Some days there weren't enough hours in the day. Immediately after the interview, I got a holo from my mom asking me to pick her up at the hospital. "They're discharging you?" I inquired.
"Said so a few hours ago, so it should be about time," she replied.
"I'm on my way, Mom. Don't disconnect anything until the doctor clears you," I warned her. I wasn't joking. If you knew my mother, you knew Margaret Jeanne had no patience for hospitals. When the doctors didn't subscribe to her timetable, she would disconnect herself and walk out once she started feeling well enough.
"Let's stop and get food on the way home," Mom suggested. "I need something filling and tasty. The hospital food was okay, but so bland."
"Dad will want fried chicken, but we just had that the other day. Do you feel like burgers?" I asked.
"Want to get South of the Equator? We'll pick up burgers for your dad and Fred afterward."
"Deal." I quickly holo-ed my father to let him know why I would be late. He was watching the holo5 and barely acknowledged me. When I arrived at the hospital to take my mother home, the staff still had not brought around the discharge tablet. Mom had removed all of her adhered monitoring tubes and disconnected her machines to stop their "infernal" beeping. While I convinced her to stay put and watch the holo5 in her room, I reviewed the information from Joint Space Force Enterprises.
Considering I went to the interviews mostly out of curiosity from the job posters, the actual job looked interesting. If nothing else, it should really inform well for my writing in the future. The job would basically require you to board there a majority of the time, in a currently technologically deprived area. Could I live without my tablet? If my mom hadn't been discharged from the hospital, I don't know if I would be leaning toward staying, but since she was coming home and could take care of my dad, I kind of wanted the adventure.
If it didn't work out, I could always quit. The pay would be great though as they needed you to stay on site, so effectively working continuously. The contract was for about six months on Earth, but would equate to three months on the newly discovered planet. The days of the new planet appeared to have a 51 hour cycle according to the documentation on my tablet.
Over dinner, I solicited advice from my mother. "Did I ever tell you about the time I tubed through Europe?" my mom asked me in response.
"No. When did you do that?"
"I never did. Your dad and I will be fine. It's not like you're leaving forever. It will be like it was when you went away for summer college programs and leadership conferences and writing workshops. We survived all of those times. We even prevailed when you moved clear across to the East Coast."
"You and dad aren't young anymore. My biggest concern is if something happens and I'm not able to get here or even get a holo, but I am kind of looking forward to seeing how much watching the History channel has prepared me for living without tech."
"Remember, CJ, this is just a job you are undertaking. You can quit if things don't work out. Don't make this opportunity one you'd regret."
"You're right," I agreed with my mom. Later that evening, I filled in all my data and gave the requisite blood samples to complete my onboarding. In two days, I would be reporting to a new planet for my next job.