Bikini Beach: To the moon ,
A story by Allie Elle

My thanks to Elrod for creating this universe and for Miss E Dauber for creating the guidelines, I will try and do the Beach Justice, with the A E touch......

To the Moon,

Victor stood stooped over the eyepiece of the refracting telescope he had bought with the last of his money before being made redundant. At 40 he sighed as he stared at the moon, he wished to step foot on that alien surface. Tearing his gaze away he looked at the young student that stood next to him and smiled. The teenager was dressed in a preppy style and had a set of thick rimmed glasses perched on her nose and was holding out a small stack of 20’s.

“Sir I can’t thank you enough for the chance to buy the telescope from you” Jacqueline smiled.

“Honey it’s a case of needing the cash,” Victor replied “dreams don’t fill a stomach.”

He pulled away and accepted the bills and watched as the teenage girl packed up the telescope and tripod in its bag. He smiled as he saw the care she took most youngsters were more interested in a disposable lifestyle. Victor had struck up a friendship with Jacqueline’s family after they had moved in next door four months ago. It was just her and her mother and Victor had found both of them friendly and caring, he also was in awe of the teenage girl’s attitude and how driven she was towards her dream. All she would talk about was the space program and exploration wanting to be the first woman who would walk on the moon. To some that attitude would have been the mark of a tomboy but the girl was able to match science with being a girly girl.

Jacqueline looked at Mr Travis and could see the sorrow on his face in parting with the telescope. She could see there was something else wrong and she wondered what was really behind the decision. Victor watched the girl take the bags back to her yard and turned away his shoulders slumping and with a heavy step he returned to his house and the task of packing. He hadn’t told his neighbours that the bank had foreclosed on his mortgage and he was being evicted. He considered his actions and he did not relish the thought of living in a shelter and other options just didn’t exist.

Victor looked at the boxes that contained most of his life and he sighed as he also looked at some of the photographs that were all that remained of his failed marriage. His ex wife was right he was nothing but a loser and there was nothing that would change that reality as far as he was concerned. Even his drinking buddies and a few contacts with a few people on the internet had dried up since he could not afford the cable bills or nights at the bar. His life was now officially on the skids, he slumped to the floor at the sight of his life in boxes it overwhelmed him. The depression came crashing around his ears and without a second glance he stood up and left the house in his mind never to return.

Jacqueline watched as Mr Travis left his house and she was worried, she recognised the slump in his shoulders and she ran to get her mother. The two females watched as he walked down the road towards the centre of the city. Roberta Summers watched as Mr Travis walked out of their eye line and she looked at her daughter, she had a feeling and it was a bad one and her daughter seemed to share it. They both shuddered and Roberta wondered who she could call if her suspicions were correct.

“Mom I don’t think Mr Travis is coming back” Jacqueline looked at the road.

“I just pray we are wrong nugget but I think it is the last time we will see him” Roberta hugged her daughter close to her.

Victor trudged into the city and towards the coastal area and the tourist strip. As he walked down the strip he looked up and saw a sign for bikini beach. He walked past the parking lot of the water park and the sounds of some of the patrons coming out came to his ears. Two teenage girls were talking about their upcoming dates and one woman was trying to hurry along a toddler girl who just wanted to go back and play. He looked at this scene and his depression increased, that was until he heard a scream and he looked up and saw that the toddler had slipped her mother’s hand and dashed onto the main street around fifty yards in front of him straight into the path of a speeding car.

Victor started to sprint and reached the child before the car did and with a grunt picked the girl up and used his body to shield the smaller body. He felt something snap in his lower body and his spine impact the car’s hood. He held himself in check until he could feel the small child start to struggle and cry. The child’s mother rushed over and sobbing took her child from his arms and he slid like a rag doll to the tarmac. The mother then realised that the man who had saved her daughter was injured although he was not making a sound and her scream was even louder.

Jana was just coming into the parking lot her Volkswagen following the speeding driver, she slammed on her brakes and jumped out pulling out her cell phone and immediately dialled 911. Just as she was doing this Elizabeth Nelson was coming out of the park and heading towards her condo. She was glad of her first aid training as she knelt on the floor and looked at the man who it seems had sacrificed his life to save another. She checked for a pulse and found a weak one in the neck, and she looked at the rest of the damage to the body.

As Elizabeth worked she could feel the pulse getting weaker and she looked up at Jana with tears in her eyes. Jana nodded to her friend and was relaying information to the police dispatcher and getting updates on the arrival of the ambulance. The mother was shielding her child but refusing the help of the teenage girls as they were trying to move her and her child away. Elizabeth stopped trying to stem the bleeding from victor’s broken leg when he moaned as she touched the open wound where the bone was pointing through the flesh. The wails of the sirens could be heard and the two friends and the rest of the onlookers sighed in relief as the ambulance appeared.

The paramedics as soon as they arrived started working on victor and stabilised him and dressed his wounds before immobilising him. The medics loaded the stretcher containing their patient and sped off towards city hospital. The two friends watched as it sped away and Elizabeth checked over the toddler and found that the child was just winded and she sighed. She walked to her condo and nodded as she passed Anya in the lobby. Anya could see the distress on her friends face and she scanned Elizabeth and saw the blood marking her Bikini Beach uniform and hands and she turned back to the elevators to go to her friends’ aid.

In the back of the ambulance Victor had stopped feeling the pain in his leg and also lost sensation from the lower half of his body. He was also finding breathing difficult as there seemed to be damage to his chest also; the paramedic noticed this and started watching closely. The ambulance reached city hospital and the trauma team took over, they worked and got Victor stable enough to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. Through the night the senior nurse kept an eye on his monitors and she breathed a sigh of relief as he made it through the critical time. She had handed over his identification to the police officers that had attended to the accident report and told them she would call when he was able to answer questions.

The morning Jacqueline saw a police cruiser outside Mr Travis’s house and she and her mother went to talk to the officer stood by door. They were shocked but nodded when they were told how he had been injured. They told the officer a white lie that they were close friends and would get the things Victor needed at the hospital. The officer nodded and after making sure that the two would lock the house after them left to continue his days work and back on patrol. The two of them walked into the house and were shocked to see the house was packed, Roberta scanned the room and saw a letter on the dining table and she could not help but read it. Tears reached her eyes and she looked at her daughter, Jacqueline looked at the letter and her mother and they both looked closely at the boxes around them.

They walked through into the bathroom and bedroom and started sorting through the clothes there and they saw the swimming trophies. The other thing that took them back was the uniform in its dry cleaning bag. They saw the medal ribbons and Jacqueline wondered what they were, the one thing that stood out was the uniform as in air force blue and had pilot’s wings on the lapels. The two of them decided that they would keep hold of the dress blues and then continued to pack the essentials for Victor. Working their way through they were a little surprised to find two dresses in his closet and some new nightgowns.

Wondering if they were doing the right thing they packed one of the nightgowns into the wash bag and locked up the house. They drove slowly to the city hospital and after checking in with the front desk went to the Intensive care unit and Roberta and Jacqueline looked through the observation glass. Victor was laid out in the hospital cot connected to tubes and machines and already looked as though he had passed into the next world. His frame looked frail and broken surrounded by the arcane machines and tubes of modern medicine. Roberta looked at her daughter and considered the wisdom in bringing her into the hospital she knew that Jacqueline had become close to Victor. As they stood there one of the nurses approached them and waited for Roberta to turn to face her.

“Excuse me are you family?” The nurse asked.

“We are his next door neighbours, as to family I think he has none” Roberta replied sadly.

The nurse nodded sadly and then brightened slightly as if an idea had just struck her. She looked at the two of them and bit her lip almost as if she was embarrassed to ask. Taking a few minutes to look at some paperwork in Victors notes and then at Roberta her smile waivered slightly.

“Mrs Granger, well I shouldn’t really ask this, but Mr Travis is recovering well and when he is released he will need some care and well” The nurse paused.

“His medical insurance doesn’t cover convalescent care?” Roberta replied, “And you are trying to find the way to ask us if we could take the burden?”

If the nurse could show any more crimson than she already was she would of set off the heat sensors in the fire alarm system. Roberta laughed seeing the reaction and smiled to put the nurse’s mind at rest. She looked closely at the man that was her next door neighbour and realised to her he seemed so defenceless and needed someone to care for him. Then she thought on the eviction notice she had seen and it further hardened her resolve. She looked at her daughter and knew that she was also close to Victor and would relish the thought of him living with them.
They had a spare room and Roberta decided it was now or never and she turned away from the window. She took the paperwork that the nurse was holding and looking over it before she could complain smiled when it referred to Victor and she nodded. Jacqueline saw this and wondered what her mother was up to and what she had decided. She then followed her mother’s gaze through the glass to the bed nearest them and she saw Mr Travis laying there and she worked out what her mother had decided and she smiled too.

After a few more minutes after making sure that the nurse would keep Roberta informed on Victors progress and would deliver the essentials to him they left. They travelled back in silence both deep in their own thoughts. Jacqueline was thinking that Mr Travis would be like a replacement for her father and Roberta was thinking it would just be nice to have adult company. When they reached home they were surprised to see a pickup with the bikini beach park logo outside Mr Travis’s house. A red headed young woman was stood on the front lawn and was staring at the property. There was a mature well dressed business woman with her.

The old woman was in conversation with Jenny about the man who had saved the toddler by his actions and both were trying to find a way to help him. Jenny noticed the SUV pull up next door and she stopped her conversation to watch the two women who got out of it obviously a mother and her teenage daughter. The old woman also looked at them and she smiled, with her gift she could sense the caring and love in the mother’s aura and the almost brilliant white of the daughters showing that she had a bright future ahead of her.

Roberta and Jacqueline walked over to the two women outside of Victor’s house and stopped. They both seemed to size up the two women and Roberta thought that they were there possibly to purchase the house from the bank. The old woman turned to look directly at Roberta and she smiled a gentle smile.

“Don’t worry Roberta, I am not here to buy the house although it is a nice property and the area looks a good one” The old woman said gently.

“Then why are you here?, and how do you...” Roberta was cut off by a gentle wave of a hand.

“How do I know your name?, that’s obvious the mailbox had Roberta and Jacqueline Granger painted on the mail box”
This did not really answer the question but the old woman seemed to be able to give out an aura that they could trust her. Jacqueline looked at her mother and the old woman and bit her lip. She was more cautious about people but there was something that seemed to say she should trust this stranger. The red headed woman stood there quietly while this interchange was going on her smile seemed genuine also. The old woman and the red head did not really explain any further just went back to their vehicle and drove off.

This left the two members of the Granger family confused but they shook it off and went indoors to start preparing for when Victor was well enough to be discharged. They cast an eye over the spare room they had and thought on what they had found in Victor’s closet and how they thought they could make the room more welcoming for their future guest. The two of them wondered how badly Victor would be and the decided that maybe that some sort of hospital cot would be needed. Roberta sighed as it brought back memories of her deceased husband and his final years after a long battle with cancer. Jacqueline was fortunately too young to remember that time and the speed the cancer spread through Harry’s body and the shadow of the man he used to be.

Harry Granger had in fact been Colonel Granger and involved in the space program. Roberta wondered if this was where her daughter got her love of astronomy from. It was too painful for Roberta to keep memories of the man. The sight of Victor’s uniform brought back a lot of memories and the NASA liaison patch on the shoulder took her back to her memories of Kennedy and the press parties. She wondered if Victor had known her husband but judging by the cut of the uniform and the style he probably served a couple of years after her husband died.

Back at the Old woman’s office she was sitting in the darkness and looked up as Anya walked in. She sat across from her grandmother and waited for the old woman to talk. The old woman sat looking at her granddaughter; the two of them did not really need words. They both were thinking of the selfless act the stranger had made to save the life of a child, they were both worried that the man Victor would not survive. They were both adamant that it would not come to that, they both considered the powers that they had at their disposal.

Just as the two of them sat there in silence there came the ringing of the buzzer on the outer office door and after the old woman had let them in Chester Middleton MD stood in the office also. He made a rather dashing figure in his business suit although the cut was altered by his white doctor’s coat as he had come straight from the hospital. He settled into the second chair that had appeared at Anya’s gesture and sighed wearily.

“Well ladies your white night is going to pull through thankfully” Chester started.
“Thank you for telling us Chester, we were worried no one should lose a life for saving another” the old woman replied.
Anya also smiled at this news as it had affected Elizabeth deeply and her friend had been slightly depressed that she worked for no chance of the man surviving the impact. Chester could feel the relief from the two women who were her friends as well as employers and smiled. He knew that lost souls were a little of their business and sometimes righting wrongs. The fact that they were in a way involved in healing brought them and the park closer to Chester’s heart as medicine was his main passion. The old woman looked at him pensively and with a slight smile but whatever she was going to say was cut short by his pager going off.

Back across the city Roberta and Jacqueline were sat sharing an iced tea whilst considering what victor living with them would mean. So far neither of them could find any downsides to the situation and they both realised that he would need a lot of care at first. This did not dissuade Roberta as she still had memories of caring for her husband and realised that it was an important part of her to be caring for someone else. Jacqueline was also in a way looking forward to having someone to care for as she and her mother were very much alike and she knew if she did make the space program it would be in doing something in medicine.

Back at the hospital victor was coming to his senses but something felt off. He took stock and realised that he could not feel his lower body. He knew enough from his days in the air force and dealing with other pilots and also the space program that it was not a good sign. If his fears were correct then he would end up in some assisted living condo on government hand outs. He thought on this and although it would mean a roof over his head he felt he was not quite ready for the junk pile yet. He turned his head as much as the tubes etc would allow and saw a candy striper setting some flowers in a vase and he managed to croak enough to get her attention.

The candy striper gave a little squeal when she thought that the man in the bed was moaning in pain, she then noticed his eyes were open so she dashed out to get one of the medical staff. Darned kids, Victor thought to himself and a dry strangled chuckle escaped around the tube in his mouth. Dr Chester entered at that point and his gentle face was split by a grin, he did the usual observations all the time smiling at what he sensed was going on. Although intensive care wasn’t his usual duty station he felt he had an unspoken claim on this patient because of the location of his accident.

Victor’s eyes studied the doctor that seemed to be inappropriately happy that Victor was still with the land of the living. There were the lines of a caring medical professional around his face and also the mark of someone who was quick to laugh around his eyes and mouth. It allowed Victor to relax at the intrusions into his body by the machines that surrounded him. He moved his eyes around as the doctor was working, watching closely at what was done and frowned carefully as the doctor did something at his legs that he could not feel.

Chester saw the change in the patient’s expression and wondered what was going on in the head on the pillow. The worried expression was concerning to Chester as there was something he was doing that the patient knew about but was possibly unable to communicate. These reactions always concerned Chester as he always felt it was best to get reactions straight from a patient instead of all the machines that surrounded the medical arcane practices.

Victor tried to talk around the breathing tube in his throat but all that came out was a set of gargles and groans. The machine took stock of the fact that he was starting to breathe for himself and let out an electronic complaint. Chester watched the readouts for a short while and then got a small amount of anaesthesia and squirted it down Victor’s throat. As the drug took effect Chester gently removed the tube and Victor smiled and to Chester it was like the sun rising.
“Welcome to the land of living my friend” Chester quipped.
“th....thanks Doc” victor grinned as his voice came out as a low croak.

Chester wiped Victor’s parched lips with a damp tissue and his patient smiled at the gentle ministrations. He was rather surprised that a doctor would be carrying out these duties instead of a nurse. Chester seemed to read his thoughts and smiled a deeper smile as he continued in the job he was doing. Chester was fast but gentle as he worked on all the readings and tubes and he was soon finished with his work and leaned back against the wall and brushed off some invisible lint from his lab coat. Victor watched the doctor closely and found himself smiling at the behaviour of this slim middle aged man with gentle hands. As Chester returned to the bed and lifted some of his patient’s hair from his forehead, Victor gently reached a hand up and gently touched the finger moving the hair.

“Doc I don’t want you to lie but me back is bust isn’t it?” Victor said quietly.

“Well Victor I am not one to lie but you’re going to need go faster stripes on a wheelchair.” Chester replied with a grin.
Chester saw his patients face cloud over at his comments and he thought that he had overstepped the mark. Victor saw the look of worry on the doctors face and he knew that his expression were the cause of it. He smiled and nodded to relieve the medic and looked at his life and he thought on what he would need to arrange. Thinking over that the medications took over again and Victor gave way to sleep again. Chester saw Victor relax into sleep again and left the room to update the notes. He was cursing himself over his over easy manner until he left after completing his notes.

Back across the city, Roberta was battling with an old friend who ran a medical supply warehouse to try and get a suitable bed for Victor to use. She was close to pulling her hair out over the way her old school friend was behaving it was as if she was trying to make the salesperson of the year award. She worked her best to get a deal and sighed when the hospital bed came to $2000 and she arranged for the funds to be transferred. That was done and delivery was set up for two days time and Roberta talked with her daughter and they arranged the work for tomorrow in clearing the dining room into a bedroom.

The morning was a return to a normal routine and Jacqueline had to return to school and Roberta arranged for time off work to prepare the house. She buried herself into the work that needed doing and in no time had the dining room ready for the hospital cot that was being delivered in the following morning. She felt happy with the work but was disturbed by a knock on the door and she went to answer it with a heavy sigh.

Anya stood there looking rather sheepish and there was a pair of delivery men with a hospital cot boxed up. She looked on with a face that could only be described as having a slapped expression. Anya gently pushed the older woman to the side and motioned the two workmen to take the bed in and start setting it up. As Roberta realised what was going on she squeaked that the bed was to go into the dining room where a space had already been set up. The workmen nodded and Anya smiled and drew Roberta away from the door slightly. For some reason Roberta felt she could trust this stranger as she smiled and she felt a lot of warmth form her visitor.

“Please excuse my assumption I am Anya you met my grandmother the other day.” Anya started.

“Where are my manners I am Roberta and why did you deliver the bed? My friend said the funds would not clear for two days” Roberta replied her face still showing shock.

“Oh you may need to call your friend and cancel the order; I am not from the company. My grandmother and I saw your next door neighbour save that girl’s life and her mother and her were member at our water park. So we decided after checking with his doctor and hearing you were going to be taking care of him to come and provide the equipment he will need.”

Roberta was taken aback by this gesture and her jaw dropped, she was trying to understand why someone would do this for a stranger. She then realised what the woman had said and her face went white and the world started to spin slightly. Anya saw Roberta’s face turn ashen and she led the poor woman inside. She considered using her powers to ease the woman’s issues but then realised it would be a partial abuse of what she considered her morals. Anya eased Roberta to a seat and went to check on what the workmen were doing and she let them finish setting up the hospital cot and some other equipment and went back into the lounge.

Roberta looked as this young woman took charge and she felt she could not really put up a fight as Anya handed her the cell phone to call her friend and arrange the cancellation of the order she had placed. Roberta followed the implied suggestion and called her friend and cancelled and got the notification of when the money would be back in her account. Sighing now she did not have that expense she went to stand up and make a cup of tea for herself and her visitor. Taking solace in that regular part of her life Roberta relaxed and having got Anya sat at her table waited to form the questions she wanted to ask.

Anya watched the curiosity from Roberta and just smiled, the time was not right to allow some of the possible questions to be asked but that will come in time. She knew the time was not right as her heritage granted her some powers usually attributed to bad fiction. Anya realised that what the future held for this family would create frictions and needs in them. There was an importance in what was happening and Anya and grandmother had no real full knowledge of what was happening. The silence of the kitchen allowed her to prepare for any questions; she was surprised when there were no questions coming forth. As they both sat in silence over the cup of tea that Roberta had poured out a silent bond of friendship seemed to form between the two women.

Life settled into a routine for the next few weeks and Anya became a regular visitor to the house and Roberta looked forward to her company during the day. The two women became close in what they were planning for when Victor was allowed out of the hospital. Jacqueline also had become close to Anya and joined in with all the preparations and had even set up the telescope she had bought from Victor in the dining room window as it faced away from the city. The Granger’s did not allow Anya to know the fact they considered Victor’s secret, but on one evening when Anya was not around they placed some nightdresses and other feminine clothes in the stand up wardrobe they placed in the room.

Three weeks passed and Victor was becoming well enough to be discharged and he was starting to suffer from cabin fever. He had regular visits from the doctor and the Granger’s and Anya and grandmother. The candy stripers were formal towards him calling him Mr Travis and the doctor insisted Victor called him Chester. The strangest visitors were two women one called Anya and an older woman who insisted that he call her grandmother. Suddenly there was a commotion in the hallway outside his room and Victor saw a woman trying to push her way past two nurses.

End of part 1