Waiting was always difficult, but it was particularly hard when you had no idea of how long you might have to wait. Especially when there was no guarantee that you’d find any kind of results at the end of your wait.
Brenda Redmond remembered how much she’d hated that situation when she was a kid growing up. At least when the endpoint was known, she could make the wait go more quickly by marking off the days as they passed. The days until the school year ended. The days until a much-anticipated family vacation or a big launch. Even just the days until she reached some milestone that enabled her to enjoy one or another privilege. She needed only to look at the calendar and she could see the number of days remaining shrink.
But when you had to wait until you reached some achievement that Adult Authority refused to spell out, lest you put more effort into faking the outward markers than mastering the actual skills, it was super-hard. Or like she was stuck right now, waiting for someone else, over whom she had no control, to get something accomplished that would open a gate she needed to pass.
So far there’d been no word from Medlab, or from whoever they’d found to try to make contact with Robbie. And given that this person was doing her a favor, she didn’t want to be a pest about how they were coming on it.
Which meant there was nothing she could do about it right now. She’d learned from prior experience that the best thing to do in these circumstances was to keep busy with something that would take her mind off it.
And having the kids talk with Daddy was always a good way to raise everyone’s spirits. Drew had texted her earlier, letting her know that the solar storm watch meant he’d probably be staying down at Coopersville until the mass of charged particles had passed.
A storm that was likely to disrupt communications between settlements as well as with Earth. Perhaps not as badly with Coopersville, since they were connected by fiber-optic lines run alongside the tracks of the Ice Train, but even its repeaters could be knocked off-line if things got hairy enough.
The kids had loved talking to their father, even on the other end of a FaceTime connection. And they’d even headed to bed without any great resistance, for a change. Which meant now she and Drew could talk more privately.
“So how are you doing?” Drew leaned back a little, assuming a more relaxed pose.
“As well as I can. The kids are doing fine, Mom and Dad are OK, although they’re both working their butts off. I’ve got my work and my teaching to keep me busy.” Brenda tried to infuse her words with an enthusiasm she really didn’t feel right now.
Drew nodded, that slow bob of the head that was his way of saying, yeah, right, what are you really thinking behind the good-military-wife mask? “Yeah, ain’t that about the size of it. Keep on keeping on.” Then he leaned forward, lowered his voice in that conspiratorial tone he would use when he was saying it’s OK to tell me whatever’s bothering you. “I’m hearing rumint that you’re trying to track down someone dirtside.”
“Just an old friend from high school.” Brenda considered how much she wanted to tell Drew about Robbie’s situation. Minimize too much, and Drew would tell she was trying to gloss over her worries. Tell too much, and he’d be worrying about her when he needed to concentrate on his work. “We’d grown apart, so it’s kind of complicated. Right now I’m waiting for a neutral third party to contact her and make sure she’s all right and I won’t make things difficult for her by trying to contact her.”
“That doesn’t sound like a good situation.”
“No, it’s not. Which is why I’m trying very hard not to worry about her while I’m waiting.” Brenda wondered whether Drew still kept in touch with any of his friends from school. He’d been sent up here when he was all of fifteen, when he’d gotten entangled in the Angry Astronaut Affair.
Probably not, since he didn’t seem to want to reminisce. “Probably a good idea. Especially considering you need to be alert tomorrow for your air shift.”
“True. Especially if that solar storm watch turns into a warning and we start having to give radiation reports every half-hour.”
After that there was nothing more to say but words of parting. And then looking at the grayed-out FaceTime window for a moment before pressing the Home button.
Yes, Drew was right. She needed her sleep. From the sound of things, they were looking at a long day tomorrow.