"Hello there, good boy," Sam stroked the soft, burnished fur on top of his head,
"where’s your partner hiding himself, huh?"
But even as she asked the question she spotted Happy a short distance away. He was smoking his pipe, perched on top of a faded blue Ford Fairlane that was missing all four of it’s tires.
"Looks like someone’s playing hooky." He commented dryly as Sam settled herself beside him on the sun - baked hood.
"You caught me," Sam grinned, "don’t tell anyone."
They sat looking out at Jericho Bay in a companionable silence, both enjoying this peaceful moment in their own way. Sam could count seven working lobster boats out there pulling traps. She shaded her eyes from the glare of the sun, trying to see if one of them was the Sea Bitch, Kevin Dodge’s boat. But they were all too far out for her to easily decipher any of the lettering on the sides. Giving up, she leaned back lazily on her elbows, raising her face up to the warm sun.
Happy proceeded to pack his pipe with his standard Cherry Blend. "Still eavesdropping on outer space?" He asked as he patted his pockets for a match.
"Yep." Was Sam’s only reply. But in that brief moment, the relaxed, contented expression had left her face to be replaced by .... what? Happy wasn’t sure. He just knew that suddenly she looked worried and tired.
"Do you recall what you kids used to call me when you were back in school?"
Asked Happy, drawing on his pipe. "Crazy Joyce." He finished, nodding his head up and down.
"God, Happy, were we that shity to you?" Sam slipped her hand into his as she tried to remember. "All just because you were a little different."
"Yep," joked Happy, "that’s me ...... just a round peg trying to fit into a square hole and always ending up in splinters."
"Kids can really be cruel, Hap. But you know what I remember the most?" Asked Sam. "I remember when I stopped being afraid of your difference and got to know you. You’re to blame for my obsession with astronomy, you know. >From the first time you pointed out Orion to me when I was ten years old, I was hooked."
"Maybe," he mumbled. "Anyway, Sammy, know what the kids call me now?"
Sam shook her head.
"Crazy Joyce." Happy said with a chuckle. "Some things don’t change. Probably aren’t meant to."
There was a comfortable stillness between them, only broken when Happy spoke once more. "Well, I may or may not be crazy .... damned if I know the answer to that one. But, Sammy, I’m still here for you if you need someone to talk to."
"Just like the old days, Happy." Sam said, reaching over to give him a quick hug, which only served to make his face go deep red with embarrassment.
"Go on with you." He said roughly, pushing her off the Fairlane’s hood. "Don’t you have any work to do?"
The walk had been just what she’d needed. The fresh sea air had helped to jump start her brain. For the remainder of the day, Sam diligently picked away at the immense pile of paper, reducing it to only a small pile of paper.
Finally, sighing with fatigue, she pushed her chair back and did a couple of quick neck rolls, easing the tension in her shoulders. Glancing at the tall clock in the corner, she realized that she had a bit over an hour to shower and change for her big night on the town with Per. Okay, she thought, just enough time for one more sheet.
Sam spotted it almost immediately. She couldn’t have missed it even if she had wanted to. It practically jumped up at her from the paper. A distinct spike. Not only that, but a prolonged and sizable spoke. She marked it with the highlighter, conscientiously noting the day, month and time of occurrence in the margin of the paper.
Despite herself, she was trembling with excitement. Professionally, she knew that all coordinates needed to be checked and triple checked. Nonetheless, Sam instinctively recognized what she had before her spread out on the desktop. A
genuine, Goddamn, cosmic greeting card.
Chapter 10
Her mind totally engrossed in her finding, Sam immediately forgot everything else, including her dinner date with Per.
According to the date on the print-out, the atypical spike had occurred just three days before. Sam couldn’t believe how calm she was acting. Inside she felt as if she were ready to boil over. After all these years of listening, we finally have one, she thought to herself. She had always wondered if it would even be possible to recognize such a message if one were actually received. Back in 1977 a forceful signal had been picked up that couldn’t be explained before it had just as rapidly disappeared. But this time, there was no doubt about the validity of what she had found. This was a planetary message that was so unusual it couldn’t help but stand out against all the natural, every day radio waves that were floating around out there over vast, interstellar distances. This one had made a series of tell-tale blips rather than merely random noise, thus allowing it to be picked out easily from all the garbage.
Quickly glancing at her watch, Sam punched Jake’s private office number into her deskphone. Even though it was well after six PM, she knew he would still be in his office.
"I’ve found it." She flatly stated. "Of course, I’ll double check it with Goldstone, but I’m certain in my findings. I’m faxing it to you now."
"Hold on," Jake practically shouted into his end of the phone, as he dropped the receiver to retrieve the fax. "Christ, Sam ...... it looks damn good. Very possible indeed."
She realized that she had never heard Jake excited before. Come to think of it, she couldn’t remember ever having seen him show emotion about anything.
"I’ll stay on this and get back to you with any changes." Sam broke the connection.
However, before she could take her hand off the phone, it rang loudly making her jump. "Hello", she said breathlessly.
"Hi there". said Per. "I’m afraid that I will be a bit late in picking you up this evening. I hope this doesn’t cause a problem."
Sam quickly tried to refocus her thoughts. "Per," she said, "could we please make dinner for another night? I’m terribly bogged down with something here at the moment."
"Well, I see no reason why we can’t postpone." replied Per. "Shall I ring you tomorrow, then?"
Surprisingly, he sounded disappointed at the prospect of their canceled date. "Yes, please." responded Sam. "Per, I am truly sorry about this. I was very much looking forward to dinner with you tonight."
"No worries," Per said warmly, "I’ll speak with you tomorrow, Samantha."
Then he quietly rang off.
Her social life neatly taken care of for the moment, Sam quickly switched gears once again.
She worked through the night, stopping only once to make a quick peanut butter and jelly sandwich which she wolfed down with a tall glass of milk before she hurried back to her small bank of computers. She set up an immediate direct line with Goldstone Deep Space Tracking in the Mojave Desert, which allowed her to start fine pointing all possible coordinates with their team. She spoke with Jake three more times during the night, keeping him promptly updated on all new data as promised. By three in the morning, she had located two more hydrogen frequencies, obviously ET’s radio frequency of choice. They were both substantially stronger and closer in proximity than the first find had been. As Sam worked, a definite pattern was gradually starting to unfold.
At last, as outside night was slowly blurring into dawn, Sam wrapped herself in a throw and slipped into an exhausted sleep, head down in her arms on the desk.
Chapter 11
For the next few days Sam worked feverishly. Stopping only when necessary, such as when her stomach growled from hunger. The ensuing days and nights seemed to blend one into the other. Her resolution to give up cigarettes literally going up in smoke as one after another burned down in the ashtray beside her on the desk. She was in constant contact with Jake in Boston as well as the team at Goldstone. Everyone involved was obsessed with the recent findings. This was momentous and they all knew it.