Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97846 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97846 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
I chuckled. “Yeah, it’s a little weird.”
“You know how to do this?” She stepped closer and looked it over.
“Do it every day.”
“What does it mean?”
“Well, this is actually physics. We were trying to understand the way the centripetal force would affect the astronauts inside the shuttle of this particular rocket, since the thruster design is a little different.”
Lizzie looked amazed. “Whoa, that’s sick.”
“Yeah…sick.” I found her terminology humorous since it made literally no sense.
“I can’t wait to take physics.”
I didn’t want to tell her it was probably the most difficult subject because I didn’t want to discourage her. “You can take it in high school, probably when you’re a sophomore or junior.”
“Cool. I’ve got the best tutor, so I’ll ace it.”
My heart suddenly warmed when she said that, because she believed in herself and believed in me, and it just felt good for inexplicable reasons. “Yeah.”
“So, can we see the rocket now?”
“Sure.” We walked back to the entrance, and Emerson tagged along. We got in the golf cart, drove across the asphalt to the hangar, and then parked and walked inside.
The look on Lizzie’s face was unforgettable. “This is the coolest shit I’ve ever seen!” She walked ahead of us and got closer, seeing the engineers work to piece it together, focusing on different parts.
“Wow.” Emerson crossed her arms over her chest. “I never thought in a million years that my daughter would be so interested in science.” She turned to me, giving me a look full of accusation, like I was entirely responsible.
“Most people aren’t interested in science because they aren’t given a reason to be.”
She gave me a soft smile before she watched her daughter get close to the rocket and look high up, forty feet in the air, to its new height.
I stood with my hands in my pockets and admired how hard everyone was working to meet the deadline of the test launch. “So, do you have plans for Thanksgiving?”
“I usually cook for my parents and Lizzie, and we watch Christmas movies while Lizzie looks at all the ads for Black Friday and makes a ridiculously long list of presents that I can’t possibly afford to buy her.” She chuckled. “What about you?”
“My family usually goes to our cabin in Connecticut. Sometimes we get snow.”
“Oh, that will be nice.”
“My parents asked me to invite you and Lizzie to come.”
She slowly turned back to me, surprised by the offer. “Really?”
“I told them you would probably have your own plans on Thanksgiving, so we thought we could have another celebration on Friday…if that’s something you’d want to do.”
She pivoted her body toward me entirely, her eyes incredulous. “Your parents are willing to cook Thanksgiving dinner and then do it all over again the next day just for Lizzie and me?”
“Well, they’ll cook on Thanksgiving because it’s a holiday, but on Friday, they’ll probably have a chef do it, so don’t feel bad thinking you’re making a ton of work for them.”
“Still, that’s really sweet.”
“Who doesn’t like two Thanksgivings?” I asked. “So, is that a yes?”
Even though a ton of my employees were standing there, she moved into me and kissed me on the mouth, her arm wrapping around my shoulders as she pulled me close, blanketing me in affection like she couldn’t care less what anyone thought. “I’d love to.”
Ryan didn’t mention Kevin again.
After our last conversation, that finally seemed to be the end of it.
Kevin had his chance to talk to me, and now that he knew how that conversation would pan out, his curiosity should be satiated. And I made a very valid point with Ryan, so that shit was finished.
Ryan sat across from me at the bar, the snow coming down outside the window. We were in a booth right up against the glass with a view. “Snow came early this year.”
“Yeah, it’s gonna be cold this winter.”
“Thank god we work inside, right?” He turned back to me. “Will you be able to test your rocket in these conditions?”
“The winter isn’t the problem, but we wouldn’t launch in the wind or snow.”
He nodded then grabbed his beer. “It’s so cold I actually wish my beer was warm.”
“That’s fucking gross.” I laughed because when I imagined steam coming from his beer, it seemed so ridiculous.
“Yeah, good point. So, you’ve been getting along with Emerson’s daughter pretty well?”
“Yeah,” I said with a nod. “She’s great.”
“Really? I have no idea what twelve-year-olds are even like.”
“Well, Lizzie is very smart, has an attitude, is interesting, easy to talk to… She’s like an adult, honestly. She obviously doesn’t know as much as an adult, but she’s really good at conversing with people, just like her mom, so I think that’s why it’s so easy for us to get along. I took her to my compound so she could see my research and the rocket, and she was really into it. She’s developing an appreciation for math and science, which is pretty cool.”