The new Tube!

When Luke had told her of the beautiful beaches and white sands, just a half hour from the megacity where he'd originally been posted, she'd thought it sounded idyllic, he was so lucky to have seen a little of Area One.

She'd been born and bred in the industrialised Area Four, never seen the coast, the sea, anything other than a few trees in the municipal park, that wasn't concrete or steel.

When he'd come home with the tickets, (travel documents for the new Tube no less!), she'd been thrilled, if a little apprehensive.

Lucas beamed.

'Look, before you say we can't afford it….'

He showed her his coms.

An official message, mostly legalese. A distant elderly relative had passed away, Lucas being the only known relative, beneficiary of the estate. Sale of property, after taxes, yadder yadder…

'Never knew the old dear, but guess what?'

He beamed again.

'When the house was being prepped for sale, (most of it going to the bloody revenue department, no surprises there!) they found a stash of cash…not Credits… actual cash money!

A few hundred thousand in old Dollars! I checked with Finance, it's still exchangeable currency in Area 4! Worth about half in Credits, but still a fair amount, and we're keeping most of it! There's a real demand for paper…'

He searched for the word he'd learnt that day, '...bills, yeah, that's it, paper bills. Anyway, collectors and antique dealers apparently love the musty old things. But I thought I'd treat us with a little trip, so, thank you great aunt Joan, and Tube travel, here we come!'

As the days passed, she became more apprehensive as his excitement grew.

4000k in under two hours, 200 feet beneath the seabed, shot out like a bullet from a glass barrel.

Emma had felt awfully queasy that morning, the sickness growing as their departure loomed.

She couldn't face food, miserably sipping her bottled water, as Lucas helped himself to the buffet breakfast in the Tube lounge.

The journey itself was a little anticlimactic, the sense of speed cancelled out by the noiseless, vibrationless, friction-free pod.

A slight sense of acceleration, then they were in the tunnel, silently shooting across (no, not across, under. Deep, deep, under….the thought made her stomach churn again!) the ocean, intercontinental travel in a plastic bullet.

The same, ever so slight, feeling of deceleration, stretching legs in the underground terminal, then up and out into the glorious Area One sunshine.

They'd explored the delights of City Delta, the heat and strange smells making even the concrete and glass seem exotic.

Then, a quick 35-minute hop, and she was standing at the edge of the world!

That impossibly blue, impossibly huge stretch of water amazed her. The sand, the vegetation, sky, the sunshine, always the sunshine, was truly idyllic, Lucas had been right.

She squeezed his hand in hers as they walked barefoot, waves gently lapping their feet, cooling their skin.

He'd given all this up for her. A life of working here, spending his downtime in paradise, rejected immediately he'd seen the chance of coming home, back to a life of greyness, but a life, in his eyes, spectacularly coloured by her presence.

They stopped at a little waterfront bar, the wonderful smells making Luke hungry again.

Ordering food (they had no idea what) that sounded good.

Luke asked for a bottle of the local synth-wine, made with real fruit, but to his surprise, Emma held her hand over the glass, asking the waiter for a juice instead.

'Em, you really should try a glass, this is so good!'

She shook her head, smiling at his enthusiasm, loving the fact he wanted her to see, to experience everything the place had to offer before their all-too-short vacation ended.

Out towards the horizon a jet boat threw up huge waves, above the craft, tethered to the boat, a parachute bobbed along, two tiny figures high, high above, enjoying the view and the feeling of flying.

'We should do that! How about I book it tomorrow? Wow, imagine that view!'

A look of concern on her face surprised him.

Emma shook her head, 'I'm happy with my feet on the ground, love, could spend the rest of my life with my toes in this sand! But you go up if you want, I'll watch!'

He tried not to look disappointed but got the nagging feeling she wasn't enjoying herself as much as he was.

OK, she'd been sick on the Tube, hadn't touched a drink in days, and now turned her nose up at such a thrilling experience.

Luke's jaw dropped, he looked at her, eyes full of love, she immediately smiled her confirmation, sensing the unspoken question.

They held each other, unaware of the tide coming in, heedless of the blazing sun, the world stopped for them.

Bodies pressed together, sharing that kiss, hoping the moment would last forever, but longing for time to pass, to share their love with the child she was carrying.

They remain like that, blissfully unaware of the spectacular sunset, the evening respite from the day’s heat.

'And a little cold!'

The sonographer squirted the propylene glycol gel onto Grant's stomach, moving the scanner around whilst she kept an expert eye on the 3D holographic display.

An image resolved in the air, foetus at 20 weeks, curled up, tiny hands up to the mouth as though sucking a thumb, huge head compared to the body, large eyes closed, skin pink and almost translucent, perfect in every way.

'Perfect!' The sonographer echoed her thoughts, 'Would Mummy like to hear Baby's heartbeat?'

Grant couldn't help smiling, and simultaneously tearing up, as the room echoed with the strong, fast, pcow p’cow p’cow p’cow.

'Looks like Baby is a strong one, I'm sure you have a very healthy future Citizen in there!'

Grant couldn't take her eyes off her baby.

'Now let's just get you a holo-record of the scan, and then we'll sort out what you want to know!'

Grant wiped tears from her eyes as the sonographer wiped the gel from her tummy and the scan disappeared, leaving the clinically white room painfully silent.

Grant knew, till the day she died, that the sound of her baby's heartbeat would live within her own heart.

'OK, the recording will be available from the office, now, do you want to know the usual?'

'I really don't know what is usual,' Grant laughed, 'All a little new to me!'

'OK, no problems. Mum can find out sex of Baby, obviously, and your due date.'

'I think I'd like to know if it's a boy or girl, just to narrow the name choices down!'

'Okidoki, let's have a peep right now for you!' The technician moved the scanner around, and the holo returned, rotating in the air, a slight frown on her features.

Grant started to get worried, but the sonographer reassured her with a smile.

'Looks like we've got a shy one!' She pointed to the holo,

'See, from this angle, Baby has legs crossed and drawn up? I'm afraid Baby wants to keep a few secrets from us! Maybe on your next scan?'

Grant stroked her stomach, dread building, she knew the baby's real secret would have to be kept for much longer than that.

Freewayriding

06.03.23 Front Page

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