Natalie
Those two minutes, they almost died, Jillian.
Jillian
But they didn’t.
Natalie
But they almost did. To go through that together, to come back, and never talk about it, never bring it up, it’s bizarre.
Jillian
Natalie, it’s over.
Natalie
Honey. I know this has to be hard for you, too. It just scares me that they act like it never happened.
Spencer
There you go.
Mike
Thanks, Commander.
Spencer
You got it, Buddy.
Boy (voice)
Hey, Mike, what did he write?
Spencer
Hey. Guess what.
Jillian
What?
Spencer
I’m resigning from the service.
Jillian
Because of what happened?
Spencer
No, it’s because I’m done up there. I got an offer, from an aerospace firm, executive position, lots of money. I mean boatloads of money, Jill.
Jillian
What do you know about being an executive? You’re a flier, Spence.
Spencer
No, honey. What I am, is a true American hero. The president of the United States of America said that and you heard it.
Jillian
Yeah.
Spencer
Anyway. . . Apparently, it’s pretty good for business to have a true American hero on the company letterhead. The thing of it is, Jill. . . is that the, er, company headquarters. . . it’s in New York City.
Jillian
You’re kidding, right?
Spencer
No.
Jillian
New York? You hate New York. Too many people, remember?
Spencer
I know.
Jillian
We have a life here, Spencer. . . my job, our friends, everything.
Spencer
Yeah. So, what do you say? Will you do it? Will you move to New York City with me? Huh?
Jillian
You’ve always been there for me. I want to be there for you. Let’s go to New York.
Alex
What do you say?
Paula
Mrs Armacost?
Jillian
Yes, Paula?
Paula
When your husband is in space, does he veer see God?
Calvin
What about aliens? Does he see aliens? Does your husband bring a laser gun in case there are aliens? If I were going, I’d bring two laser guns, a little one for my pocket and one laser rifle. Does your husband have a laser rifle? Does he get to bring it home with him? Does it work here on Earth or only in space?
Jillian
You know what, Calvin?
Calvin
What, Mrs Armacost?
Jillian
I’m going to miss you.
Singers
And so I face. . .
Spencer
Oh, no.
Singers
The final curtain. . .
Spencer
No, no, no.
Singers
My fiends, I must say it clear, I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain. I’ve lived, a life that’s full, I traveled each. . .
Spencer
Ain’t the world incredible?
Singers
And every highway, and more, much more than this. . .
All Guests
He did it, his way.
Spencer
Thank you.
Woman
To you, spaceman.
Alex
Spencer! Spencer! Spencer! Spencer! Spencer!
Jillian
Alex!
Natalie
Baby?
Jillian
Alex.
NASA Guy
I have a brief prepared statement and then there will be time for questions. Captain Alex Streck died last night at eight fifty-five. The cause of death has been determined to have been a massive stroke, what the surgeons are calling a severe insult to the brain. Alex was an asset to this programme way beyond his professional expertise. He will be missed terribly by all of us. There will be a private ceremony.
Press Man
Is Commander Armacost in any danger?
NASA Guy
Er, I’ll let Dr Patraba answer that.
Dr Patraba
Commander Armacost has been through an intensive array of examinations and tests. It is the opinion of myself and my colleagues that he is in no more danger than any of us.
Spencer
Hey. I’m going to be over here, baby.
Nancy
You okay?
Jillian
Yeah. Where’s Natalie?
Nancy
She’s in the back. She’s been asking for you.
Jillian
Okay. I’ll see you in a bit, okay?
Nancy
All right.
Jillian
Okay. Natalie.
Natalie
Jillian. They talked to him every night. All the time. I couldn’t understand them.
Jillian
Who talked to him, Natalie?
Natalie
They did. They did, Jillian. He’s hiding inside me.
Spencer
I certainly do appreciate your concern, Mr Reese, but I have been probed and poked by enough needles, and your superiors have given me a clean bill of health.
Reese
I, I know, I know that, but, Commander, I. . . It’s probably nothing, bet, erm. . .
Spencer
Do your bosses know you want to do this?
Reese
No.
Jillian
Oh, God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh God. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.
Woman
I’ll, I’ll be sure and let you know of some good places for you to shop. That dress is really sweet, but it’s not really appropriate. You’ll meet all sorts of interesting people when you’re here. They like the sort of things I do.
Spencer
You can feel the first kick. . .
Woman
Probably not quite as interesting as me, but, you know, you’re very lucky. I, uh. . .
Spencer
But then she saw the rocket boosters come on, and that’s when you know, that you’re going somewhere real fast.
Philip
Zoom, zoom, zoom.
Spencer
That’s right.
Woman
I used to be into AIDS, but now I’m into hunger.
Jillian
I teach.
Woman
Oh, at the university?
Jillian
No, second grade.
Woman
I’m sorry. I thought you said you taught second grade.
Jillian
Yes, I, I. . .
Woman
Oh, Ambrose, hi. You look great. Will you excuse me?
Jillian
Yeah, sure.
Spencer
Yeah, all right. Excuse me, Philip.
Shelly
Now, don’t worry about her. Total lack of body fat has made her something less than human. Now, I don’t think she’s had a period in three years, which I guess is a blessing for the gene pool, wouldn’t you say? Shelly McLaren.
Jillian
Jillian Armacost.
Shelly
Yeah, I know.
Jillian
Oh, your husband must be. . .
Shelly
Jackson McLaren. They all had cigars, but Jackson had the biggest cigar of all. Ah, here we go. Do you have many friends here in the city?
Jillian
Yeah, some. . . at work, and Spencer, of course.
Shelly
What? Your husband and your friend?
Jillian
Yeah.
Shelly
Well, you better not let that get around. You know, they’re gonna haul you up on charges. That, I like.
Jillian
What?
Shelly
Your laugh. That’s an honest laugh. It’s been a while since I’ve heard one.
Jillian
Thank you.
Shelly
It’s all right. I’ll be right there. Apparently, there’s some, um, minor disaster in the kitchen, something to do with burning rum balls. Now, I’m gonna call you, and we’re gonna go out and laugh, all right?
Jillian
Okay.
Shelly
All right.
Spencer
You all right?
Jillian
I’m drunk.
Spencer
Well, that’s good, honey. That’s good.
Jillian
Tell me what happened up there. Tell me.
Spencer
All right. Come on, let’s take a walk.
Jillian
Okay.
Spencer
You want to know what happened?
Jillian
Yeah.
Spencer
Do you?
Jillian
Yeah.
Spencer
You want to know about them two minutes?
Jillian
You never talk about it.
Spencer
Two minutes. . . dark. . . black. . . no light. There was an explosion. . . and, um. . . everything shut down. No light. . . no communication. It was black. . . silent. No sound, but. . . but loud, something loud. Loud nothing. And it was cold. It was so cold, Jill. And I knew what that cold was. It was death. . . and it held me real tight for about the first minute. And then. . . I felt warmth. It was the warmth of your vagina. . . the warmth of your body. . . your hands. . . The inside of your mouth. . . the warmth of your come. . . the warmth from inside you, Jillian. . . your warmth. I felt it all around me. It made me breathe. It made me breathe. Jillian.
Jillian
Spencer.
Spencer
Jillian.
Jillian
Spencer. Spencer. No. Spencer! Spencer. What’s happening? Spencer. What’s happening? Spencer? What are you doing?
Spencer
I couldn’t sleep, so I just, er, listening to some music. I’m sorry if I was a bit rough. I guess maybe I had a little too much to drink. Come on, let’s go to bed. Good night, sweetheart.
Jillian
Then she began to guess the little man’s name. Is it Conrad Peppermill? She said. And the little man said. . .
Children
No!
Jillian
I know. I know. It’s Sir William Doorknob, and the little man said. . .
Children
No!
Jillian
I have it. It must be Little Ribs of Beef, and the little man said. . .
Children
No!
Jillian
It couldn’t be Rumplestiltskin, could it? What did you say? Said the little man. I said it couldn’t be. . .
Children
Rumplestiltskin!
Jillian
And the little man screamed. . . and stamped his foot. . .
Nancy (phone)
Honey, you sound so sad.
Jillian
It’s just the city, Nan. It just gets inside you, that’s all.
Nancy (phone)
You can’t let it. That’s how you got in trouble after Mom and Dad died, and you sound like you did then. Have you found a doctor to talk to yet?
Jillian
Uh-uh. Not yet.
Nancy (phone)
Promise me something, okay? If it gets like it was before that you’ll find someone to talk to.
Jillian
Nan, I really have to go, okay?
Spencer
Hey, Jill.
Jillian
Hey. You’re late.
Spencer
You didn’t get my message? I had a dinner meeting tonight.
Jillian
No. I didn’t check the machine yet.
Spencer
Oh, well, I’m sorry. I still ain’t conquered this corporate shit yet. I’m gonna take a shower, honey.
Jillian
Okay.
Jackson
Do you ever think, what if I had an F-Fifteen in World War II, or a B-Seventeen in World War I?
Shelly
No, never.
Jackson
What, what kind of ass I could kick if I had that type of advanced technology?
Shelly
And how many different kinds of ass are there, Jack?
Jackson
Many kinds, love. . . but the modern battlefield is all electronic and the fighter that this man has helped us design can detect, sort, identify and eliminate anything electronic.
Spencer
You got two McLaren engines pumping twenty-five thousand pounds of thrust. . . wingspan of seventy-five feet.
Jackson
Fully, fully extended.
Spencer
Oh, yeah, that’s fully extended. You got a top speed of eighteen hundred miles per hour, a ceiling of fifty-five thousand feet, and a crew, of two.
