered. "Also, some of my acquaintances in upper Elysée society have said that you were quarantined by Clotho, not the IGS."
Carolyn leaned back in her seat. "Nonsense, and what has that got to do with anything. As far as I can remember nothing happened. I went out, came home and then sat in the IGS hospital wing for who knows how long, six months? Believe me, other than feeling a bit claustrophobic, I am fine."
"Well, you’re not fine," Colleen responded. "First, you come home after a four year stint aboard the Demeter II, and then you trounce off aboard the Mnemosyne, away from your family, your friends and your home. With the cold war with CEGA, the incident on Joshua Station, your absence, your situation, I have felt, I don't know, weird."
"Reading too much of the Jovian Inquirer are we?"
"No, it isn’t that Carolyn. It's. I don’t know. Forget that I mentioned it." Colleen stared down into her caramel macchiato, sipping it softly.
"Is this about you?" Carolyn tried to pin her down. "Are you trying to project your feelings about me leaving you and the family for so many years? Is that what this is about?"
"No," Colleen replies, still staring into her caramel macchiatto. "It’s not about me, or us. It’s about you Carloyn. It’s always about you."
"How are you two doing here?" a different waitress intruded, seeming to come out of no where.
Annoyed at the intrusion, Carolyn waved the new waitress off. "No, not now. Thanks." As the woman turned toward another nearby table, Carolyn caught the glint of an owl pin on the waitress' lapel. Carolyn flagged down the waitress again. "Wait."
"Yes," the woman responded, returning to the table.
"Maybe we will have the check now. Thanks."
Authors Note: This multi-part piece on Carolyn is intended as a prequel to her stationing on Stevenson Station described in Carolyn's bio, published in the V1R1 issue. You can also read the previous part, Part 2, or the next part, Part 4, of Carolyn's prequel story .
| Jovian APAworks | Volume 1, Number 5 | April, 2001 |
Jovian Chronicles is © 2001, Dream Pod 9, Inc. All rights reserved. Jovian APAworks is not affiliated with Dream Pod 9 in any way. Submitted material remains the property of the creator.