Houston, Texas, in Dr. Wilson's Office, Thursday, September 12th, 2030 at 2:57 pm

Lucas

Rachel and I hop out of the car and head towards the office building in the middle of downtown. The roads are busy so we had to park a few blocks away. The air is filled with smells of garlic and some sort of barbecue. There's restaurants and small shops that line each side of the road. We are walking side by side in a comfortable silence. I think about grabbing her hand to hold protectively as we walk. It feels so second nature, but I hesitate and I put my hands in my pockets instead.

As we get inside, I notice that it's busier than it was last week. Groups of people are scattered around the waiting room. Some people are sitting alone, some are in couples, others are here with adolescent children. No one is talking to each other and no one is touching.

"Go ahead and sit down and I'll check us in," I say quietly to Rachel. She nods and heads over to a set of chairs by the fish tank. I walk up to the counter.

"Hi there, what's the last name?" a woman asks from behind the counter. Her name tag says Chloe.

"Clarke," I reply. She starts typing something into her computer and smiles.

"Yes, I have you right here. Dr. Wilson should be with you shortly."

I nod at her and turn to look back at the waiting room.

Rachel already has a magazine that she's flipping through. I walk over and sit down next to her. She's close enough to me now that I can smell her perfume. It has hints of lilacs and strawberries. Her smell is so calming that I feel my muscles relaxing as I sink into my chair. I want to bury my face against her neck; that's always been my happy place.

I glance over at her lap. Her delicate hands are skimming a jewelry magazine resting on her scarlet dress. Rachel doesn't wear much jewelry, she never has. She has one ring on her right middle finger. It's gold with a small ruby. It was her mother's ring, and she has worn it every day since she died. Her left ring finger holds our wedding band. It's a simple, thin, silver band. I asked Rachel to marry me after our college graduation ceremony. I didn't have any money, so I didn't even have an engagement ring for her then.

She still said yes. Her wedding band is something I made out of titanium at work because I still didn't have enough for a ring when we got married, but I wanted her to have something. She has never complained once about her ring, but I know that she deserves so much more. We have plenty of money now, but she hardly ever asks for anything.

I see her lingering on a page with some white opals amongst a rose gold setting. That has always been one of her favorite stones. I also like them because they come in all different colors, and some look like star clusters.

Before I can say something to her, Chloe calls out from the front desk, "Mr. and Mrs. Clarke, Dr. Wilson will see you now."

Rachel closes her magazine and puts it back in the rack. She rubs her hands against the skirt of her dress before she stands up, wiping them off. We walked together down the hall towards Dr. Wilson's office. The urge to hold her hand comes back, but it's as if the desire I have to touch her isn't being communicated to the rest of my body.

Most of the chairs along the wall are empty, but there are some people sitting alone outside of the rooms.

I wonder why they are by themselves.

"Hello, Rachel, hello Lucas. It's nice to see you both again," Dr. Wilson says as he opens the door to his office. He smiles warmly, as if he has known us for longer than an hour. For some reason, it does seem like we're closer to him now. "Come on in and take a seat." He moves to the side so we can enter the room.

The room is covered in plaques and framed accommodation letters. There's also a plant on every surface and next to every table.

Maybe Dr. Wilson finds it therapeutic to water plants all day.

The dark, midnight blue of the sofa reminds me of the first images I saw of space. I was in the fifth grade, and our teacher put on a space themed week for us. Ever since then, I knew I had to see it for myself.

Rachel moves to sit down. Her deep red dress stretches against her hips as she walks. I miss her terribly, and I know that I could heal some of her pain with my touch.

I wish that I was strong enough to take that leap for both of us.

I take a seat on her left, just a few inches away. The last time we were here it felt like we were miles apart on opposite sides of the sofa. She adjusts slightly next to me, but thankfully she doesn't move away.

"I appreciate both of you making the time to come back this week," Dr. Wilson says encouragingly as he sits down across from us. He opens up that binder again.

I wonder what he's writing in there.

"I would like to start by addressing something I noticed during our first session." He flips through a few pages before stopping. "I noticed that the two of you struggle with physical connection. This is a common issue that gets mixed in with larger problems within marriages. However, it does have some of the greatest impact on a relationship," Dr. Wilson added.

Rachel and I sit silently as we absorb his observation. I know that it's a problem, but it hurts more knowing that someone else can see it, too.

"Could you tell me about the most recent time the two of you shared an intimate moment?" Dr. Wilson asks, looking at Rachel. She hesitates for a moment before answering, rubbing the fabric of her skirt in between her fingers.

"Sure. It was the night he returned from his mission," she whispers.

That was a difficult night.

I run my hand through my hair and scratch the back of my neck. I know that Dr. Wilson needs to hear this story, I just didn't expect to have to talk about it so soon. This was the night I almost lost her again.

#

Seabrook, Texas, Rachel's Office, Monday, August 12th, 2030 at 6:30 am

Rachel

I haphazardly unlocked the door to my office, trying to balance my coffee, phone, bag of tests, and keys in my hands. The smell of hibiscus flowers hit my nose as the door swung open. Lucas always told me how bad these scent plug-ins are, but I couldn't light candles in the school.

Lucas.

My heart started to feel heavy again and my eyes were sore from crying last night. All I could think about was the fact that he comes back today. I didn't know if words could describe the torment I have felt in my heart since he left. I had never craved anything more than to be near Lucas, but the trepidation of whether or not he wanted me back was agonizing.

I sat down at my desk and got started on grading some tests, trying to push Lucas out of my head long enough to be productive. I got about halfway through before I started thinking about my phone call with Anne yesterday morning. She called to confirm flight plans. I told her that I wasn't coming.

"I thought you were going to give Lucas another chance?"

Anne had asked me. She came over about a week ago to tell me that Cooper called, saying that they were coming back almost a month early. They got back this morning.

I decided that it was better for me to not go while he wanted me there, than to go and find out he didn't want me to come at all. If he wanted to see me when he got back then he could come find me. The last eight months had felt as if I was living on a different planet, living someone else's life; a life where I didn't know if I still had Lucas. I closed my eyes, remembering all of the sleepless nights I spent crying, alone. I made so many choices while he was away. There was a twinge of pain in my chest.

I'll have to tell him everything if I see him.

My phone ringing interrupted my train of thought. I moved around the pile of tests I was grading and found it under the 'retake' pile. It was Anne.

"Hello?" I said, resting the phone on my shoulder and under my chin. I flipped open the next test.

"Are you sure you don't want to come today?" Anne's voice was gentle. She asked me this, not in a nagging tone, but one showing that she was genuinely making sure I didn't want to go.

"Yes, I'm sure. I don't know if he wants me there waiting for him," I answered her slowly, setting my red gel pen down. It was missing some of the rubber frills on top because I tend to play with it while I'm grading.

"Okay. Just let me know if you change your mind." she replied. "We can get lunch tomorrow to talk, if you'd like." I smiled at my desk.

Anne is such a good friend. I'm sure she's ecstatic that Cooper is coming home.

I was hurting, but I needed to think about how Anne was feeling, too.

"Thank you, I'm sure I will. I hope that you have a great reunion with Cooper!" I said to her excitedly. "I really mean that, Anne," I added so she knew that I wasn't just saying that.

"Yeah, I will. Thank you. I have to go, Rachel, my cab is here." She was probably headed to the airport. We said our goodbyes and I set my phone back down on my desk. I rested my head in my hands for a moment before finishing up the tests.

The day went by as slowly as you could imagine. Even my lunch break felt long. One of my coworkers turned on the television in the teacher's lounge. I set my lunch bag on the table and glued my eyes to it.

"And here they are, ladies and gentlemen, the brave astronauts are returning from their mission about the International Space Station to perform mandatory maintenance." The camera zoomed in on the sky behind the news reporter, showing a stream of white clouds. I held my breath. The entire room was silent. So many things could go wrong here.

Both exiting and reentering the Earth's atmosphere is dangerous.

Lucas always described it as simple as doing a belly dive into a swimming pool; it's shocking to the system. We all stared at the TV in anticipation. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

"Please be okay," I whispered to myself. I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders. It was Artemis, one of the performing arts teachers.

She's probably my best friend at work.

"It'll be okay," she said quietly behind me. "It has to be." Her presence was comforting. I hadn't blinked since the report began, not wanting to miss seeing Lucas. The seconds felt like hours.

The time you spend hoping for someone to be okay feels like a lifetime.

Just then, a small, red lump appeared in the sky.

"There it is folks, we can see the parachute now. Our astronauts are beginning their descent after entering Earth's atmosphere. Their return shuttle will land in the Atlantic Ocean, where a recovery team will bring the astronauts safely back to shore," the reporter announced. The room erupted into applause.

Thank god, Lucas is okay.

The bell rang and everyone started to pack up. I watched the television, waiting to see Lucas step out of the shuttle. The voices of my coworkers trailed off as they left the room, excitedly chatting about the landing. I started to think about what Anne was doing and how she must be feeling right now.

She's probably pacing around the watch room nervously waiting for Cooper to hop out.

I started to feel guilty. Not because I wasn't there to greet Lucas, but because I wasn't there for Anne. We had been to four of these returns together. It always made it so much more bearable knowing you had someone by your side if something went wrong.

The Coast Guard pulled up in the water next to the shuttle. Waves splashed against the sides as members of the crew stepped out. They were still wearing their helmets so you couldn't see their faces yet. Their white suits were almost reflective under the sunlight.

As they got onto the boat they took them off. The faces of the crew lit up as they felt the warm sun on their skin. The fresh air in their lungs. It was hard to imagine what it would be like to experience going without fresh air and sunlight for eight months. More members of the crew got onto the boat and removed their helmets.

A glimpse of gold bouncing off of one of their strawberry blonde heads caught my eye.

There's Cooper!

I found myself smiling at the TV as I bounced up and down. He leaned his head all the way back, soaking in the warmth. The wind started blowing, and the flags on the boat were waving proudly as the last of the crew stepped out.

Lucas is the tallest but it is hard to tell height from how far away the camera is.

Then I saw him. His black hair was so shiny in the sunlight. He ran his hands through his hair and shook his head, as if he was shaking off the landing. I couldn't quite tell, but I thought he was looking inside of his helmet for a second.

I could see Cooper yell something and the crew yelled back.

They look so happy.

They started hugging and high-fiving each other. I felt a few tears start to form in the corner of my eyes. They still burned from last night.

I'm sure Anne is over the moon right now.

Teachers started pouring into the lounge for the next lunch break. I slipped out of the room before anyone noticed the TV and tried to talk to me. I walked down the hall to my office to get ready for my next class. The walls were decorated with expensive artwork and the occasional bulletin board. Being in this school always made me feel like I'm in a fancy, aristocratic home, as the walls were a cream color with crown molding.

Our offices were embellished with leather furniture and colorful books. Students zoomed past me heading to their next class. I called out the mandatory but favorite, "slow down, those aren't walking feet!" to kids as they passed. I just had to make it through three more periods and then a meeting after work before I could head home. I entered my office, feeling unsure about whether or not Lucas would be at home waiting for me.