Louise

Later that evening, Mike thought about the possibility of making Louise fly, and he couldn’t think of any reason it couldn’t happen.  He had read about the flying cars of the future, how they were still little more than vague concepts.  But now with the anti-gravity stones, they could become reality.  His mind wandered from flying cars to spaceships and space travel.  Were the stones the answer?

He sat down at his computer and searched the Internet for information on anti-matter and anti-gravity.  Most of it went over his head, but he was intrigued by the cost of anti-matter, the most expensive substance on earth.  It was priced at about sixty-two trillion dollars a gram, which broke down to about $1.75 quadrillion an ounce.  He looked uncomprehendingly at the long line of zeroes next to the figures and thought about Lynn.  Would she see him differently now?  He wished he could talk to her right now and tell her all about the stones.

For the first time he could remember, Mike wished he didn’t have to go to work at the bar.  He wanted to stay home and experiment more with the stones.  He wondered how many more were still inside the cave.

His mind shifted excitedly to Louise, and he began planning how to mount the stone, the batteries, and the fans.  First, he and Otis had to get Louise to the country.  He would rent a trailer and tow her down to his uncle’s farm.

#

The week seemed to last forever.  With his Saturday night shift finally over, Mike finished restocking and headed home.  He spent most of his off time talking on the phone to Otis and making major plans.  He was off Sunday and Monday and had arranged with his boss to have Tuesday off as well.  Otis had done the same, although he had to use his vacation time.

Mike was glad that he and Otis were free to tinker with Louise for three whole days.  He had decided to take two stones.  The rest of his stones he had hidden carefully, as if he were hiding gold.  Of course, if what he had was truly anti-matter, then it was worth infinitely more than gold.

When Otis told him he was bringing just one stone, Mike interrogated him, telling him to be sure to hide the rest of his stones carefully.  Not only did the two have to be careful not to lose the stones, but they had to be ever-vigilant that the stones were placed properly.