Chapter 20
Callie’s dad is going to meet us at the base of the telescope to give us the clearance we need to see it up close, so we follow her to the back exit of the lobby. As soon as the door opens, we see the satellite dish towering above us.
“Oh my God,” I say, immediately overwhelmed by the sight.
It’s not like any kind of satellite I’ve seen before, and it’s more massive up close than I could ever have imagined.
Rather than a solid piece of equipment, the structure is built with LEGO-like pieces assembled to create a modern structure.
“I know,” Callie says. “My whole life I’ve lived in this town, and it never gets old.”
I glance over at her, and it’s true. She’s as struck by the sight as I am.
“It seems to go on for miles,” Gavin observes, just as taken with the sight.
“Two acres of surface area on that bad boy,” Brennan says with his eyes fixed on the satellite dish.
Something behind us catches Callie’s attention, and she turns around to wave. “Hey, Dad,” she says. When I turn to see a man in denim overalls and a trucker hat approaching us, I suddenly remember that I’ve met Callie’s dad before. And under less-than-desirable circumstances, to say the least.
“Calamity.” Officer Hartford walks over to us, giving Callie a side hug and a kiss on the top of her head.
“You remember Gavin and Elena, right?” Callie motions to us, and I instantly turn bright red.
“How could I forget?” Officer Hartford nods at both of us.
Gavin stiffens. He sticks out a hand and gives him a firm handshake.
“Uh, hello, Officer Hartford,” he says, reverting to the stuffy persona he usually puts on in front of Dad—and all dads, it would seem.
Though I can’t say I blame him. Meeting the father of the girl you like would be intimidating for anyone.
I manage to mutter a hello with a wave.
“And you know Supernova, of course.” Callie motions to Brennan.
“Good to see you, my boy,” Officer Hart says affectionately. No wave, no handshake. They give each other a hug. “You both making the new residents feel right at home here?”
“Oh, no.” I shake my head forcefully. “We’re not residents here, not permanent, at least.” Though we’ve been informed our stay here is going to be longer than initially expected, I’m not ready to admit this is my permanent residence. Not now or ever.
“Brennan and Callie have graciously offered to show us around,” Gavin says, nudging me.
“Oh, right. They’re the best,” I say, fumbling with my words to make up for my honest mistake. Even though I can’t understand why anyone would choose to live here, I should be more conscientious about how others feel about living here.
“There’s no one better than these two to give you the tour.
They live and breathe this stuff,” Officer Hartford says, thankfully not following up on my comment about being temporary residents.
Since Officer Hartford is still on duty, he leaves us to resume his job.
Now that we have the clearance we need, Brennan leads us up the metal stairway to the satellite dish.
When we reach the surface of the telescope, we stand in silence, taking it all in.
“I know it’s a radio telescope, but I still don’t understand how it works,” I say, shielding my eyes from the sunlight bouncing off the bright white surface.
“I’ll let Callie take the lead, since she’s a bigger nerd than I am.” Brennan smirks at her and takes a step back beside me. Callie gives him a playful eye roll but seems to take the jab as a compliment.
“Think of it as a bionic eardrum.” Callie puts a hand up to her ear and cups it. “It can hear things far beyond what we can see through the strongest ocular telescope,” she whispers, leaning into us.
Gavin is the closest to her, so she’s practically whispering in his ear.
It would be the perfect opportunity for the two of them to have a moment, except I notice Gavin shying away from her.
Guess that’s my cue. If it were up to Gavin, he’d never have a moment with her, so instead of stepping back to give him clearance, I lean against him, preventing him from doing so.
Gavin notices. But more importantly, so does Callie. Her eyes are clapped on Gavin’s, even though Brennan and I are standing right behind him.
Gavin clears his throat. “What’s it listening for?”
“We send a signal out, and when the radio wave hits something, the waves sends the signal back to the satellite, where a machine in the lab prints out the findings. The higher the frequency of returning waves, the closer the object. Conversely, the smaller frequency waves suggest the object is farther away. With that information scientists can create a map of an area in space without even seeing it.”
“Oh, that’s cool,” Gavin says, effectively letting the conversation die out between him and Callie. Amateur.
“What else can the telescope tell us?” I ask.
“The telescope is also like a time machine,” Callie says. “When we look into space, we’re seeing what happened light-years ago, so in essence we’re looking into the past. How our universe assembled itself, how the solar system was formed. Even the big bang.”
“That’s fascinating, right, Gavin?”
His head pops up like a Whac-A-Mole. “Uh, yeah. That’s really fascinating.” Smooth, Gavin. Real smooth.
Callie, thankfully, doesn’t seem to notice.
She seems to be in her element. “What’s even more fascinating is how the same molecules from then are not only still with us now, but they’re the same molecules we’re made of.
So essentially we’re made of star stuff,” she says with a passion I haven’t seen in anyone our age before.
Instead of asking another follow-up question, I give Gavin a subtle nudge. It’s time he takes the lead.
After an awkward second, Gavin clears his throat. “So when people use the saying the universe is telling me… you can use it literally.”
“I guess.” Callie giggles, and I give Gavin a nod of approval. “I never thought of it like that. Except the universe never gives me the answers I’m looking for.”
“Yeah? Like what?” Gavin relaxes and inches closer to her.
“Like if I should apply for out-of-state colleges or follow in my parents’ footsteps and work in Blaire. Or if I should go to Florida to visit my grandparents instead of interning at the observatory over the summer.”
“Or maybe the universe did give you an answer, and you’re right where you should be.”
My eyes widen at the marked improvement. Didn’t think Gavin was a fast learner, but he’s proving me wrong.
“Maybe.” She blushes. Then, probably realizing they’re not alone, Callie quickly composes herself. “Then again, space exploration is one of the great unknowns. Even new discoveries often lead to more questions rather than answers.”
The smile on my face is less about the discoveries out there and more about the ones happening here.
Gavin’s nerves are completely subdued by Callie’s passion for her work, and Callie seems responsive to Gavin’s advances, subtle as they are.
Their conversation has relaxed into a natural back-and-forth cadence.
Now that my work is done, I take a step back.
“So, have you discovered anything cool lately? Like UFOs or aliens?” I ask Brennan, trying to give Gavin and Callie some space.
“No,” Brennan says. “Not yet at least.”
I blink. Even though I was the one who asked about the possibility of extraterrestrials, I never expected to be taken seriously. And not by Brennan, of all people. “So, wait. You really think aliens are out there?”
He shrugs. “I mean, isn’t that what space exploration is? Discovering new and often unimaginable things in our universe?”
To me, people who believe in aliens come off as out of touch, eccentric, or even delusional. But Brennan is none of those things. The unlikely response from someone I least expect pulls me out of my head. Maybe I’ve been so focused on what this town doesn’t have that I can’t see what it does have.
“The only thing I know for sure is not to rule out the possibility of anything,” Brennan says.
“Yeah, I can agree with that.” I sigh, taking it all in.
And I’m not just talking about the cloudless blue sky above the expansive satellite dish hovering over the lush treetop landscape.
Listening to Callie and Brennan talk about their day-to-day, collecting data coming in from millions of miles away, puts into perspective how small and narrow my world is.
There’s a whole universe out there full of unknowns, and it’s making me wonder…
Maybe I’m limiting myself by wanting to go back to my old life.
Maybe the universe has something bigger in store for me than even I can imagine.
“Looks like it’s time for our shift to start,” Brennan announces.
“Already?” Callie seems disappointed.
“Guess time flies…,” Gavin says to Callie, then forcefully moves his eyes to Brennan so it isn’t obvious he’s just talking to Callie. Although he doesn’t fool me. I know smitten when I see it.
“Guess so.” Callie hides a smile behind her fist.
I’m so happy with Gavin’s progress with Callie today that I’m willing to overlook that cheesy line that came out of his mouth.
As we climb down to the ground level, Gavin and Callie are in the middle of a conversation. So I thank Brennan for the tour.
“That was fun today,” I say.
“Why do you sound surprised?” Brennan’s brows furrow.
“Nothing against you or Callie,” I backtrack, realizing my faux pas, “but I’ve never been interested in anything science-y. It’s actually kinda my worst subject in school.”
“I can’t say I relate. I’ve always been good at science. Maybe you had the wrong teacher,” he says with a boyish grin.
“Maybe,” I say, matching his playful tone. Then, almost immediately, an unusual sensation creeps up my neck, making the temperature rise in my cheeks. What is happening? Am I…blushing?