Terrace Story by Hilary Leichter

Author:Hilary Leichter
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2023-06-27T00:00:00+00:00

Cantilever

AT THE SPACE STATION, ROSIE WAS KNOWN AS GRAVITY ONE. She operated the small vestibule on the tip of the hub that kept the suburb in orbit. All around Gravity One, concentric circles of tiny single-person homes, like a sleek Levittown in the sky.

When Rosie took on extra shifts, she worked with the relocation department down in the atrium. She interviewed potential homesteaders who had made the long journey to their suburb, hoping for a chance at life in the nebula. It was interesting work, and it paid the bills, which was more than you could say for some jobs. Rosie didn’t mind hearing people’s stories from the planet. It made her feel closer to something that was nearly gone.

One weekend, an older woman knocked on Rosie’s cube. Rosie was done with the day’s work and looking forward to a drink with her friends. Her girlfriend, Kyle, was traveling to a distant suburb that had ruptured and needed to be restrung. She called Rosie when she could, but the reception was not great.

“Dear Rosie: No matter how many moons we colonize, we will never make a decent cell phone,” Kyle said in a message to comms. The office brought Rosie a vellum printout of Kyle’s note, which she then tacked above her desk. It was like an old-fashioned love letter, Todd remarked, looking over Rosie’s shoulder on his way to lunch.

Kyle always knew how to make Rosie laugh. They were saving money to buy a place closer to the atmosphere. The mortgages were cheaper, but not all the areas were toxic like people said. And you could fit more heads in each homestead; they could give shelter to some of their friends, that was allowed. Kyle was always taking care of people. Rosie loved her but had not yet said the words.

“Hello?” The older woman peered around Rosie’s door, and Rosie sighed.

“Hi there,” she said. “Do you have an appointment?”

“Oh, I don’t think so.”

“You need an appointment to start the interview process,” Rosie explained. “They can set you up outside the atrium.”

The woman looked confused, startled. She stared at Rosie. Maybe she was unwell. A lot of people had a rough time with the initial journey. Rosie softened.

“Are you okay?” she asked, bringing a chair closer so the woman could sit down.

“I’m fine, I’m fine, just a little tired.”

“What’s your name? I’m Rosie.”

“That was my grandmother’s name. Rose.”

“No kidding,” Rosie said. “My dad is the only one who calls me that. Rose. Here, let me get you some juice.”

Rosie spun her chair around to the other side of the cube and dispensed some orange drink into a paper cup.

“Rosie, see, I have an appointment, but with someone else.”

“With Todd?” Rosie asked.

“Yes, that’s the one,” the woman said. “I met with Todd but asked if I could meet with you instead.”

Rosie laughed. “Well, that’s not typically allowed, but as someone who knows Todd, I feel your pain.”

“Would you . . .” The woman took a deep gulp of the orange drink and swallowed.

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