За разломом орла

           Seemedbettertowaituntilmorning,whenwe’dhaveabetterideaofthedamagetotheship. It’snothingserious—justafewbitsandpiecesbuckledduringthetransit—butitmeanswe’regoingtobehereforanothercoupleofdays. Kolding—he’stherepairchief—saysthreeatthemost. Bythetimewegetbackoncourse,however,we’llbeaboutfortydaysbehindschedule." 

           Ipaused,eyeingtheincrementingcostindicator. BeforeIsatdownintheboothIalwayshadaneloquentandeconomicalspeechqueuedupinmyhead,onethatconveyedexactlywhatneededtobesaid,withthemeasureandgraceofasoliloquy. ButmymindalwaysdriedupassoonasIopenedmymouth,andinsteadofanactorIendedupsoundinglikeasmall-timethief, concoctingsomefumblingalibiinthepresenceofquick-wittedinterrogators. 

           Ismiledawkwardlyandcontinued: "Itkillsmetothinkthismessageisgoingtotakesolongtogettoyou. Butifthere’sasilverliningit’sthatIwon’tbefarbehindit. Bythetimeyougetthis,Ishouldbehomeonlyacoupleofdayslater. Sodon’twastemoneyreplyingtothis,becausebythetimeyougetitI’llalreadyhaveleftSaumlakiStation. JuststaywhereyouareandIpromiseI’llbehomesoon." 

           Thatwasit. TherewasnothingmoreIneededtosay,otherthan:"Imissyou." Deliveredafteramoment’spause,Imeantittosoundemphatic. ButwhenIreplayedtherecordingitsoundedmorelikeanafterthought. 

           Icouldhaverecordeditagain,butIdoubtedthatIwouldhavebeenanyhappier.