two men said their goodbyes. One more time, David got into the same car by which he had got there.
David was inside a car that was traveling along a road in the countryside. There were several houses all around. They looked like ranches. They were completely different from the buildings in the city center of Missoula. When David could enjoy that rural panorama that he loved unopposedly, he did it, as if he were attached to those trees and those typical wheat fields. Past the first five dwellings, the car was about to cross the railings at the entrance. It delimited a path that led to David’s house.
The car stopped right in front of the front door and the engineer said goodbye to his autopilot.
“Thank you, Albert. See you next Monday. Have a nice weekend.”
An automated male voice came out of the car speaker, and when the owner of the car came out of it, it started to travel along the path in the opposite direction.
After a few seconds of nearly contemplation, David went up the few stairs to the front door of his house when suddenly he noticed a tennis ball rolling on the floor. A few instants before he had been right there. Suddenly a nice German shepherd that did not hesitate to bring the ball back; when it noticed that its owner was there, it began to bark with joy.
“Roth! Come here!” David uttered after leaning his overnight case on the floor and opening his arms to welcome his faithful friend. At the same moment, David noticed his son Leo appearing from the back.
“Daddy!” the boy screamed with joy as if he had not seen him for a long time. Leo began to run towards his father that moved away the dog for a while so that he could hug his son that cried out, “Finally you’ve come back! Till Monday we’ll be together!“
“Of course, my son!” his father answered serenely. Then he continued by asking, “Is your mother in?”
“Yes, she is in! She’s doing laundry!”
“Okay, let’s go inside, then,” the man finished. The two went in.
Gaia and David met when they were both about twenty-two years old during a mutual friend’s birthday party. They immediately got on well from the first moment they had met. They would never split up. The decision to have one baby only originated from an ancient tradition in David’s family and his wife finally accepted after some afterthoughts; she loved her husband and it was rationality that let her come to this decision.
The family was finally sitting at the country-styled kitchen table. They were all ready to taste a savory pie that Gaia’s hands had prepared with love after reciting a prayer to thank God for their food. When this ceremony was over, the three people began to eat.
“By the end of the month, you will succeed in delivering the building, won’t you?” his wife asked him. David did not hesitate and answered, “We will, darling. Philippe has assured me the plans of the flat are ready next Monday. So we should succeed in delivering the building in time.”
The woman did not say anything else.
“And what about you, little man? Have you cleaned the rabbit cages as you promised,” David asked the boy, who answered, “Of course, dad! When lunchtime is over, I’ll let you see what I’ve done!“
David showed Leo his approval and Leo kept on eating and smiled.
By the time the family had lunch, Leo was already standing; he was waiting with impatience for his father to see the result of the work that he himself had asked him to do. “Come on, Dad! I’m sure you’ll be satisfied!”
Leo could not wait any longer. David was about to stand up when suddenly Gaia stopped them before they could go out.
“David, I’ve received a letter for you this morning. I have leaned it on the piece of furniture at the doorway.”
“It’s the same old letter from IRS,” her husband said finally. He looked almost disappointed.
Leo had already gone out while David stood in front of the piece of furniture that his wife mentioned, the one upon which there was an envelope with two seals that caught his attention. The man grabbed it and began to look at it more carefully. He realized that it was not addressed the person that he had imagined. On the upper right side of the envelope there was the New NASA Corporate logo with its address; on the lower side there was a phrase, “For David Garcia. For the benefit of all!” At that point, David was devoured by curiosity as to the content of that envelope, when his son’s voice interrupted him once again, saying, “Dad! Are you coming, or what?”
David kept on staring at the envelope and tried to get rid of his son quickly.
“Go ahead, son! I’ll come in a minute…”
Leo did not add anything and went ahead, but his expression was unhappy due to what he was just told. Then David opened the envelope and its content was finally revealed. It was an official invitation from the U.S. government and New NASA Corporate to appear before the seat of Washington.
New York.
A man had just left a pub after an entire evening drinking whiskey and scotch. Former American Army corporal Michael Stateman was an excellent pilot on leave in his fifties, his hair was graying and his athletic silhouette was the result of a lot of time spent at the gym; when he was at home alone, he did not hesitate to drink and dwell on his wedding, which broke up due to his impetuous character. His long, dark coat and his typical hat used to protect him from the cold nights (night had come already) while he was going back home. The streetlights were lighting the sidewalk where the ex-corporal was walking. Suddenly he was stopped by an elegant man wearing a gray suit and a black coat who appeared behind a corner.
“Gentlemen!” the mysterious guy said firmly. Michael turned round suddenly when he noticed that he was there, but he did not say anything.
“Michael Stateman, right?”
Michael just nodded. After asking for confirmation about his identity, the man wearing the gray suit delivered him a sealed envelope with two seals: a seal of New NASA Corporate and a seal of the American government.
“This is yours,” he told him and after friendly greetings he got on his black sedan – he sat down in the backseat – and he disappeared just like he had come. Michael was puzzled and at the same time curious to know what that envelope contained. After a few seconds of consideration, he put it through the pocket of his coat and went his way back home.
Once Michael returned to his flat, which was dingy and messy, to say the least, he took his hat and his coat off and threw the door keys in a bowl on a small piece of furniture. That evening he looked more thoughtful than usual, which made him even more eager to drink some whiskey. He recalled the envelope that he was given by the mysterious man wearing the dark suit shortly before and walked towards the coat to grab it. Once he had it in his hands, he looked at it more carefully than he did when he was outside the pub and decided to open it. He pulled the sheet out of the envelope and began to read. He realized that it contained an invitation to appear in Washington or, more precisely, before the seat of New NASA Corporate, but he did not know why. But he was struck by a writing at the bottom of the sheet: For Michael Stateman, for the benefit of all! When Michael took the sheet and put it on the table near the cigarettes and the half-empty glass of whiskey, he noticed that the envelope contained some flight tickets. Departure date: in three days. He, who was perplexed and contemptuous, put everything back in the envelope and let it fall to the
