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I had a nice chance to speak with her about her experiences after Alexa left on the trip with me, and I felt a great deal closer to her. Something about nearly losing her life made her even more open and talkative. She relished seeing our videos of the trip and while she had done some traveling, she spent most of it in the air and on land.
"I envy you the ability to travel around the world on a sailboat. Alexa said it's the best time she's had in her life, so I'm really glad you two went."
"Me, too," I said. "It has been the best time of my life as well. I'm glad that I used the wrong email. It goes to show you how
the smallest thing can change the course of your life forever."
"That it does," she said, patting the cast on her leg, giving me a rueful laugh. "I'll be out of commission for another few months. Luckily, my advisor is really flexible. He said I could work from home and he'd give me extensions on my papers. I'll be able to catch up over the summer."
"How long before you finish?" I asked, wondering how much longer she had to finish her MA.
"Two more semesters, and then I write my thesis."
We sat watching television for a while. Finally, she turned to me.
"So, what's happening with your plans for Martian conquest? Once you and Alexa return to Manhattan, Alexa said you're going to get into the space business."
"I am," I said, taking a sip of my beer. "I'd like to create something that will outlast me. Chatter was fun, but it's just a social media company for teenagers. I want a lasting legacy. I want my name on something that will live on after I die and that may help humanity save themselves, in case some disaster happens on Earth."
"That's noble," she said. "What will that involve? Are you talking Cape Canaveral or the Space Center in California?"
"I don't know yet. Depends on which of two space-race billionaires I partner with. They both operate out of Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg in California. But also, there are test facilities in Texas and other locations. That's all up in the air still."
"Alexa's starting her PhD in the fall, though," she said. "Will you be staying in Manhattan or moving to Florida or California?"
I shook my head. "I don't plan on moving away any time soon. Alexa and I will get married and decide where to live based on what's happening with her PhD and my business interests. Once her course work is over, she can go anywhere to write her dissertation."
I shrugged, not really having worried about it too much. My Mars plans were on hold, at least until Alexa was finished with her coursework.
"We'll find a way to work both our plans into our schedules," I said and smiled at Candace. "Alexa wanted to move to Europe and work for the UN somewhere. Maybe I'll become involved with the European Space program."
She nodded and seemed satisfied that I wasn't going to ruin Alexa's plans for her future.
After Mrs. Carter went home, we stayed at the hotel because I had sold my apartment before we left on our round-the-world trip. We made daily trips to visit with Candace and make sure that everything was in place so that the two of us could leave and finish our journey, traveling up the coast of South America and then through the Caribbean. Finally, we'd sail to Florida and back to Manhattan. We did plan on timing it so we could hit one of the SpaceX launches at Cape Canaveral, so we wanted to get home in time for that. Plus, Alexa was starting her PhD at the end of August. It was going to be a very busy year.
When Alexa finally felt that Candace was well enough for us to leave, we said a reluctant goodbye to her and took a taxi to the airport, where we caught our flight to Atlanta and then down to Sao Paolo by way of Rio. The flight was long, with two stopovers, and when we finally arrived back in Sao Paolo, I was so glad to see The Phoenix in its slip at the marina, waiting for us.
Our first night back, we were alone since John and Greg weren’t going to join us for a few days. We had The Phoenix to ourselves and were going to spend our time luxuriating in the solitude together, restock the refrigerator and freezer, and get ready for the next leg of our journey.
That first night, the first that we'd been alone together in over six weeks, we made up for lost time. The weather was fine and so we took the cat out for a different anchor, far enough away from civilization that we were alone and could swim in the warm bay and sleep out under the stars, wrapped in blankets because at that time of year, the nights were cool on the water, getting down to fifty degrees at night.
"I'm so glad we're back," I said to her, lying with her in my arms after we'd finished making love for the second time. "I missed this."
"I missed this, too," she replied. "I felt so afraid that having survived the fall and brain injury, Candace would die because of an infection. It seemed like we'd just got our hopes up about her prognosis, only to have them dashed."
"How did she get the infection?"
Alexa frowned. "Hospitals are colonized with these drug-resistant bacteria. No matter what they do, they can't totally eradicate it. I read a study that said there were these resistant bacteria everywhere."
I shook my head, shocked at how dangerous hospitals had become.
When John finally arrived, we prepared The Phoenix for the next leg of our trip, restocking it and making sure everything was in working order. We watched the weather and were happy to see it would be good over the next few weeks, which would put us in good stead for the trip up to coast of South America. Our trip would take us north east along the coast and then around and up into the Caribbean to Florida. It would take at least four weeks, and maybe longer, depending on weather, to get to Cape Canaveral for the space launch, but we set off with high hopes that we'd have smooth sailing, now that the worst of Candace's injury and infection were over.
Our last night in port near Sao Paolo was spent catching up with each other's events back home, commiserating over sick friends and family, and looking forward to the next month together.
As my year away from Manhattan was coming to an end, I reflected on how much my life had changed since that fateful night when I messaged Lexxi911 and asked her to join me for a family dinner.
The three of us laughed about it the night before we raised the anchor and left Sao Paulo.
