Gun Brooke - Course of Action

Charlotta looked rested and ready to face the day when she approached the table, a café latte in her hand. Jem, however, looked bleary-eyed.

"You all right, Jem?" Annelie asked as the two women sat down.

"I'm fine," Jem muttered. "I just didn't get much sleep last night."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Our neighbors were so noisy. I couldn't tell if the sound came from below or above."

"I slept like a baby," Charlotta said. "Didn't hear a thing."

"You must be deaf," Jem huffed. "Somebody was going at it like there's no tomorrow. Honestly, this is a family resort, for heaven's sake!"

Carolyn had to bite her lip not to laugh aloud. Glancing at Annelie, she watched her blush a deep crimson.

"Annelie, I told you you were too vocal," she whispered, leaning closer.

"What?" Charlotta exclaimed, sitting on the other side of Annelie. "Come to think of it, I heard some commotion too. That was you?"

"You're a dead woman, Carolyn," Annelie muttered between clenched teeth.

Carolyn looked at Jem and Charlotta, who suddenly dove to the floor, apparently retying already neat shoestrings while their shoulders shook unmistakably. When she sat back up, Charlotta covered her mouth with one hand, her eyes twinkling.

"Oh, God," Annelie sighed, shaking her head as she joined in the laughter. She nailed Carolyn with her eyes. "I'm going to get you for this," she vowed, unable to erase a broad grin from her face. "Sooner or later."

"Promises, promises," Carolyn replied with a carefree wave of her hand.

Annelie grinned. "You're damn right."

***

"Oh, we have to go on this ride," Jem enthused. "It's brand-new! Everybody's talking about it."

After a full day of fun in the warm weather, the six women had enjoyed most of the Epcot rides and now approached the newest attraction.

Annelie looked at the brochure in her hands. "Mission: Space. It sounds fun. You go in four at a time, take on roles as navigator, pilot, commander, and engineer, and land a space shuttle on Mars. It's quite a wild ride."

"I'm not sure…" Charlotta looked hesitant, as did Sam. "Wild?"

"Don't worry. You're on the ground, in a seat, spinning in a centrifugal chamber, creating g-forces. Says here you should avoid it if you're prone to motion sickness, though."

"I'm usually not so bold, but I want to try it," Carolyn said and rose. "Who else?"

Eventually they all decided to go. After waiting in line and watching an instructional video with actor Gary Sinise, they were ushered into rows of four, which meant Sam and Charlotta had to wait.

Entering their pod, Kitty climbed in first, followed by Carolyn, Jem, and Annelie.

"Oh, cool," Kitty said. "I'm the engineer. That's a first."

"I'm the commander." Carolyn grinned.

Jem was happy to be in the pilot's seat, and Annelie rolled her eyes at being the navigator. A bar locked them safely into their seats, and the wall opposite them suddenly moved closer to provide each of them buttons and a joystick.

After Gary Sinise instructed them how to operate the controls, they awaited takeoff. Annelie kept her eyes on the small screen that showed the view from the space shuttle's window. The engines ignited with a thundering vibration, and a surprisingly strong g-force pressed her into her seat.

"Whooohooo!" Jem yelled next to her. "You feel that?"

"Focus on the mission and steer this thing," Carolyn replied. "You have maneuvers coming up, pilot!"

"Yes, ma'am," Jem replied merrily.

Each had different assignments during the mission to Mars, but, despite trying their best, they still came close to crashing on the landing strip at the Mars colony. Carolyn kept barking out orders, making the other three want to double over with laughter.

They skidded along the runway, breaking through the barriers. Annelie listened to Gary Sinise's somber voice as their space shuttle teetered on the edge of the abyss, swaying back and forth. "Don't move a muscle . "

"I'm not!" Kitty squealed from the engineer's station. "Oh, God!"

"Welcome to Mars!"

The lights went on, and the safety bars released their vise grip. The four women stepped outside on wobbly legs, all smiles.

"Wasn't that fun?" Jem grinned. "I think I did an awesome job of piloting, if I do say so myself."

"An awesome job?" Kitty raised her eyebrows. "We practically crashed!"

"It's indicative of how she drives a car," Annelie teased, as Jem shot her a mock glare.

"I can't believe how much fun that was," Carolyn added. "It all felt so natural to me, being starship captain. Who knew?"

Annelie exchanged glances with Jem and Kitty before bursting out in a fit of laughter.

Carolyn looked at her companions with mild surprise. "What? What did I say?"

Deciding it was time for ice cream, they sat down on a bench in the shade, and Annelie suddenly felt a hand on her knee. She wondered if Carolyn was aware of the public display of affection as she placed her own on top of Carolyn's and rubbed her thumb over her knuckles. Hearing a soft intake of breath, she noticed Carolyn's slightly startled eyes.

"Good ice cream?" Annelie asked innocently.

"Wonderful," Carolyn said huskily. "I love chocolate."

"Oh, goodness, look at Charlotta and Sam," Jem snorted, breaking the mood.

The two women were stumbling toward them, both looking queasy and pale.

Carolyn rose. "Charlotta, come take my seat. Here, let me help you." She held the ill-looking woman around the shoulders. "Take a couple of deep breaths. Annelie, open my backpack. I have an unopened bottle of water left."

"Charlotta, you okay?" Annelie said, as she handed the water to her friend.

"Uh, yeah, I think so. They did warn people about motion sickness. Ew."

Sam had recovered more quickly and kept fanning herself with a brochure. "I think it's time for dinner," she suggested. "Charlotta will feel better with some food in her."

"Good idea," Jem agreed. "Any suggestions?"

"What about the Scandinavian part of Epcot?" Annelie said. "My Swedish heritage needs meatballs."

"Sounds good to me," Carolyn agreed.

The sun had set by the time they found the right restaurant and ordered their food. Charlotta started looking better after eating an appetizer.

"Your color's improved, at least," Carolyn noted as the waiter served their main course, meatballs.

"I'm fine now, thanks. Can you believe how wild that ride was?"

"I thought I was going to go deaf from Carolyn barking orders." Jem rolled her eyes. "Is she always this bossy, Annelie?"

Annelie looked at her lover, noticing Carolyn's wink. "She's normally very bossy, except when it comes to doing one thing." She saw Carolyn's eyes widen as the other women whistled and laughed. Annelie leaned closer to Carolyn. "Told you I'd get even."

"I can't believe you said that."

"What do you mean? I was talking about our professional relationship, as actress and executive producer."

"Aha. Right." Carolyn gave a slow smile.

Annelie focused on the way her friends teased Carolyn about her ability to slip into character at the drop of a hat, as Charlotta put it. Seeing everyone so at ease around her warmed Annelie's heart.

Sam's voice broke her reverie.

"Annelie, can you call the odd little guy over here? I want some Norwegian dessert."

***

Having pulled out the box he had forgotten about until he watched the television show, the thin man tugged at the rubber band circling a small stack of letters. The box had been sitting in the cabinet for ages, and now it could come in very handy. Opening the first letter, he laughed with a hissing sound.

"‘Annie asks for you all the time,'" he read aloud. "Great."

Chapter Thirteen

No, not like that. I look like I've been in a hurricane," Carolyn said, trying hard to remain patient. She hated having her hair and makeup done but was determined not to convey her aversion to the makeup artist working on her.