The conversation shifts to Maeve’s many cousins and what they are up to. Hours pass over tea and biscuits.
The room grows dark. At first, the light is switched on, then the blinds are drawn, and the conversation turns to where they will sleep.
“There’s a nice little bed for you, Derek, beside the front door. It could be quite tight with the wheelchair, though. And Maeve, you can sleep in the bed beside mine.”
She was right. There was no chance of turning the wheelchair into the room. Derek crawls out of the wheelchair and into the low-rise bed.
Exhausted now, he thinks of what a crazy day he’s had.
His eyelids close, and he drifts off.
*************************
Three weeks previously…
An alarm goes off in Derek’s room. He stretches and opens his eyes. For the first time in quite a while, he can’t help but feel enthusiastic about what lies ahead.
No work, no worries. He had been planning this trip for over a month. The Jupiter Fair.
Jupiter had always entranced Derek. A place where you could be free with just the right amount of human civilization. Aviris 6 was the stuff of legend. Get rich or die within 24 hours.
Mark's Writing Corner 