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Ike burst out in laughter.  “Oh, Liz, you’re so
much fun!”

She grinned.  “I can’t wait to blast off.” 

As if on cue, the simulation started.  After a
brief introduction from a smiling astronaut on the big screen in front of them,
the launch adventure began.  They heard the sound of the main engines ignite
and roar to life.  They felt the ‘shuttle’ tremble and roar, and felt themselves
pressed against their seats as the rocket boosters ignited.  Finally, they
rocketed into the sky, and soon, saw a rendition of outer space before
them—dark, vast, and full of twinkling stars.

Liz gasped with pleasure and squeezed Ike’s
hand.  “Isn’t this great!”

He nodded, a smile spreading across his face. 
“Magical.”

When the shuttle launch simulator ended, Liz
gave a sad sigh.  “I wish I was really up there,” she mused.  “And you with me,
of course,” she added, smiling.  “Although I would never go back in time, I
sometimes wish I could skip forward, to see what the future holds.  I’ve always
been so enthralled with technology…”

“I believe you would have been an astronaut if
given a chance,” Ike observed.

She nodded eagerly.  “Oh, I would have.  There’s
something so alluring about space—so mysterious and lovely.  Oh, I’d go in a
heartbeat if I could.”

Ike took her hand as they exited from the ride
and followed their fellow riders down a massive, winding metal staircase, lined
with spectacular scenes from space. 

When they stepped outside again, Liz glanced
back at the long line of people waiting to have a turn in the shuttle ride.

“Do you want to go again?” Ike asked her.  “We
can, if you’d like.”

She smiled serenely.  “No.  Riding once makes it
special, a singular, unique memory.”

Ike shook his head and chuckled.  “Liz, you are
a…”

“What?” she asked, staring into his eyes.

“You’re a delight, that’s what.  You have such a
wonderful way of looking at things.”

She thought for a moment.  “I guess I just don’t
take things for granted,” she admitted. 

The two continued to stroll through the Kennedy
Space Center exhibits, both outside and inside, taking their time to enjoy the
outing.  Neither felt the slightest inclination to rush along.  Both had their
photos taken with a Space Center employee decked out in a space suit, as well
as had their pictures snapped poking their heads into holes set within a
space-themed mural.

Later, they enjoyed lunch in the cafeteria,
munching on chicken strips and fries, and sipping on large-sized sodas, before
heading back outside.  As they ambled through the many exhibits, Liz happened
to glance at an on-site pond, enclosed within a cyclone fence.  They strolled
over and she was first to spot the alligator sunning itself on the grassy
bank. 

“Ike, look!  It’s an alligator!”

He followed her pointed finger and sure enough,
spied the reptile.  He smiled.  “Well, we’ve finally found our alligator.”  He
gave a rueful chuckle.  “And between you and me, I’m glad he’s behind that
fence.”

Liz had to agree.  They snapped a few photos of
the gator, snapped a few photos of each of them—careful to assure the gator was
in the shot—and then continued exploring the grounds.

Finally, Ike checked his watch and gave a gasp. 
“Liz, we’ve been here for hours!”

“We have?” she said, surprised.

“It’s almost five.”

“I had no idea,” she said.  “I have to say, I’ve
really enjoyed it here.  I think we could come back and still find things to
see.”  

“You’re right.  And we can come back.  Anytime
we please, but for now, we should probably check on the kids.”  He made a
guilty face.  “Brady and I talked about spending time together, but I’m afraid
my focus has been on … you.”

“Oh, Ike, I’m sorry…”

“No!  Don’t apologize.  I want to spend time
with you.  You know I do.”

“But what about Brady?  And Amanda?”

“Why don’t we see if they’re free for dinner?”

“That sounds like a great idea,” she said.

Ike dialed Brady.  “What are you and Amanda up
to, son?” he asked.

“Just hanging out in the hotel room, watching a
movie,” he answered with a yawn.  “How ‘bout you two?”

Ike related the day’s events to him, mentioning
they’d even found an alligator.

“I didn’t know you were actively looking for
one,” he muttered.  “I hope you’re being careful.  I hear those things can
appear from out of nowhere and that they move pretty fast.”

“Well, this one wasn’t moving at all, and it was
behind a fence.”

“Those are the best kind,” Brady said with a
chuckle.  “So, what are you two kids up to this evening?”

“We were wondering if you two would like to join
us for dinner?”

Brady paused briefly.  “Well, I would, but I’m
afraid Amanda is sleeping.  We took a drive along the coast, had lunch, and she
bolted for the sand.  I think that particular move was a bad idea, since her
ears are really hurting.  Anyway, I’d better stay with her.”

“Poor thing,” Ike mused.  “Well, I’m sorry you
can’t join us.”

“How long will you be?”

“Hard to say.  Since you two can’t join us, I
think we’ll do something else.  Liz and I heard about a sunset cruise along the
river.  We’re hoping to see a manatee, and more alligators.  Oh, and I read a
story about a man spotting a salty around here.”

“Granddad, what’s a salty?”

“Oh, it’s a saltwater croc,” he informed. 
“Protected species, I think.  Anyway, I’d love to see one of those.”

“Uh huh.”

“Okay, tell Amanda we hope she feels better
soon.”

“Will do.”

Brady rose from the bed and crossed the room to
Amanda’s bed.  He looked down at her sleeping face, noting her cheeks were
flushed.  He extended a hand to her forehead, to check for fever.  Sure enough,
she was burning up.

Shoot.                                   

He went into the bathroom and wet a rag, and
then returned and gently placed it on her forehead.  She stirred but didn’t
wake up.  On one hand, he was relieved, since she needed her sleep, but on the
other, he was bored to tears.

He returned to his bed and lay back, sprawling
out to resume watching television. Unable to get interested in the program, he
shifted in the bed, trying to get comfortable.  He startled when his cell phone
rang.  He answered it, glancing at Amanda to assure it hadn’t awakened her.

“Hello,” he whispered.

“Brady?  Is that you?”  It was his business
partner, Matt.

“Yeah, it’s me.  What’s up?”

“I wanted to check in with you.  I had meetings
all day…  Just got out of one, in fact.”

“Oh, yeah, with Marcus Portman.  How’d it go?”

“To be honest, I really wish you’d been here. 
The guy is a prima donna, making all kinds of demands.  He really wanted to
talk to you.”

Brady sat up in the bed.  “What’s his problem?”

“Well, as I said, he wants to meet with you. 
Since you originally spoke to him, and his rep, he was determined you be
present, started squawking about this and that.  I did my best to placate the
guy, but between you and me, I wish he’d gone somewhere else for security. 
Heck, I was afraid he was going to demand we not only watch his back, but that
we keep his refrigerator stocked too.”

“Oh, wow, so he’s demanding…”  Brady ran a hand
through his hair.  He felt bad leaving his buddy to deal with the guy, since he
had been the one to sign the paperwork on the deal.  Matt was a man of few
words, tough as nails, but Brady could be more commanding when necessary.  The
two made a good team.

He checked his watch.  “It’s too late for me to
call him, but I will plan on calling him tomorrow, first thing.”

“All right.  Hey, how’s the trip?  Did you find
your granddad?”

“Yeah, but I’m still stuck here,” he said with a
sigh.  “Okay, then, I’ll make that call tomorrow.”

“Good deal.  I’ll see you when you get back.”

***

The ringing telephone had awakened Amanda, but
she was so sleepy, she didn’t feel inclined to open her eyes.  She knew she
could easily fall back asleep, and intended to do just that.  Unfortunately,
something Brady said had brought her fully awake.

“...I’m still stuck here.”

Stuck here?

Not on her account he wasn’t.

She moved around a bit in the bed, in order to
alert Brady she was waking up.  She finally opened her eyes and made as if to
check the clock.  It was after eight. 

Hey.  Where were the grandparents?

She turned to Brady.  “Have you heard from
Grandma and Ike?” she asked sleepily.

He nodded.  “They went off looking for manatees,
alligators, and salties earlier, but should be back here soon.”

“Saltines?   Why?  Does one of them have a
stomach bug?”

“Not
saltines
.  Salties.  Saltwater
crocodiles.”

“Oh, sure.  Of course.”  She shook her head ruefully,
and then rose from the bed.  “Since Grandma should be here soon, you should
probably leave now.”

“I can stick around until they get back,” he
offered, and rose to cross the room.  He moved to stand directly in front of
her, and stared intently into her face.

She took a quick step back.  “What are you
doing?”

“You have a fever,” he said, reaching out to
check her face with a gentle hand.

She shook off his hand.  “I’m fine.  You really
should go.”  She gave him a surveying glance.  “In fact, it’s time you got on a
plane and went home.”

His brows furrowed.  “I thought we’d come to an
understanding.  I’m not leaving here until the doctor releases you.”

“That makes zero sense,” she said with
frustration.  “I’m going to call the airlines tomorrow, buy you a ticket, and
you’re leaving.  I refuse to discuss this anymore.”

He quirked a smile.  “You refuse to discuss it,
eh?  We’re talking about
my
travel arrangements.  “You need to take your
antibiotic, and your pain pill.  And now, you need something for the fever
too.  And it’s all because you disregarded doctor’s orders and ran down onto
that windy beach.”

She gave an emphatic shake of her head.  “Not
your problem.  I would actually appreciate it very much if you’d go back to
your own hotel room now.”

“Oh?  Have I overstayed my welcome?”

“I think we know who’s overstayed their
welcome,” she grumbled under her breath, and then turned to the door when she
heard the key card slipping through the slot.  The doorknob turned and Liz
stepped into the room, her eyes bright and happy. 

“What an exciting day!” she cried and began
recounting her day, reminding Amanda of a little kid.  “Ike and walked along a
beautiful shoreline, looked for alligators, went to outer space, found an
alligator, and then saw manatees and more alligators in their natural habitat…”

“You went to outer space?” Amanda said
confusedly.

“Did you find a saltie?” Brady asked.

“No saltie,” Liz told him, “but we’ll keep
looking.”

“Outer space?” Amanda prompted.

“Simulated,” Liz said simply.  “But it was
divine.”  She turned to Brady.  “Your granddad is waiting for you.  He was
hoping you two could go out for ice cream.”

Brady bit back a chuckle.  “Sloppy seconds,” he
quipped.

Liz gave him a perplexed glance, and then turned
to Amanda and shrugged.  “What’d he say?” she whispered.

“Nothing,” Amanda said, sending him a dirty
look.  “You really should go,” she told him.  “I don’t want you stuck here with
me any longer.”

“Uh…”

Liz took his elbow and propelled him to the
door.  “Ike is really eager to spend time with you, young man,” she said,
smiling encouragingly. 

“Yeah, sure,” he said, still giving Amanda a
questioning glance.  Something about the way she’d spoken the word ‘stuck’
alerted him that something was wrong.  He searched his brain, trying to remember
why it was significant.   

Liz gave him another forceful shove toward the
door.  “Have fun,” she said cheerfully, and gave him a final push.

He poked his head back in, grasping the door
with his open hand.  “Amanda…”

Liz shouldered the door closed, and then stepped
back and watched Amanda with concern.  “Okay, tell me, why did you want Brady
out of here so badly?”

“You could tell?” she asked with a wince.

“Oh, yeah, honey.  I can read you like a book. 
Always could.”  

Amanda didn’t feel much like talking about Brady
right now.  She gave a dismissive wave.  “To be honest, I’d rather not talk
about him.  I’d rather hear about your exciting day.”  She gave a pert lift of
her shoulders.  “I can live vicariously through you,” she said with forced brightness.