Page 57 of Space Junk: Houston, We Have a Hottie
Jesus, I’m already moving her in with me in my head.Get a grip, man.
Carefully, I lean the frames back against the wall and step away.
Besides the cool couch and kitchen table, everything looks like it came straight from a garage sale or college dorm. I’m about to park myself on the sofa when I hear voices from where Jackie had disappeared. Not too proud to snoop, I lean on the wall next to the door and listen in.
“So, I was thinking of my Converse, jeans and maybe one of the new tops you brought.” There’s a thud. “Sorry, I dropped the phone. Hold on, let me put you on speaker. I can’t go through all these clothes with one hand,” Jackie says.
There’s some shuffling and then my sister’s voice comes through. I mentally roll my eyes. Rose doesn’t need to be put on speaker to be heard.
“What is it with you and Converse?” Rose asks.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you dress like a kid.”
“Chucks are cool,” Jackie insists.
“Chucks?”
“Yeah, that’s what Converse All Stars are called—Chucks. After basketball player Charles Taylor, who wore and sold the shoes. A lot of basketball players wore them after that, as did athletes in the Olympics. Even soldiers sported them in basic training during World War II.”
“Why do you know all that? Never mind, don’t answer. You know everything.”
I want to slap my sister for that remark, especially when Jackie remains silent.
“I’m sorry,” Rose says. “I’m being a bitch. I’m just trying to figure out why you wear, despite their interesting history, what are now considered high school boy shoes all the time.”
Jackie’s voice sounds small at first. “They aren’t high school boy shoes.” Another pause. “Okay, maybe they are, but they’re cool. There are photos all over NASA of John Glenn wearing Chucks during astronaut training.”
“Sometimes I wonder how crowded your brain must be.” Rose sighs. “Anyway. John Glenn’s heyday was before you were born. Why this obsession? It’s like you want to live and dress like a 1960s dude.”
“I like NASA and its history. Nothing weird about that.”
“You are crazy stupid smart. I don’t get it. You could be designing an interstellar satellite, making millions in the private industry, or inventing a freaking time machine. Why this obsession with NASA?”
Jackie mumbles something and I press my ear to the door.
“What?” Rose asks.
“‘Cause my mom loved it, okay?”
“Wait. What? I thought your mom...”
“Yeah, she died after I was born. My dad never really talks about her, but when I was little, I found all this NASA stuff she collected. News clippings from the time of the space race, astronomy books. Turns out she was a big space nerd. She would chart stars and once even went to Florida to watch a launch. She was a real NASA geek.”
“Oh.”
“So, when I got older I started reading about the Mercury 7 and all the Apollo missions. I loved the idea of space being the last uncharted territory.” There’s more shuffling. “It was the one topic my dad would talk to me about that wasn’t about his research or my grades. And… I don’t know, I guess I think my mom would have thought me working at NASA was cool too.”
“Yeah, Jackie. I’m sure she would’ve.”
I had to strain to hear my sister. For once she’s speaking at a normal decibel level.
Jackie sniffs, and that’s all I can take. I stride into the room.
“Flynn!” Jackie’s hands go to her towel, which is precariously wrapped around her breasts.
“Is that my brother?” Rose shouts in her normal pitch.
