The Second Ship (The Rho Agenda #1)(4)
They still had a few days to work on their rock climbing before school started and basketball stole all of Mark’s time. He’d been heavily recruited as a sophomore to join the high school team this year. They’d just have to pry Jennifer from her books and convince her that living up the last bit of summer was more important than reading about the latest computer theory. “Doc” could probably be coaxed if they let her bring a book along for the trip.
By the time Heather was into her third cup of herbal tea, she was almost relaxed enough to consider a trip back to bed. Then, the sound of dishes rattling in the kitchen announced that her mother was up and breakfast would soon follow. The screen door opened and her father stepped out, a mug of steaming coffee in his hand.
“Good morning, sweetheart.”
“Hi, Dad.”
Gilbert McFarland was tall and slender, with brown eyes and a mouth upturned in a perpetual smile. His thick brown hair was hidden under the constant, old floppy fishing hat he wore that sported an assortment of hand-tied flies and a button that proclaimed, “One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish...”
“It looks like it’s going to be another beautiful day.”
“Yep, but you’ve missed the best part of the sunrise.”
“Your mom and I saw it through our bedroom window.”
“That hardly counts. Glass filters the view.”
“Hmm. Not everyone is born to rise before the sun. You hungry?”
“I’m getting there.”
“Good. Breakfast’s almost ready.”
Heather followed her dad back into the house. Her mother, Anna, moved through the kitchen and breakfast nook with an efficiency that made everything seem as if it positioned itself of its own accord.
“Well, you’re looking a little tired this morning,” her mother said, touching her forehead. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine, Mom. I was just a little bit anxious to get up this morning.”
Her mother smiled knowingly. “As if we don’t all know the reason. I suppose I should set out a couple of extra places for breakfast.”
Heather was about to say she wasn’t sure what time the Smythes were returning when the doorbell rang. The Smythe twins had been eating breakfast, and any other meal they could get away with, at Heather’s house for years. Mrs. Smythe’s cooking was legendary for being inedible. She didn’t even like eating her own cooking, so she hardly blamed Mark and Jennifer for taking advantage of the McFarland hospitality. The favor was returned in the form of regular barbecues Mr. Smythe hosted at the Smythe abode.
Heather opened the door and then stepped back. “Wow. You guys look great. I didn’t think you could get a tan in Alaska.”
Mark grinned. “Don’t kid yourself. I did some rock and glacier climbing. You’d love it there.”
“Good atmosphere to catch up on some reading too,” said Jennifer as she gave Heather a quick hug.
Heather laughed. “You guys hungry?”
“Starved,” Mark said. “Mom almost got up and made omelets this morning.” The look of horror on his face made Heather laugh even harder.
Her mother met the twins with huge hugs, immediately ushering them to their chairs and passing around the pancake platter, which everyone set about doing their best to empty. By the time breakfast was over, the family had heard all about cruising Alaska, followed by Jennifer’s excited summary of the biography she’d read about Madame Curie.
A horn honked outside and Heather’s father rose, wiping his chin with a napkin. “Oops. My ride’s here. Gotta run.”
“Have fun at the lab today,” said Heather.
“Always do.”
While he had never gotten a doctorate, or even a master’s degree, Heather’s father was one of those indispensable people at the lab known as a tech. So was Mr. Smythe, who currently waited outside in their driveway. It was his week to drive the carpool.
Heather’s dad had a knack for building any mechanical contraption to exact specifications, given the most cursory information. His real title was machinist, but he had turned the job into an art form. He loved the lab, which provided him access to an unequaled machine shop and the opportunity to make an assortment of oddities for the scientists.
While her father was master of all things mechanical, Fred Smythe was lord of electronics. Together, there was nothing they could not create or improve upon. It was only fitting that they were next-door neighbors.
As Heather’s dad reached for the front doorknob, it burst open, and he was almost bowled over by Fred’s blocky form as he raced into the living room. Before Heather’s dad could react, Mr. Smythe grabbed the remote and brought the old television set to life.
“Gil, get your butt in here. You’ve got to see this!”
The CNN logo accompanied by “Breaking News” formed a banner along the bottom of the screen. The camera suddenly cut away from the news anchor to the president seated at his desk in the Oval Office, backdropped by the presidential seal and an American flag.
The president began speaking directly into the camera.
“My fellow Americans. It is with great pleasure and excitement that I come before you today with an announcement, an announcement for which you have unknowingly been kept waiting almost sixty years. Through multiple presidencies, several wars, the landing of men on the moon, up through today's troubled world situation, a matter of unfathomable scientific importance has been preciously guarded by this government.