About Silver: Silver Lining
by Lucius Parhelion
34 pages
/ 13850 words
ISBN: 978-1-60370-903-3, 1-60370-903-7
Available file types - html, lit, pdf, prc, epub and Sony Reader pdf
In 1958 meteorologist Dr.
Rob Lanard is in Las Vegas to observe the effects of the first nuclear test
explosions on the weather. His boss on this job is Dr. Phillip Argent. The
two men share more than just their boredom on the job; they are both
pitching for the same team, so to speak.
It's not the kind of thing men of their position dare get caught at, though,
and Rob and Phillip must perform a careful dance, making sure they don't say
anything that could give them away. Can a surprise day off and a storm
conspire to let them get together the way they've been wanting to?
Sample
I
When Rob felt this bad, his gold-medal comfort was meeting a luscious number
who could distract him with gossip over drinks and company in bed. But he
didn't think going straight from the Nevada Test Site to any place he could
find such a friend was a very good idea. There were rumors that the FBI took
an interest in new faces at the sort of top-secret pow-wow he had just
attended, not to mention at A-bomb tests like the one he had been marched
off to witness once they were done talking. Also, Rob wasn't sure where he
could locate his kind of party in this town, let alone the right clubs or
bars. So much for knowing where the boys were.
Rob's silver-medal comfort was watching the weather, even when he wasn't
being paid to observe. That would have to do for easing today's mood. Given
how much tourists liked viewing the atomic tests, Rob had no trouble gaining
access to the roof of the Riviera Hotel. Nothing was actually scheduled out
on the Test Site today, so he could enjoy the sky undisturbed. There were
some nifty cumulus towers forming over the mountains to the west of Las
Vegas.
Propping his arms on the parapet, Rob watched the clouds build. Their tops
rose swiftly, the billows silver-white and glowing in the sunlight,
completely oblivious to anything humanity might be up to far below. Clouds
didn't care if this was 1958, or the Las Vegas Strip, or that there were now
man-made objects beeping high above them in orbit, or that the new skirmish
in space between the Soviets and the U.S. had thrown Rob's life into chaos.
Instead, the huge sky and towering clouds were soothingly indifferent,
reminding Rob only of his boyhood dreams about flying through a world of
blue vastness, shining white, and wind.
Right around the time when it seemed as if a few clouds might break through
into the tropopause, a familiar voice said, from behind Rob, "You're on
vacation, Dr. Lanard. There's no need to try and predict the local weather."
Without turning, Rob said, "I'm not. I'm just enjoying myself."
Dr. Phillip Argent moved to stand at Rob's elbow and look out toward the
mountains. Even in this desert heat, he was neatly dressed in what seemed to
be one truly expensive charcoal gray suit. Rob was surprised that Argent
would risk his well-tailored jacket by leaning on the concrete parapet.
"How'd you know I'd be up here?" Rob asked.
Argent paused in tapping a cigarette on its silver case. "I've known you for
over a year, now. And you weren't trying to hide."