The International Space Station, Tuesday, June 25th, 2030 at 7:00 pm (Houston Time)

Lucas

My MP3 player started floating in front of my face as I neared the end of my work out. I hadn't realized that I had already been running for forty-five minutes. When you were on the ISS, you had to spend at least 2 hours a day exercising so your bones and muscles didn't get too weak.

"Man, you were on there for a long time!" Cooper said to me as I untied the strap from my waist that was holding me to the treadmill. It was connected to two posts on either side to prevent you from floating away while you ran. I grabbed onto the bar on the other side of the treadmill to pull myself towards where my water was. We didn't use open containers when we were on the ISS, otherwise the fluid would float away. We drank all of our liquids from a pouch. I sucked on the nozzle and finished the remainder of my water.

"Yeah, sorry you can have it now," I apologized.

Cooper strapped himself into the treadmill. My head was just centimeters away from the ceiling in every room on this thing. I am six foot four, which is the maximum height requirement for astronauts. Moving around this place wasn't that much more difficult, though. You just had to watch your legs when you kicked around a corner to make sure no one was there. Although, it wouldn't hurt much because it's hard to exert force up here.

"Everything okay, man?" Cooper asked me as he started running. "You seem a little down in the swamp today."

I was trying to hide my somber mood from the rest of the crew, but obviously I couldn't keep anything from Cooper.

"I'm alright," I answered him as I wiped off my face with my gray t-shirt. "Today is Rachel's birthday, that's all." I sighed heavily as I thought about missing her day.

Cooper turned off the treadmill and stared at me.

"Ahh, shit, man. Have you talked to her since we left?" he asked as he sucked down some of his water pouch. He just started running so I knew he wasn't thirsty, but Cooper has similar anxious tendencies to Rachel. Neither of them could sit still for very long.

I shook my head at him. He nodded slowly and furrowed his brows at me.

"Well, why the hell not? I thought you wanted to make things work?" he shook his water pouch at me, and the fluid inside sloshed around slowly.

"I do. I just haven't been able to figure out what to say to her," I clarified.

Cooper shook his head at me again.

"You've gotta say somethin', man." His southern twang always made him sound energetic and positive. If someone was listening to us right now they wouldn't think Cooper is as pissed at me as he actually was. "It's her birthday for God's sake," he growls.

He's right. I should say something to her.

Normally for Rachel's birthday we would go out to dinner with just the two of us, and then she did something separate with her friends.

I know that she wishes I would hangout with them more, I'm just not as social as she is.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. I'll figure something out tonight." I pulled myself over to the doorway. They were square shaped and not tall enough to stand upright in; you had to move horizontally from room to room in here.

"I'm supposed to chat with my parents soon," I said as I started to leave. Cooper turned the treadmill back on.

"I'll come say howdy when you call!" he shouted to me as he blasted his music on and started running.

I began pulling myself towards the living room. Every inch of the walls on the ISS were covered in padding, electronics, buttons, hatches, and cords. We had to memorize where everything goes and what everything does before we could come up here.

The preparation for missions was usually around eighteen months, but could be as little as six depending on the amount of training you've logged. There are typically three hundred hours required before you can enlist for a mission. I've been an astronaut since I turned twenty three, and have completed thousands of hours in training simulators and modules. I technically volunteered for this mission, but had already been training for it with the crew for the previous six months. We began training right after we returned from the mission prior.

"Hey, Clarke, I need you to go and check if the light turns on in the living room for me," Samson called out to me as I passed him in the hall.

"Sure," I pulled myself into the living room where two other crew members were playing with a basketball. The way we had to play didn't allow us to follow all of the rules of traveling because we couldn't dribble the ball. I watched Tran and Sokolov taking turns shooting from different spots.

Looks like they're playing 'horse'.

Tran threw it hard from the opposite side of the room while squatting on the back of the couch and made it.

"Ha! Now you have to do it from here!" he held his position so Sokolov knew exactly how to sit.

He dragged himself over to the couch and made an attempt. The ball hit the backboard but didn't go into the hole.

"That's 'r'!" Tran shouted at him as he found a new complicated position to shoot from. Just then a relaxing, pink light turned on by the television.

I totally forgot that I was supposed to be watching for that.

I leaned back out into the hall, holding onto the square doorway. I couldn't see Samson, so I just talked to him through my headset.

"Hey, Samson, the light came on," I said into my microphone.

We could communicate without them, but with only six of us up here we were usually quite spread out. The space station measures three hundred and fifty seven feet from one end to the next.

"Roger that," I heard from the other end.

He came floating into the living room.

"Hey, the TV works again! We can finish the game!" the other two cheered as they strapped themselves into the couch. Samson went to turn on the basketball game.

I see, that's why they were in the mood to play 'horse'.

Whenever we had to fix something on board, you needed several crew members to help you check if it works. The TV may not sound like a priority to repair, but down time was crucial for our mental health.

I was watching the game with them for a few minutes when I heard something in my headset.

"Hey, Clarke, it's your turn to use the computer!" that was the last member of our crew, Jennings. It was time to go and call my parents.

I enjoyed talking with them, but they were very high energy and I was usually exhausted after listening to their stories. Rachel loved talking with them, and I relied on her during visits to do most of the storytelling. They didn't know anything about what was going on between Rachel and me. I didn't want them to find out about any of it, I just wanted everything to go back to normal.

My heart started to ache. I missed her so much. I had no idea what she had been up to since I left, but I spent most of my free time imagining the worst.

I squeezed into the seat in the computer room. The room was no bigger than your average hall closet. I logged in with my credentials and made the connection home, taking a deep breath to prepare myself.

"Hi Mom, hi Dad," I said as my parents popped up on the computer screen. It looked like they were in the home office. There was a large bookshelf behind them; it was littered with my high school and college accomplishments.

"Hello, my son!" my father exclaimed.

His bald head looked shiny under the light of their office lamp. It was about seven in the evening in Houston right now.

"Our beautiful son!" my mother yelled even louder.

She had a straight black bob like Cleopatra, and loved colorful makeup. She was pretty good at it, as she owned a beauty parlor downtown.

"Hey, how are you guys?" I asked as I smiled at their glowing faces.

"Oh don't even worry about us, honey! We want to hear about you! How is space?"

I chuckled. I always thought it was funny when someone phrases the question like that.

"Space is good, Mom. I've got a great view." I looked out the window to my left. I could see the Earth crystal clear.

The ISS orbited the earth once every ninety minutes. As we orbited the earth we were in daylight for about forty-five minutes and darkness for another forty-five minutes. This meant that I got to see the sunrise and the sunset sixteen times a day if I was close enough to a window to see. Rachel always loved to hear my descriptions of what a sunset looks like when you can see the Earth from a distance. I always told her that it was quite beautiful, but not as beautiful as her.

"Make sure that you bring home lots of pictures!" my mother shouted. "Last time we only got like three with you in them."

My mother loved photos, and so did Rachel. It was why our hallway at home was already full.

"Okay, I will float in more of them this time." I shook my head at them endearingly as we continued to catch up.

"Oh, we had a wonderful visit with Rachel earlier today!" my father added.

My heart skipped a beat when I heard her name out loud.

"Yeah? How so?" I wanted to hear all about it. I started to imagine her in a colorful dress with her long dark hair pinned back, her curls falling off of her delicate shoulders and touching her back.

Rachel has such a beautiful face, and I've always loved it when she puts her hair back.

"Well we stopped by to give her some birthday treats!" my mother said as she waved her hand at me. "It was just a quick visit."

I used to be really creative with notes and small gadgets that I would leave around the house for her to find. Sometimes it was a little robot that wished her happy birthday, or some sort of constellation I drew out.

"Anne, Nicole, and her sister, Sophie, were over. It was nice to catch up with them. Rachel made some delicious chocolate chip cookies that she let us steal," my father held up a plastic container he had in his lap.

"Are you eating them right now?" I asked as I laughed loudly.

My father grinned as he took one out of the container.

"Yeah, and I'm almost out. We are going to have to go back," he laughed as he elbowed my mom with the container. My mother rolled her eyes at him playfully, until she had a sudden look of surprise on her face.

"Oh! Lucas! I almost forgot!" she shouted. "I absolutely adored the flower arrangement that you sent Rachel for her birthday! How thoughtful!"

I could feel my heart sink down to the bottom of my stomach. I swallowed hard and managed to respond before they could see my own surprise.

"Oh, yeah?" I replied hesitantly.

My mother nodded aggressively as she waved her hands around the room.

"Yes! I have never seen so many red roses in one arrangement! It was fabulous! Oh, and the card was so sweet," my mother's voice got higher as she talked about it. Someone sent Rachel red roses for her birthday.

She hates red roses because she thinks they're tacky. Her favorite flowers are pink roses, not red. Whoever sent them to her obviously doesn't know her very well.

I could feel myself getting angry as I thought about who it could've been.

"Remind me what I wrote? It feels like I sent those forever ago." I didn't feel great about lying, but I needed to know whatever I could.

"It was a little white card that read, 'Happy Birthday, Beautiful. I miss you.'," my mother swooned at the words of Rachel's mystery man. "How thoughtful of you to do that, and all the way from space!" she finished as she gave my father a look that said 'we have the best son in the world'.

My jaw was clenched shut and I could feel my heart pounding in my ears.

Who is it? Who is she with? Are they together right now?

My vision started to become blurry, and before I knew it my eyes were watering.

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry," my mother's voice was much softer now. "I shouldn't have boasted about seeing Rachel when it's been so long."

"It's alright, I just miss her," I answered.

It's true, I missed her terribly. My heart felt like it had been put through a blender. The thought of her being with someone else made my skin crawl. I squeezed my fists together, trying to channel out some of my anger. I saw Cooper wave at me from the corner of my eye. He floated into the computer room and smashed himself next to me so he could see the screen.

"Hey, 'rents!" he shouted as he waved at them. My parents' faces lit up at the sight of Cooper. They loved him. My mom especially, and I think it was because of his southern charm. "How are you doing on this fine galactic evening?" he continued.

"Cooper! Our other boy!" my father exclaimed gleefully. Since they only had one kid, they treated Cooper like he was an extra son.

"Is Lucas being nice to you?" my mother asked with a stern look on her face.

"Why don't you ask if he's being nice to me?" I put on my best shocked expression, trying to move past what I just heard. Well, at least until the call was over.

"We are gettin' along just fine, ma'am. He does snore, though. I usually just chuck somethin' at 'em and he stops," Cooper teases. My parents let out a boisterous laugh.

My heart started to ache again. I imagined her sharing a bed with someone else. My jaw tightened again as I tuned out of the conversation. Cooper seemed to notice my change in demeanor.

"Hey, folks, we've gotta get back to work! And I think it is Sokolov's turn to call home!" Cooper waved goodbye to my parents.

"Okay, we love you so much, son! Be careful! Call us soon!" they shouted as they waved back.

"I love you guys, too. I'll talk to you later," I hung up and let out a deep sigh, dropping my head into my hands.

"What's goin' on, man?" Cooper asked as he placed a hand on my shoulder. He was holding onto the back of my seat with his other.

"Rachel is seeing someone," I mumbled under my breath.

I couldn't even comprehend that the words were coming out of my mouth. Cooper didn't say anything immediately. Instead, he lowered himself so we were at eye level with each other.

"I know what that feels like," he whispered.

"What do you mean?" I asked. His eyes shifted and his expression was pained.

I don't think I've ever seen him look sad like this.

"Anne slept with someone during our first mission up here," his voice was distressed, as if he was just hearing about it for the first time. "It was her boss at her old job," Cooper continued. "It happened once, and we figured it out."

"How?" I asked bluntly. "How do you move past that?"

"You have to figure out why she did it, first," he answered. "For us," he continued. "It was because we didn't have a great foundation in our relationship before I left. We weren't married yet and I wasn't exactly open with her about wanting a future."

Cooper rubbed his head as he adjusted himself into a more comfortable position. He hooked his feet under my chair and sat with his legs crossed.

I didn't leave Rachel with a lot of faith in me, either.

"Do you know who it is?" he asked.

I ran my hands through my hair before muttering, "No. I just know that someone sent her flowers for her birthday with a romantic sounding note." My tone came out incredibly bitter, but it didn't seem to shock Cooper. He just stared out the window behind me, watching the Earth rotate.

He could be with her right now. He could be in our home. In our bed.

I shook my head in an effort to knock out the thoughts of Rachel with another man, but it was impossible.

"What am I gonna do, Coop?" my voice broke as I asked him this. I didn't know if I even wanted him to give me an answer.

He thought for a long time before responding, "You're going to keep working on yourself up here, and win her heart back when we return. No matter what."

I stared at him. His eyes looked worried for me, as if he was reliving his own pain.

"Anne and I really went through the ringer together." Cooper shook his head as he looked down at his hands. "But I've gotta tell ya, man. I don't have a single fear in the world with us anymore after that."

His words were so sincere, and his face lit up as he said them. He and Anne seemed great every time I had interacted with them. I wouldn't have guessed they had an issue like that.

"Buck up, man. Get back in the saddle. Put your boots on one foot at a time." Cooper's face started to break into a wide grin. I caught myself laughing out loud at him.

"I figured you were waiting for one of my southern sayins'. I don't have one that really fits this scenario." Cooper and I laughed together some more before it fell silent again. "I know someone that the two of you can go talk to when we get back. If Rachel wants to, that is." My heart ached again.

He's right, she might not want to be with me when I return.

"His name is Dr. Wilson, and he's a peach. He saved our butts." Cooper nodded at me, making sure I knew that he was being serious.

"Thanks, Coop," I whispered to him. "I don't know what I would do without a friend like you. Especially up here." I placed a rough hand on his shoulder and smiled at him genuinely.

"Let's go eat some beans from a pouch, ehh? I'm starving after my workout," Cooper said as he pushed himself up and started to head down the hall towards the dining area. "Let's go, Clarke! Keep them doggies movin'!" he shouted at me as he did one final pull out of sight.

We had dinner with the rest of the crew and played a couple games of poker before we headed to our living quarters. I climbed into my compartment and slid into my sleeping bag. There were two large straps that kept me from floating away. As soon as I laid my head down on my pillow I fell asleep, completely forgetting to send Rachel a birthday message.