This Baby's Had Enough.

Adam stared out of the small window beside his chair, admiring the evening sun.
“I love it here,” he said, without looking away from the window.
“It’s so peaceful. I doubt if there’s a more beautiful view on Earth than this.”
Shanni closed the door of the microwave and set the dial before coming to the window. The room flickered with orange and purple light from beyond the thick glass as she sat on Adams’ lap and watched the sun slide gracefully below the horizon.

“It is beautiful,” she said, draping an arm around Adam’s shoulders.
“We’re very lucky aren’t we.”
“No regrets ?” asked Adam.
“Well it does get a bit lonely out here sometimes. I do miss our friends popping round.”
Adam squeezed Shanni closer.

“I love being here alone with you. That’s what I like best of all.”
“Don’t you even miss your family ?”
asked Shanni.
“It’s been over two years now. You must have some regrets ?”
“I try not to think about that side of things. I just think about how many people would love the opportunity to be where we are.”

A loud ‘ping’ from the microwave signalled the call to dinner.
Shanni placed the meals, still in their plastic containers, onto two trays.
There was no table. They balanced the trays on their laps, sitting by the window, watching the last rays of the sun disappear.

Adam was the first to break the silence.
“You know that you’re free to go home whenever you please.”
“Don’t feel you have to stay here because of me.”
“I said I’d stay with you and I will. That was the deal.”
Shanni took the trays and disposed of the empty food cartons.
“If I was going to leave, I’d have gone last winter when the power failed.”
“Don’t remind me. That was fairly unpleasant wasn’t it.”
Adam spoke with deliberate understatement. Not wanting to recall how they had both nearly frozen to death before he’d managed to start the emergency power.

“I’ll say. We couldn’t even watch any videos.” Shanni gave a mock laugh at the real memory of how close they had come to never returning home.
“You and your videos.” Adam smiled.
“You must have watched Alien a dozen times. Doesn’t it give you the creeps ?”
“It reminds me of someone I know.” Shanni teased, as she returned to Adam’s lap.
She placed her hands around his neck and gently bit him on the cheek.
He pulled her into his arms.
“You’ve got some strange friends,” he said in a Vincent Price voice.
“Am I weird enough for you ?”
He bared his teeth and lowered his head towards Shanni’s face.
She squealed and playfully bit his lip to stop him. Adam responded and the teasing turned into a lingering kiss.
“As soon as I can get hold of a Vicar I’m going to make an honest woman of you Shanni Turner.”
“Isn’t there one around here somewhere ?”
“No. I’ve looked.”
“Try Yellow Pages.”
“Phone’s off.”
“I’ll have to remain a scarlet woman then.”
“Yes please.” Adam kissed her again.

A baby’s cry brought the kiss to a premature end.
“Usual lousy timing,” said Adam, reluctantly releasing Shanni from his embrace.
“It’s not his fault.” Said Shanni, lifting the baby from his cot.
“He wants his dinner”
Adam rose from his seat and put a carton of ‘mush’ as he called it, into the microwave.
“Awful stuff,” he grimaced.
“I don’t know how he can eat it.”
“Maybe we should take him out for a pizza,” laughed Shanni.
“Or perhaps we can order a take away.”

“Poor kid,” said Adam, stroking the baby’s cheek.
“Wait ‘till we get home. I’m going to give him a good steak with all the extras.”
“You’ll have to wait until he’s got his teeth first,” said Shanni, admiring their son from the other side of the cot.
“That wont be long now,” said Adam.
“Then he’ll be walking,” added Shanni.
“And talking.” Adam continued the theme.
“Then who’s he going to play with ? We’ll be too busy for him.
It’s not as though he can pop next door is it.” Shanni’s voice sounded unsteady.
Adam and Shanni looked at each other over the cot. There was a long thoughtful silence that continued while the baby was fed.

“Are we being fair ?” Shanni eventually asked, as though the past ten silent minutes hadn’t existed.
“We knew the deal when we came here.” Adam didn’t sound too convinced himself.
“We weren’t parents then,” said Shanni.
“That was the whole point of the…………….”
Adam searched for the correct word.
“Experiment,” said Shanni unhelpfully.
Adam hadn’t wanted to use the word that made them sound like lab rats.
“I know that’s why we came,” said Shanni.
“And it was our own free choice. But did we have the right to make the decision for him too ?” She held the baby close to her and kissed his forehead.

“We thought so at the time,” said Adam weakly.
“But now ?" asked Shanni.
"Now that he’s flesh and blood ?”
“I’m not so sure,” she answered her own question, before continuing with her true feelings.
“The thought of him stuck out here, without any friends to play with.
Or grandparents to fuss over him.”
Shanni left the thought hanging in the air.
Adam remained silent. He felt the same way but wanted to see the experiment through to the end.
“And what if anything happened to us ?” Shanni continued.
“What then ? How would he have survived last winter when the power failed ?”

That thought hit Adam like a blow in the stomach.
Less than an hour ago they had both been convinced how lucky they were. How beautiful it was out here. Now they were suddenly feeling very homesick.
Adam returned to his seat by the window. He flicked a switch on the huge control panel in front of him. A maze of lights and meters instantly came to life.
He pushed a button on the microphone and pressed his mouth to the gauze.

“Come in Houston. Do you read me ? This is Colonel Jones on the Apollo Space Station. This is a Code Seven. Repeat. This is a Code Seven.
“Bring us home.
This baby’s had enough.”
Shanni sat on Adam’s lap with their baby. The sun rose above the horizon and lit them all in a beautiful glow as they hugged each other tight.

End.