The Whittaker Saga

On Saturday Arthur heads over to Claudia's to check up on her and kids. He's surprised, and a bit shocked to find Claudia in a state he has not seen her in for months, crying as the girls are playing on their own. "What happened?" Arthur asks. It takes a while for Claudia to sort herself out and start to talk. "The bills," she finally sobs. "I don't know what to do. There is nothing..." "Surely you get a pension, from Kirk, from NASA-" Claudia just shakes her head. "He didn't.. he wasn't employed long enough. They said five years, and he- so it was a one time payout, of what he had put into the system, and I've been trying to spend as little as I can but there just isn't enough and I don't know what to do. I never got an education, my parents never thought I needed one, and there are only so many employers around that will hire women. I'll never get a job at Edwards, and the library require a degree and ...

For Arthur, life has become a rather comfortable routine. During the day he gets to push his mind and creativity in the best job he can possibly imagine, and in the evenings, he checks in on Claudia and the girls, either eating there or heading off to the bar downtown after. But even if Claudia is doing better, Kirks ghosts still looms large in the house. "Don't you think it's time to let go? It's been more than a year. Let him be properly buried," Arthur argues, not for the first time. This time, however, Claudia finally agrees, and on the next weekend, Arthur goes with her and the girls to the park where Kirk died, to finally lay him to rest. The meteor that killed him is still there. No one has been able to move it, or wanted to perhaps. It's a bit of a shock for Claudia to see, as she's been avoiding the park at all cost since he died. They walk until they find a spot that Claudia decides is good enough, then spread his ashes and release his spirit to ...