Paul Gillebaard: Space Hoax

The doctor announced the head had crested and the labor nurse barked to keep pushing. Anya’s breathing increased as she knuckled down, the wrinkle still visible on her forehead. She took in one final deep breath before looking directly at Peter. With determination in her eyes and a sheer force of will, she gave another hard push. “Uggg.”

Peter’s palms were sweating as he tried to cheer her on. “Come on, baby, you can do it.” He didn’t look to see what was happening, but could tell the nurses and doctor were busy.

Finally the doctor called out, “It’s a boy!”

Anya collapsed backward in the bed from exhaustion, pale and shaking. She instinctively grabbed hold of the squirmy infant the doctor had plopped onto her belly. Now that Peter’s hands were free, he quickly grabbed a damp towel and leaned over to dab the sweat off her forehead. “Good job, honey.”

Still breathing heavily and gently holding her baby, she turned and locked eyes with Peter. She spoke in a silky calm whisper, “Maybe I’ll use drugs next time.”

Peter chuckled as the baby cried. “Good idea.”

The soft voice of the nurse asked, “So, Father, would like you to cut the umbilical cord?”

Peter’s smile widened hearing his new title. He answered proudly, “Absolutely, I have to do something to help bring my boy into this world.” He was handed a small pair of metal scissors. He focused on his son, who was flushed, pink all over with a good deal of dark hair. Peter smiled big as he humbly cut the cord before leaning back toward Anya, who had a glow about her. “He’s beautiful.”

A broad smile crossed her lips. Tears of joy and exhaustion streaked her face.

Soon it was visiting hours and friends were coming and going. The nurse had suggested keeping the baby in the nursery to make sure no infections were passed. Anya had freshened up and was sitting in the bed. Peter’s mom had volunteered to be the escort to whoever wanted to view the little boy. She was practically giddy with excitement after finally becoming a grandmother.

A name for the boy had not been decided. Since its sex was unknown until birth, neither had put much effort into coming up with a name. Anya had mentioned if she had a boy she liked the name “Paul” because of St. Paul, but nothing was ever settled. With the room finally quiet, Peter decided it was time to make a decision. As he was about to ask, a soft knock on the door interrupted him.

Peter called out, “Come in.”

Jesse poked his head in. “Am I disturbing anything?”

Sensing his SID agent was apprehensive about entering, Peter reassured Jesse by waving him in. “Not at all, Jesse, come on in.”

Jesse slowly opened the door before entering with flowers and a big, white teddy bear with a big pink bow on its head. “Sorry I’m coming around late. It was tough getting out of the office. So how’s the mother doing?”

Anya straightened up slightly. “I’m doing great. Thanks, Jesse.”

Jesse lifted up the gifts. “Well, here is a little something for you and the little tyke from the agency.”

Anya cooed. “Oh, how sweet. Thanks.”

Peter got up. “I’ll take those, buddy.”

Jesse looked at his boss with a sly expression. “Lola wanted me to point out that she picked out the teddy bear, and purposely picked a girl one. She figured if you ended up having a boy, the little guy would probably have a little of you in him.”

Both Anya and Peter laughed as he set the gifts with the others.

After some light conversation, Jesse wanted to discuss business. “Peter, you got a call from Tang. I went ahead and took it. He wanted to let you know he was able to get Ying’s husband a job at CNSA.”

Peter appreciated Tang taking care of his request. After the taikonaut retired from space travel, he too was promoted to a desk job, Manager of Space Operations. Peter asked his friend if he would help out the young mother. Her family would be more accepted in Beijing, where it was not uncommon to have more than two kids in a family. He was sure Sie Wang had something to do with it since he made most of the decisions for the agency after taking over after Kuang’s death. The former CNSA manager was found innocent of any crimes and reinstated to the agency with honors. His placement had been part of the organization’s makeover after the cause of the space accidents were made public. CNSA and their programs had become much more transparent to the world since Sie had taken over.

Finally, the room was quiet. Visiting hours had ended and the two of them were alone with their baby. Anya looked dead tired. Her eyes were closed, the baby sleeping peacefully on her chest. Peter took a moment to take in the beautiful sight, spinning his wedding band on his finger. He couldn’t believe he was looking at his family. A joyous feeling overtook him, convinced he had finally cracked the code of life. He leaned in close and whispered in Anya’s ear. “We need to name our little boy.”

Anya gradually opened her eyes. “Yes, we do. Any ideas?”

“Well, I like Paul, but during your labor I felt there was only one name that would work for my boy.”

Anya straightened up a little, her eyes opening wider. “And what name is that?”

Peter lightly stroked his boy’s head as he proudly proclaimed, “Viktor.”

Her blue eyes sparkled with the suggestion. “Aw, are you sure?”

He leaned over and pushed her dark bangs out of her eyes. “Absolutely.”

She lifted her sleeping child so his face was toward her, carefully supporting his head. “What do you think? You want to be named after your grandfather?” She brought the baby back to her chest. “I love it. However, I want one change.”

Peter furrowed his eyebrows. “What’s that?”

“His middle name has to be Thomas.”

Peter grinned. “Viktor Thomas Novak. I like it, sounds strong.”

“It does.”

“With a name like that and his heritage, he’ll probably be the first man on Mars.”

Anya reached over and patted his arm. “Slow down, honey. Let’s first worry about getting him out of kindergarten.”

Peter leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. “Deal.”

All characters in this book, with the exception of Yuri Gagarin, are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The names, incidents, dialogue, and opinions expressed are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Nothing is intended or should be interpreted as expressing or representing the views of the CIA, NASA, CNSA or any other department or agency of any government body.

SPACE HOAX

Copyright 2014 by Paul Gillebaard.

2016 revised edition for Hoax Trilogy.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

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ISBN: 978-0-983-95612-9

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