Venus

The egg rolled across the counter and despite a desperate snatch, hit the tiled floor with a wet plop. Lola laughed and her father, Mark, grimaced laughingly. There was flour everywhere and the pancake batter dribbled sticky over the edge of the bowl. It was Saturday morning and as everyone knows, that’s when you make pancakes.

Kerri-Ann came in to the kitchen with baby Lang rigidly attached to her hip. She rubbed her eyes and frowned at the mess. Middle-child Elsie sat ready at the table the lid already off the peanut butter and a knife plunged into its heart. At three, she was the most talkative of the three children.

Finally, with the egg cleaned up, steaming pancakes began piling up and the fever pitch of expectation made everyone clink their cutlery and squeak their chairs. Lang squawked and pointed unintelligibly. Kerri-Ann with her pillow hair and open dressing gown sat down heavily. Breakfast finally began. Music filled the morning brightly from the other room and the sun squeezed in through grubby windows. Colourful toys were strewn across the family room floor and last night’s dishes waited patiently under the slow dripping tap.

“So, who knows which is colder; Mars or Venus?” asked Mark. “Venus!”, replied Lola. “Well, Venus is closer to the sun. Do you think that would make it hotter or colder Elsie?”. Elsie was too busy spreading peanut butter the wrong way to notice the question. “Hotter”, said Lola. “That’s right darling. Venus is indeed hotter, much hotter. It’s hotter there that it is in the oven when we cook a cake.” Elsie, with big brown eyes looked up, “Can we go to Venus dad?”. “No, darling. Only robots have been sent to Venus and even they didn’t last very long because it’s even too hot for them. Would you girls like to see a picture taken on the surface of Venus?”. “Yes”, they chorused.

Kerri-Ann shovelled mashed banana and breakfast cereal into Lang’s mouth. As long as his hands were busy he unconsciously accepted each offering. Everyone was up to their second pancake when Mark returned with a scalloped notebook  computer wirelessly calling down an image from Venera-9 taken by the Russians in 1975. “This was the first image taken from the surface.”, the children looked eagerly, “I can’t see Dad.” said Lola. “There.  Do you think there’s life on Venus Lola?”, he asked. “No. It’s too hot.”. “Ah, but there are volcanic vents deep in the ocean that support life. If there, why not Venus?”. Lola though about it and Elsie asked, “What are voltonic bents Dad?”. “That’s volcanic vents darling; they are openings in the earth’s crust where super-hot magma pours out and makes the water around it boil. Life clings on tenaciously there somehow. Maybe it does on Venus too? Nobody knows”.

Lang had effectively finished and Kerri-Ann lifted him wriggling to the floor. He could stand when he felt like it but crawling was much more reliable. Like a bullet he was off to his box of blocks. Kerri-Ann rose, “Is it OK if I shower?”, she asked. “Sure, take your time darling.”. She smiled in appreciation and disappeared into the next room.

“Would you like some help with that Elsie?”, Mark asked as Elsie tried her best to achieve even coverage of peanut butter across her pancake. The knife was gouging great diverts and oily peanut butter was climbing up the handle. Elsie accepted the offer by passing across the knife. “There are a lot of other places in the solar system that would be interesting to travel to. Some of the moons of the gas giants look intriguing and then there’s always cold old Mars. If we were to make our home elsewhere, Mars would be out best chance. What do you know about Mars girls?”. “It’s red”, said Lola. Lola was six and a half with the beginnings of two front adult teeth slowing filling the gab caused velocity, mass, gravity and inertia. “Yes, it’s red. Do you know why?”. “Are there any rainbow planets?”, asked Elsie.

Lang had managed to climb onto the coffee table and wobbled himself into a standing position. Looking dangerously pleased with himself he took a step and tumbled. Mark leapt from his chair and dived for his son. The timber chair crashed to the floor and he only managed to catch Lang painfully by the solder. Lang cried out in shock and fright. “That was close, wasn’t it girls. You OK buddy?”, Lang wriggled, was put down then made his way back to the coffee table an heaved himself up.