1953: Part 2
He woke knowing that he had just drowned in the North Sea in full armor. He couldn't pull it off before sinking. Half naked in the darkness, he had kicked and pushed. But had he really been swimming upwards? He couldn't tell.
Gasping for air, his mouth filled with water.
Bolting awake, at first not realizing where he was, he took a breath.
"Joe?"
"Sorry. Bad dream."
"Which one?"
"One of the drowning ones. The North Sea this time."
She sat up and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"It could have been worse. It didn't really happen. I've seen worse in real life," he said. The sheets and blankets lay on his lap. He suddenly became conscious of how cold it was.
"I know," she said.
"I haven't been in any kind of action since the end of the war, but I'm still dreaming about it," he said. "I don't plan to get back into it, but I've been making what downstairs? Some kind of bunker. I don't think all of it's even on our property any more. It's partly under the park."
He leaned back against the headboard of the bed.
"I told you about what Chuck and Giles are doing. I'm going to finish off the suit, help Chuck out, and then maybe it'll be over."
Romy said, "It doesn't have to be over. You don't really like your job. You've said yourself that you were at least making things that mattered during the war. Maybe there's a way to make a living off of being the Rocket."
"Well," he said, "maybe there is, but I can't think of one unless it's advertising. I could be the Rocket, sponsored by Camel."
"I'd try for Lucky Strikes," she said.
"Thinking they'll pay their share in cartons?"
"I can hope," she said. "But I'm not joking about this. It seems like there are more people in costume all the time. Man-machine here in town. The Marvelous X over in Lansing. Someone has to invent their devices. You're already doing it for Captain Commando and you did it all the time during the war."
"He's an old friend, and anyway, he breaks them practically the second they touch his hand."
"Then you'll have repeat business," she said.
"It's a good dream," he said. "I just don't see myself as much of a businessman. The best thing I can do is find a better job. Consulting isn't stable."
"It's better than being bored."
"I'd rather be bored than unemployed."
The alarm rang. He fumbled till found it on the end table and shut it off. He reached over the alarm clock and turned on the lamp. She'd already pulled the covers back over herself.
Well, he thought, another day helping General Motors conquer the world.