The Astronaut's Wife by Robert Tine Read Free Book Online Page A

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brain. “But they almost did, and to go through that, and never mention it. Never.”
“Give them time, Natalie,” said Jillian. “You have to give them time to understand what happened. It’s not the sort of thing you can take in all at once, not something you can consume whole. It will take a long time for them to figure it all out. You have to believe that, Natalie. It makes sense, right?”
A look of pity came into Natalie’s brown eyes. She had the feeling that Jillian was speaking from the heart—but for different reasons. “I know this must be hard for you, Jill.”
“It’s hard for everyone, Natalie.”
“No,” Natalie persisted, “hard for you in particular. I remember how bad it got for you after your parents died. It must have been horrible. Just like this is.”
Natalie had crossed a line. Jillian’s face turned cold and her words were clipped. She looked right at Natalie. “This has absolutely nothing to do with that,” she said.
“It just scares me, Jillian,” said Natalie, oblivious to the stab of pain she had jabbed into her friend. “It just scares me that he acts like it never happened.”
Jillian looked from Natalie and then back to the photo shoot, which seemed to be coming to an end. Spencer and Alex were talking, their heads together as if they were whispering conspiratorially. Except for the cane that Alex Streck leaned against rather casually, neither men looked as if they had just survived a near miss with death in space followed by stays in the hospital. Spencer appeared to glow with health and Alex Streck seemed to have shed a few pounds and a few years, as if he had spent a week in a spa rather than having done excruciating time in a NASA intensive care unit.
As the photographers packed up their gear and the Victory crew dispersed. Jillian watched as two self-conscious kids edged into the scene. Both carried pictures of the Victory that the public relations guys had papered the visitors area with earlier that day. Spencer saw them looking longingly in his direction and he motioned to them, waving them over.
“Hey, kids,” he said. “You two want an autograph or something like that?”
The two boys could not believe their luck. They raced over to the two astronauts. Spencer and Alex signed the pictures with a flourish and the two kids took off with their trophies. Jillian had seen the whole exchange and beamed with pride in her husband. Now that was Spencer Armacost—the real Spencer Armacost that she knew.
Jillian left Natalie and walked down the bleachers to her husband’s side. He slid an arm around her slim waist and together they watched the kids run off.
“I know exactly what they’re feeling,” Spencer
said. “They’re going to grow up and be spacemen.
I was going to do that. All my friends laughed when
I told them . . .“
“But you did,” said Jillian. “You showed them.”
Spencer laughed a little. “Oh yeah . . . I sure showed them all right. I’m the envy of every adult in the country.”
“You did what you set out to do,” Jillian insisted. “You left your mark. That’s more than some guy who works in a bank does. You became part of history. You did it . . .“
“I did it,” he said quietly. “And now it’s done.” He looked at her and smiled. “All done.”
Jillian returned his gaze but was also aware of Sherman Reese standing off to one side watching them. “What is done?” she asked. “What are you talking about”
“I’m resigning from the service,” said Spencer bluntly. “That’s what’s done.”
Jillian shook her head slightly, like a boxer shaking off a quick blow to the head. For a moment she was not entirely sure she had heard him correctly. She was completely taken aback by the announcement her husband had made in such a matter-of-fact manner.
“Is . . . is this because of what happened to you up there, Spencer?” Maybe Natalie was right after all, maybe something terrible had happened up there. Something that would