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Olesya Ilyukhina was going to die to save the world. Well, the dying part wasn't the saving the world. It was just what would happen after all the world saving. There wasn't any way to bring enough fuel for a round trip, especially not on the timelines they had to worry about. So she, along with two other volunteer astronauts would be going to Tau Ceti to research what the hell was up with astrophage and hopefully come up with a solution to stop it from dimming the sun. After that, they'd die. But that was a later problem. Right now she was trying to get the elusive Dr. Grace out of his shell.
They were sitting in the dining hall of the ship they all called "Stratt's Vat" and "shooting the shit" as the Americans said. Grace was there, but not really engaging much. It was mostly herself and Dr. Shapiro carrying the conversation. She'd been trying to figure Grace out for a while now. He was a very attractive man, one who turned the heads of many of the Taskforce members who crossed his path. He wasn't quite her type, not being a woman, but she could appreciate the view regardless.
Shapiro was explaining the concept of a "hall pass" in a relationship. A celebrity that, should you have the opportunity, your partner would allow you to fuck them without repercussions. It was an interesting concept. She had a list of women she'd have to get past a partner, if they weren't planning for a suicide mission. And if she had a partner. Okay, so it was moot point for her, but a fun intellectual exercise regardless. Annie—Dr. Shapiro—had a few men and women she said she would consider getting a partner to sign off on. Dr. Grace seemed to find the whole idea distasteful.
"I just don't see the point in premeditating cheating like that," he said. "Besides, just because the person is on your list, doesn't mean you're on their list. What if they have a partner? Walking up to them and saying 'my partner says I can sleep with you if you want' is just going to make them feel awkward."
"How do you know?" Olesya asked. "Have you done a survey of celebrities to find out how they feel about the concept?"
"I mean, nothing peer reviewed, but the subject did come up at one of the work parties my brother invited me to," Grace said.
"Really? What does your brother do for work, Dr. Grace?" Annie asked, leaning closer like she was expecting some world class gossip any second now.
Grace shrugged, "My brother, Colt, is a stunt performer. He's the stunt double for Tom Ryder."
"Tom Ryder?!" Annie nearly shrieked. "Have you met him? Oh, he's definitely going on my hall pass list!"
Olesya noticed that Grace made a face at that, but she wasn't sure which part of the statement got that reaction from the scientist. He shook his head and said, "Waste of a hall pass slot, honestly."
"Oh," Olesya asked, "And why is that, Dr. Grace?"
"Well, for starters, he's gay. Even if he was interested in being someone's hall pass, you wouldn't make his list. Sorry," he said as if he was trying to let Annie down gently.
Annie picked up on the same bit that Olesya had, "And? You implied there's more to it than just his orientation."
Grace smiled and said, "Well, also his husband is a jealous son of a bitch." The fact that Dr. Grace—who always tempered his language—swore was even more shocking than finding out the actor was married. Ilyukhina kept up with American celebrity gossip more than most and she'd never heard a hint that Tom Ryder had a partner. The good doctor wasn't done there, "Their prenup has some strong words about cheating, even calling out 'hall pass propositions' and threatening immediate divorce and/or castration."
Olesya laughed, "Okay, now you are pulling our legs. Very funny."
Annie also joined in the laughter, "How would you even know all that about their prenup?"
"Well, I had to read it before I signed it, didn't it?" Dr. Grace said, with what could only be called a shit eating grin as he took another sip of his coffee.
Both women stopped their laughing and stared. "Did you just imply that you are married to Tom Ryder?" Annie asked in disbelief.
"Technically his last name is 'Grace' now. He insisted on taking my name, at least legally speaking. He still uses the stage name, obviously," Dr. Grace was giving every indication of being serious about his. Olesya could feel her brain shutting down at the sudden unexpectedly incongruous nature of the information that had just been input. There was no way that Dr. Ryland Grace was married to the internationally known movie star Tom Ryder.
"Prove it!" she demanded, desperate to keep even a tenuous grip on reality.
Grace laughed and said, "Okay, how's this?" He pulled out his phone and opened his camera roll. He scrolled past several dozen photos clearly taken on the Vat to a bunch of photos taken before the Taskforce recruited him. There were selfies with Ryder, candid shots of the actor, wedding photos with the two of them. Unless Dr. Grace had some serious photo editing skills, it appeared he might actually be married to the movie star in question.
Huh, she knew that man had been hiding some interesting secrets behind his science pun t-shirts and general awkward demeanor. Good for him.