14 February, 2142
“I’m sorry, An, I don’t think I can make it for dinner tonight,” United Earth Chief Physicist Kapono Ailana’s hologram said as it hovered just above his grandson’s phone. “Something urgent has come up that I need to attend to.”
An Shen-Martin tried not to show his disappointment. “No worries, Kupunakāne. Maybe some other time soon,” he replied, using the Hawaiian term for grandfather as was his custom.
An had been looking forward to spending the evening with his grandfather. Not quite five months earlier, An and his mother Yinuo had first met Kapono after he’d leaped 87 years into the future by traversing a wormhole. An’s wife Linda was still in Northern California on her extended project with the Peace Corps. She hadn’t been able to make it back to Australia to see An for over two years due to the dearth of flights between North America and Australia. Their townhome in the south Sydney shire of Miranda seemed very empty and quiet to him since Kapono had moved out to his own apartment in Miranda two weeks earlier.
“Sure, how about this weekend? It’ll be my treat—any place you’d like to go.”
An’s disappointment faded slightly, and he smiled appreciatively. “That’d be ripper. Saturday night?”
“Perfect. Let’s touch base about the time on Friday, okay?” Kapono looked to his left. “But right now I need to get to a meeting with your mother and the physicist she hired to work with me on the antimatter project.” Kapono’s 86-year-old daughter, who’d recently retired from her long-time chief physicist position, had hired United Earth’s top experimental physicist for the groundbreaking research project at the local university.
“Nah yeh, let’s do that. Give Mum my best, would you, please?” Although Yinuo lived not far from An and Linda in Miranda, An hadn’t seen her for a few weeks. She was busy transitioning her chief physicist work, including the antimatter project, to Kapono. An, a civil engineer, was working on the infrastructure plans for Sydney’s new Opera House. It would replace the iconic building that had been destroyed when central Sydney was annihilated during World War III.
“I’ll do that. Aloha, An!”
“Hooroo, Kupunakāne.” Kapono’s hologram vanished, and An checked the clock on his phone: 10:02 a.m. He did the familiar time conversion for Northern California in his head—Three in the afternoon on the 13th, he figured.
Maybe Linda will call later, he hoped. Intercontinental calls were dependent on a few telecommunications satellites that had been launched into orbit to replace those destroyed in the war, and thus satellite phoning was unreliable and expensive. Linda had to use one of her Peace Corps team’s shared satellite phones to call her husband. I really need to talk with her today…
* * *
I guess I’d better think about tea, An thought as his stomach grumbled and he saw it was already after seven p.m. She’s not going to call tonight, he realized sadly. It’s already past midnight in California.
He got up from the sofa in the living area and went into the kitchen, trying to think of something he’d like to eat. He poked his head into in the fridge and saw the remnants of the meat pie he’d had for tea the previous evening. But, what else…? His lips formed a slight smile as he thought of Linda’s favorite dish—kimchi. Her late mother’s recipe was the best he’d ever tasted. He looked at the large white appliance on the kitchen counter. I could replicate some. But then he remembered the last time he’d used the food replicator to make kimchi—it was barely edible.
His thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the front door. Who could that be? he wondered as he stepped to the foyer and opened the door to a smiling, familiar face. “Mum! What a nice surprise!”
“Are you busy?” Yinuo asked as she stepped into the foyer and An closed the door behind her, then hugged his elderly mother. “Sorry about not calling first, but as I was heading home from the university, I realized I hadn’t seen you in a while.”
“Oh, no worries, Mum. I’m glad you stopped by. I was just trying to decide what to have for tea. Have you eaten yet?” They stepped into the living area and sat down next to each other on the sofa.
“I had a bite at the university before I caught the light rail. But you go ahead.”
“I can wait. We should catch up. How are you?” An asked. “How is that new chief physicist working out?” he added with a smile, referring to his grandfather.
Yinuo returned her son’s smile. “He has a little catching up to do, but he’s a bright bloke. I think he’ll do just fine,” she said with a wink. Her expression changed to one of empathy, and concern. “How are you doing, Son?” She knew how much he missed Linda.
“It’s been pretty quiet around here since your dad moved to his own place,” he said quietly. “I thought he was coming for tea tonight, but he said something urgent came up.”
“Yes, there’s something important he needed to do.” An noticed a hint of a mischievous twinkle in her eyes and wondered what was behind it.
“No dramas. Anyway, he’s going to treat me on Saturday night.” His stomach growled again, and he looked down. “I’d better tend to this bloke before he gets really disagreeable.” He stood up, “I’m going to heat up some left-over meat pie. Are you sure you wouldn’t like—” Just then there was another knock on the door.
“Are you expecting someone?” Yinuo asked, and again An noticed the twinkle in her eyes.
“No, I’m not,” An replied as he went to the front door and opened it.
“Hi, luv,” Linda said with a wide smile and glistening eyes. “May we come in?” Kapono was standing behind her, wearing a huge grin and holding the handles of two roller bags.
“Linda!” An exclaimed joyfully as she stepped through the door and they wrapped their arms around each other and kissed as if they hadn’t seen each other in years—because they hadn’t.
Kapono carried the bags into the foyer, and Yinuo walked up to greet Linda with a bright smile. “Welcome home, sweetie!” Yinuo said.
“Thanks, Mumma!” Linda said happily as she embraced her mother-in-law. “It’s so ripper to see you—all of you!”
“And what a wonderful surprise!” An exclaimed. He smiled wryly at Kapono, “You’re quite the nark, Kupunakāne.”
Kapono’s grin had barely faded. “I can be pretty sneaky when I have to be. But don’t blame me—Linda wanted it to be a surprise, for Valentine’s Day. She rode in cargo plane for nearly 20 hours, by way of Tahiti, to get here in time.”
An held Linda in his arms and smiled tenderly at her. “I love you so much. Thank you for making this the best Valentine’s Day ever!”
(Photo by freestocks on Unsplash)
