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twenty
“I will makeyou love physics and your life will never be the same.”—Walter Lewin
Grace shifted from foot to foot. She stood in line at the coffee shop just around the corner from the labs. She inhaled and sighed. Nirvana achieved. All around her were the sounds and smells of a busy morning; the smell of fresh coffee and pastries energized her, although that could also be attributed to her weekend away with Anton.
She smiled, turning to look at him beside her in line. They had come back early that morning in preparation for a new work week. She was optimistic about their chances of discovering the data thief, and he was invested in pursuing an idea that had struck him on their drive into town.
She glanced at him, scribbling in a small notebook with an expression of concentration that told her he was wholly unaware of the world around him. It was a faraway, focused look that she had glimpsed many times on Lou when she was deep in her work.
Beyond understanding that the idea which had sprung into Anton’s mind was connected with Lou’s research, Grace hadn’t been able to follow much of it, which was both exciting and disappointing. The idea had come out of her asking if he wanted an everything bagel for breakfast. How that made him excited, or connected to anything science-y, was beyond her, but she was familiar enough with Lou’s work patterns to know when to let the geniuses be manic. If only she could connect the dots to understand exactly what it was…
“Hey there, Grace!” The barista smiling at her jarred Grace from her contemplation, and she stepped forward with a smile.
“Morning, Marie.” Grace gave her a wave. “How’s it been around here?”
“Busy. I didn’t see you this weekend and got worried. Everything alright?”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you. I went out of town for the weekend with my boyfriend.” She jerked a thumb at Anton, who managed to lift his head from the notebook with an absent-minded smile on his face and a nod at the barista, who blew out a whistle under her breath.
“You two are cute.” She grinned at Grace and then began reaching for a stack of cups. “Your usual twenty coffees?”
Grace nodded, already counting out her money. “Please, and whatever bagels you have, too.”
“You got it.” The barista gave her a thumbs-up, and her eyes widened at the tip Grace dropped in the jar. “Gracie, that’s too much! You always do that.”
Grace flapped a hand at her. “Listen here, you’re like my really cool drug dealer, and I have a lab full of addicts. You deserve only the best the universe has to offer. Now, take my money. All of it.”
“Bless you,” the barista said, and inclined her head as she filled the coffees.
“Back atcha,” Grace said, giving the barista finger guns.
She turned, looking for Anton, and rolled her eyes at seeing his dark head bent over his notebook as he continued to write. He hadn’t so much as moved a muscle save for the flicking of his pen across the notebook in front of him. She bet if she left him to his own devices he’d stay exactly as he was until he burned himself out. He’d no doubt stay oblivious to all the hustle and bustle around him, a feat in the busy coffee shop. Whatever it was that he worked on had to be good.
“Hey, space cadet.” She bumped his shoulder with her own and almost laughed when he startled.
He jerked up from the table with a yelp. “I didn’t do it,” he exclaimed, hands snapping his notebook shut.
“You and Lou are so weird when you go on a bender,” she replied, nudging his notebook with a finger. “What are you working on again?”
He ran a hand through his hair with a distracted shrug. “I had an idea as we drove in…”
“You mean, because of the bagel?” she asked.
He blinked at her. “Bagel? What bagel?”
She pursed her lips but knew this was par for the course with scientists, so she shook her head. “Never mind. Tell me about the idea.”
He tapped a finger on the journal. “I think I can help with Lou’s research if I start over with RED’s parameters.”
“The stolen infrared telescope?” she asked him.
He nodded as he paged through his notebook with a smile. “RED was focused on seeing gamma waves—the sort of energy you get when solar systems are created.”
Okay, she sort of understood that because of Lou’s work. “Aren’t pulsar waves included in that?”
“They are, but RED wasn’t looking at it the way Lou needed. You two are trying to find gravity, to look at the way it operates in space where things are more...bendy. I’m pretty sure I can outfit RED specifically for capturing how pulsar waves behave, and then we can look at the nitty gritty of gravity. It would be perfect with the modifications we are already making to Betsy.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Really?” she asked, leaning across the table towards him. She glanced around, suddenly wondering if anyone was listening to them. To most people it would sound like nonsense, but to a mole? Well, it would be a lot to a mole. She hadn’t forgotten about her list, even if Anton hadn’t liked it. She scanned the cafe while Anton spoke but didn’t see anyone she recognized.
