In the elevator, Brendon checked his watch. It was past midnight. He found Lauren welcoming him in the foyer. Lauren wanted to take his bag but Brendon prevented her to take the bag, saying "I have to go into the study room anyway. I'll take it."
He entered the study room, took off his bag and jacket on the chair, and turned on the computer. Lauren stood in the doorway, watching him. "Are you hungry? Shall I prepare something?" she asked.
"Thanks, I'm not hungry," Brendon said without looking up from his job. "I have a few reports awaiting confirmation. I'll check them out and go to bed." he added. "Okay…" Lauren said, disappearing from the door.
OTUC was on a very interesting and resounding project. They were experimenting with a new technology in the search for water and living things on other planets. Until this time, human beings had searched for microscopic or macroscopic living things in space. They were basically all living things humans could see.
OTUC was working on a device that could break new ground in researching living things that are more or less capable of hearing and seeing than human beings. Due to the concepts of "the other world" and "the hereafter", in the 1900s, people presented ideas for researching spiritual beings in space, and they came up with the idea of scanning with lights of different wavelengths or scanning low-frequency sounds, but they gave up on this idea due to the lack of evidence of the belief in the hereafter in current science.
Based on this idea, Brendon and a few of his friends would try something new with the technologies offered by the twenty-second century for sound at frequencies that are too low or high for the human ear to hear, and images at wavelengths that they cannot see. The production of the item was completed and the R&D laboratory was about to complete Phase 3 work. Since the official launch of the product was close, Brendon was working too hard.
After seeing the report confirmations, he replied to several emails and turned off the computer. He yawned enough to bring tears to his eyes. He was too tired to take a shower. He got up from his chair, grabbed his jacket and left the room.
Through the half-open door he saw the blond hair of Michelin sleeping in her crib. He stood for a while at the door of Michelin's room and watched her. Margaret now stayed with them at night, 3 days a week. Today was a day without Margaret. So it was a day when Lauren was more nervous.
Almost a month had passed since the well incident. Lauren has had no problems with her delusions since then. Or she said she didn't experience it. During this period, she was subjected to a number of neurological and psychiatric tests, and they all looked normal. Everything was back to normal, except for Lauren's depressed and soured mood.
As much as Michelin wanted to, Lauren still wouldn't approach her for fear that she might hurt her. If Brendon or Margaret were at home, they were both in a slightly better mood. But Lauren was also distant towards Brendon. As a married woman, she did not lack interest, concern and care for her husband, but something was colder.
Brendon hadn't asked about it because there was nothing concrete. Lauren's love for Michelin had not changed, but Brendon had come to think that Lauren's love for him had changed. A heaviness fell on his heart. The idea of Lauren being alienated from him saddened him, but god knows if Brendon knew he was upset about it.
"At least she's waiting for me every night," he thought. Lauren hadn't been sleeping since his business got busy. He guessed that it was because of the nightmares she sometimes had and that she didn't want to sleep alone, but Lauren had waited so excitedly for him, and whenever she said, "Are you hungry?" Brendon liked that. Lauren was always waiting for him, even though he had told her several times not to wait for him to sleep.
Even as the second semester had begun, Lauren was waiting for him with no sign of fatigue. Thinking about this, he calmed himself down and went to the bedroom. He thought Lauren was already in bed, but he found Lauren standing on the bed pulling clean pajamas for Brendon. The bathroom door was open, and steam, visible by the light from the door, was coming towards the bedroom.
As Brendon put down his dragged jacket, Lauren approached him and slowly unbuttoned Brendon's tie without saying a word. She unbuttoned his shirt. "It feels like you're my mom because you didn't do it with a kiss," Brendon said with a tired smile.
"Where is your mind, even though you're so tired that your eyes are popping out of their sockets?" asked Lauren and pulled the shirt off his sleeves. She didn't laugh like Brendon did. But her face looked softer.
"Kiss isn't for only that job, after all," Brendon said, gently grabbing Lauren's wrist and looking at her. His hands slid from Lauren's wrist to her hands. He raised her clenched left hand and brought it to his lips. He kissed the finger with the wedding ring.
Lauren moved a little closer to Brendon and rested her head on Brendon's chest. Brendon hugged Lauren. Lauren was raising her arms to Brendon's neck when she caught herself in fists. "The bathroom is ready," she said. She freed herself from Brendon's arms and led him to the bathroom.
Brendon slid into the tub already prepared by Lauren. Throwing his head back, he saw the black sky through the window above him. It wasn't actually a cloudy night. It was a mildly warm September night. Unfortunately, they did not live in a time when they could see the stars at night. Brendon was excited to see one. He wondered which one he saw based on his position. He tried to calculate in his head, but then realized that what he had done was futile, he sighed. He couldn't remember with his sloppy knowledge from college.
The tub in the bedroom bathroom was smaller than the master bathroom. He pulled an outstretched foot into the water, breaking his knee. That's when Lauren walked in. She had come out of the bathroom after hearing Michelin's crying while she was scrubbing Brendon.
"It's two o'clock. Aren't you going to get out of there?" Lauren asked. Without answering, Brendon snuggled a little further into the tub. Lauren sat down beside Brendon with a tender smile. Brendon turned his head towards her and said, "I'll sleep here."
Lauren replied, "You get sick." With a sigh, she got up from her seat and sat on the edge of the tub with her legs turned inward. She placed Brendon's head between her legs and began massaging her forehead.
"When will this pace stop?" she asked. Closing his eyes, Brendon replied, "This is because we're getting ready for the launch on the 21st of this month. Then we will relax."
Lauren's fingers went to Brendon's stiff neck muscles. The gentle but constant finger movements made Brendon even more comfortable. He forgot about the resentment that he had not received in response to his kiss and hug just now.
He closed his eyes and threw his head back, dropping it into Lauren's lap. Lauren started massaging the temples again. Brendon muttered, "I'm thinking of taking the day off when this is over." Then, laughing to himself, "I wouldn't believe it if they said I'd ask for a day off." he thought.
He was diving in the languor of the warm water and sweet massage when he felt the soft lips touch his lips. It was a short, small but emotional touch. Lauren looked up and said, "It surprises you that you're tired enough to ask permission, but it worries me."
She left the massage and got up from her seat. She walked out of the bathroom before the kiss, because she couldn't contain herself, fired up Brendon and before he pulled Lauren into the tub—before Brendon could come back from the kiss. "You don't have to deal with the bathroom. I'll handle it in the morning." Lauren said.
…
While Lauren was feeding Michelin at lunch, the internet channel's newsletter was on in the living room. The news in the tech bulletin caught her attention. The news was talking about a life-searching device that will be unveiled at a major capital tech fair starting September 20.
The 21st of the month was decided as the promotion day because that day had a meaning and importance. Two years ago, humanity had reached the last point it could reach in the universe. A spaceship led by astronaut Olivie Bruciati had orbited a planet they named PG001, and a few months and weeks later the chief astronaut set foot on the planet and then returned.
After the news, a talk show started. They continued to talk about this planet. The guest scientist said, "This planet has a thick atmosphere. However, it is not suitable for human life. Although the gas content is completely different, the density ratios are almost the same as the Earth's atmosphere."
Host asked, "Did that create any hope that there might be life out there?"
The guest replied, "Basically, although there are many things similar to Earth, it is a planet that has nothing to do with Earth. At least for the plant and animal kingdom here, life is impossible."
There were even great bismuth seas on that planet. Even the freezing of bismuth and water was similar. A demonstration video was played. A liquid was freezing that Lauren couldn't hear what it was. The scientist said that this liquid is a pure element. As the liquid in the glass jar froze, it started to freeze from the bottom. There was water in another glass jar on the side. When they started to freeze the water, it started to freeze from the environment in the opposite direction of the other element.
The scientist said "There are few elements in nature that freeze in this way. Bismuth and antimony, like water, begin to freeze from its surroundings in this way. Other elements are just the opposite. Imagine if water started to freeze from the bottom like other elements? There would be nothing left in the name of life in the seas."
The presence of seas from a water-like element on that planet made us think that a living species could be encountered whose basic substance could be bismuth, but a planet that was hot enough to liquefy bismuth was at a minimum of 271 degrees Celsius, and although there was life there, humanity did not have an environment that was durable enough to conduct research. No living species were found in the samples taken from the planet.
When Michelin turned her head to show that she was full, the food from the spoon spilled onto the apron on the spoon. She chuckled as she realized it had spilled on her. Lauren put the bowl of food aside and with the help of a napkin, she cleaned up any spills from the apron.
Margaret came up to them, took the Michelin in her arms to clean it, and they went into the room. Lauren began to collect toys she used to keep Michelin busy while she was eating. At the time, the second guest of the panel was answering a question about the history of planetary exploration.
"Actually, PG001 was not a planet that was first discovered two years ago."
Lauren paid attention to the screen. On the screen was a photograph of the planet taken eighteen years ago.
"It may have been two years ago that the planet was first set foot, but eighteen years ago a research team landed in its orbit. A few people from the fleet led by Dominic Walker wanted to prepare to land on the planet, but due to a technical glitch, the pioneering unmanned device they sent to the planet was inoperable. That's why they came back."
Then a photo of the research team that went to that planet eighteen years ago hit the screen. When Lauren heard the name, attention was drawn to the screen. At that moment Margaret left the room with Michelin and sat next to Lauren. When Margaret saw the picture on the screen, she said, "Are they talking about Mr. Walker's team? What nostalgia!"
"How much does Brendon look like his father…" Lauren muttered, still staring at the screen.
"Even his tone resembles that of his father…" Margaret said with a laugh. Turning to Margaret, Lauren said, "I've looked through albums about his parents, but I don't remember seeing her father at all."
Turning to Lauren, Margaret replied, "He didn't spend much time on earth due to his job, but he offered a very comfortable life for the Young Master. However, this situation did not change the growth of the motherless Young Master without seeing his father."
Michelin freed Margaret's arm and grabbed the sides of the sofa and started toward Lauren. At the same time, she was whistling with joy. It's like, "Look, I'm walking towards you." as if she meant it. But Lauren didn't pay attention to Michelin, as she was frozen by what she saw on the screen. A picture of a well with which she was quite familiar appeared on the screen.
When astronaut Olivie Briciati, returning from PG001 two years ago, landed on the planet, he found and brought to this world the small unmanned robot that was sent to this planet eighteen years before him. The device, covered with the bismuth element, which is abundant in that world, was left in this well at the request of the astronaut as a souvenir.
In fact, the astronaut said that day, "After his return, I wanted to present the device to Walker's team to give as a gift. But Dominic Walker himself asked me to bury that device. I couldn't say no to this request, but I couldn't afford to bury it in the ground. That's why I wanted to leave it in this well in the garden of the largest astronomical society in the country."
Lightning flashed in Lauren's mind. Although she couldn't quite express what was on her mind, it was as if something had come to light.
Lauren was snapped out of her thoughts as Michelin threw herself into Lauren's lap. Hug the Michelin and "Well done, honey." she said and patted her head. She played with Michelin to calm her own excitement.