Bunker Home

The day of his return yielded the same anxieties and discomforts in Penelope Farwell. Found hundreds of meters inside an asteroid, Penelope’s stomach tightened as she viewed the screen of her husband, Stayer Farwell. Her hands wrung in conspicuous fear. He, however, looked confident, relaxed and focused in his solo flight. No sweat beads gathered around his temples. He remained cool. Penelope, usually strong when thinking about the presence of her husband, had slight palpitations. The artificial lights blazed like drops of sunshine as they simulated solar rays. She could at least bask in the glow of the various light sources. She wore a pair of blue jeans and a red blouse and black tortoise rimmed glasses. Her long black hair had been put into a bun. Her skin looked like alabaster. He wore a black business suit. His skin was the color of charcoal.

She shifted every time a rumble or some bump registered on the telecom system.

“Honey, are you okay?” She asked.

“I’m quite alright, love bunch….”

Penelope steeled herself and began to pick up her chin. She moved from the kitchen to the living room of the lavish bunker home.

“I should be there in about three more hours,” Farwell announced.

“Oh, that’s great. Just fantastic!” she said and relaxed on the couch. Once again, she felt safe and fortified herself and her anxieties evaporated like condensation on an exhaust pipe.

“I’m going to turn off the transponder and prepare for entry into the canyon of the asteroid,” Farwell declared.

“Roger that, my love,” she replied.

A surge of power shot through Penelope’s body. There existed a confidence that she hadn’t felt in the months since Farwell had left the station. She called her girlfriend on the Spacetime phone. Gurty Wentzel wore white pants and a floral green top. She waved at her friend who lived almost an hour away inside of the asteroid.

“Stayer’s not too far away now,” Penelope gushed.

“That’s great! Talib is supposed to be here any day now. You know our men, once they’re set on a mission, there’s so much that they put into it,” Gurty observed.

“Yes, that’s true. I must admit, I was kind of nervous but now I’m cool with it,” Penelope admitted.

“It all comes with the fact we chose men to explore the extraterrestrial side of life,” Gurty showed her wit.

“Absolutely,” Penelope looked at Gurty’s Pomeranian who just came into view. “Is that Champion I see? Hey, boy!” The dog barked. Penelope clapped her hands. “I’m just thinking of the first time we came here. It was like the briefings back on Earth. They said be prepared for the lights that simulated the sun and the rotating shields to block it when it came to night. My circadian rhythm was knocked off kilter for the longest time. Then we got used to it.”

“I can attest to that,” Gurty acknowledged. “It must have been a month before I got any real sleep. Talib could sleep through a tornado and wake up and ask for more wind,” Gurty continued to showcase her wondrous zingers.

“I’m looking for Stayer to be here now. I miss his smell. He has this body soap with cinnamon and what smells like metal shavings. It’s divine.”

“When Talib comes back, we’re going to be able to go out again and venture around the surrounding areas. We may even drop in on a certain black-haired beauty and her husband….”

“That’ll be fitting. It’s only right that we should link up again. I just keep thinking about what this second coming will be like. Will he be more cantankerous? Will he have bits of depression? I don’t know.”

Gurty finally turned a bit sullen. “I worry, too….” she confessed.

The mood had turned from excitement to gloom in just a few phrases. The two women both looked away and at each other again and laughed.

“See, we can’t stay in that state. We have to be ever vigilant of our thoughts and ideas. They turn to actions and they’re often dark,” Gurty said as she giggled with Penelope.

“I think so, too. I’ve got a few pills I’m taking at the moment with my vitamin supplements,” Penelope explained.

“I see. Nothing too strong, though, right?”

“No, nothing that’ll have me staring at the ceiling for an hour,” Penelope demonstrated her wit, as well.

“That’s good. I think it’s all about pacing, and exercising, and eating this food that actually has been engineered to be nutritious and delicious,” Gurty replied.

“I think we’re going to both be focused on the time periods for our spousal arrivals,” Penelope pointed out.

“Yes, Talib and Stayer together, that’s just trouble. It’s too bad their cycles didn’t correspond in this flight.”

A gnawing sensation spread throughout Penelope’s body. It was like a burning feeling that sought to engulf her entire frame. She looked at the screen.

“Gurty, I’ve gotta go, girl,” Penelope struggled to speak.

“Is everything alright? How close is Stayer?”

“Everything is fine. He’s doing great. He’ll be here soon. I’ll speak to you later,” Penelope wound down the conversation.

“Bye, for now,” Gurty answered. The screen went black.

Reeling, the physical feeling of distress continued in Penelope’s gut. As she whirled around looking for her prescription pills, she found a glass of water.

She took the pills and lowered herself onto the couch. That gnawing began to subside and she felt like herself again. She chased the downer medicine with sips from some energy drink. Again, the rollercoaster feeling came up again and she had finished the ride and leveled off on the drugs.

She breathed. With a glance at the clock, she knew that Stayer would be home at any moment. But she wrestled with the thought of a catastrophic event occurring. Though she had properly medicated, the fits of anxiety came like brief flashes of lighting in a summer sky back on Earth. She breathed some more. She picked her head up and breathed in again, this time, sharply. She got up from the couch and opened her front door. Vehicles floated based on hydro fuel. She brought her hand to her eyes. She looked on as people spilled into the streets to catch a glimpse of the elevator allowing the descent of her husband coming to his residence. Three hours had passed with such complication and misunderstanding.

There would still be debriefings and the head flight person to detail all of the future excursions back to the Earth’s surface. She would be the one who would be giving instructions for the next time Stayer would not be in Penelope’s arms. It seemed as if this portion of the journey lasted longer than the actual flight. Penelope prevailed, though. She kept her lips tight and her back slightly arched as she stood. With a look at the crowd of people, she saw them holding their mouths and murmuring. Some gasps went up. What?! What?! Penelope’s heart thrummed. For all of the preparatory classes she attended to discover the worst, she had been wary and weary but never fully prepared for something awful….Her mind filled with images of burning components of the ship. In her imagination she could clearly see Stayer drifting away into the great vacuum of space. Nothing, not the pills could quell her intrusive thoughts. In a way, the arrival of Farwell ramped up these images. A clear message in the outskirts of her wondrous brain brought her to a position where she could question everything. What was the velocity upon re-entry? Did Farwell have enough supplies? Would he be exhausted from space flight? These questions and more bubbled up in her consciousness.

She could sense the anticipation of seeing Farwell rested on her desire for his entire person to be intact and safe. In the time it took for him to reach the asteroid; from the time she talked to Gurty; all of these moments were like a spider’s web with strings of sticky memories blowing in the wind. There had been classes to prepare the spouses and family members. She and Farwell had no children and didn’t plan on having any. No sacrifice on their part had been established because they were childless. The same treatment went across the board. Penelope made sure of this. As a preparation, she wanted to go to the chief flight person and lay them out if they didn’t treat Farwell with the same decency and care as the other men and women who happened to have children.

Her stomach didn’t even have the strength to tie itself in knots at the moment. Still, Penelope put on a strong exterior as people looked into the distance and then at her and then back again. Penelope placed her hands on her hips like some comic hero. Only, to be put through these anxious moments, she had fashioned herself into a heroine. Every breath she took came as a result of her completing the ritual in her head: “It’s alright as long as he can say my name. It’s alright as long as he can say my name.”

It wasn't anything of the sort. A procession of vehicles journeyed through the streets. Penelope remembered her mantra. The agony of not knowing stung her like a yellowjacket. The pain had only eased at the thought of going up to Stayer Farwell and kissing his mouth. That’s what would make her whole, her sane again. No one would know that she had been experiencing the grip of anxiety, however. She stood like a statue. Her chin stretched to the artificial skyline. Penelope forever remained focused on seeing her husband in the same condition that he had left her. This kind of excited her. A woozy mixture of unease and desire made her yearn for Farwell’s touch. In all that she had witnessed, she kept in her feelings from the growing crowds. The idea pushed her to just stay resolute and to never drop her guard. On the inside she feared. On the exterior, she stood like a lioness. Without hesitation, she then took her hands from her hips and started moving. Prowling. Faces passed as she inched closer and closer to the vehicle that transported Farwell. Tears streaked her face. Penelope laughed. It remained silent and deep and freeing. Every ounce of her wanted to cry out and fall but she just kept moving. Her head erect, and her legs carrying her, she enabled herself to be a force that could not be tamed. Some men tried to hold her back. Those arms collapsed at their attempt to keep her from reaching her destination. It felt like a marathon for her to make the proper turns to keep up with the vehicles.

The parade of cars flowing away from the site where Farwell touched down created a cacophony of horns blowing like elephants. A diamond encrusted platinum ring flashed across the faces of the young men and women running up beside the convoy. Penelope had overcome her worries and did not fret about the safe return of her husband. He finally came to a rest at their home and the crowd cheered. With applause and whistles, the man came down from the car and walked towards his wife.

A guardsman for the space program that sponsored Farwell’s trips broke up the crowd.

“Alright, let’s go. Keep it pushing folks.” He smiled at the couple and returned to the car that had carried Farwell. The dispersal of the crowd seemed quick and timely. Farwell gathered Penelope into his arms and crossed the threshold.

“I told you I’d be home,” Farwell reassured Penelope and kissed her. He closed the door with one leg. Once they broke their embrace, she looked at him for a long time.

“You know, this is like the first time we landed on this rock,” Penelope observed.

“You really think so?”

“I do.”

“What, the whole ‘sweeping you off your feet’...is that what did it for you?” He let her stand.

“Maybe….” She undid her hair and it fell to her calf muscles.