My husband is in an incredibly fucked situation, and it’s all my fault.

The way it started was not at all how I expected it. <br><br>After almost a decade of trying, my husband was in the end of his training as an astronaut with NASA. I don’t know how much of the process you’re familiar with, but as you can imagine, it’s grueling, exhausting, and even dangerous. *Especially* in the last few months. <br><br>As a result, I had barely seen my husband in months, and it was starting to show in his health. I was only able to visit him in person twice a week, and when I did, it was *at most* for a day or so. <br><br>He’d been complaining about insomnia, and his nutritionist was sending him to me with shopping lists of strange fruits and berries that I could only really find in specialty stores. <br><br>It had been over a year since either of us had been able to go out to a restaurant, and as much as I wanted to go out to eat, my husband would have loved it ten times more, and I couldn’t risk him getting sick in the last stretch of his training. <br><br>So I was cooking, I was cleaning, I was working, I was trying to direct my husband’s care when he needed me instead of a doctor, and I was trying to keep up with my own health and my own self-care in the process. <br><br>And so, when I got a call from our lawyer in the middle of the night in December, I thought he was simply calling about the last touches on our Will. <br><br>I answered, groggily, and heard my lawyer’s voice on the other line. <br><br>“Hello, ma’am. I hope you’re up. I have some news, and it’s of the utmost importance. Your father-in-law passed away just a few hours ago, and as discussed, you will be receiving his inheritance. It is...substantial, to say the least. I’m talking hundreds of millions, minimum, and that’s not even including real estate. <br><br>Now, I know this may sound a little unusual, but I think you should hear it straight from me and not from a more public source. The reason he left so much is because he was...a very unusual fellow. While his son is as gentle as a lamb...he...was not.” <br><br>I rolled over and sat up. <br><br>“What do you mean?” I asked. “I know he was eccentric. What did he do?”<br><br>“Well...he was fascinated with space, ma’am, and having been friendly with your husband, he was familiar with his work and career with NASA...” <br><br>I rubbed my eyes. <br><br>“What are you getting at?”<br><br>“Well, he’s preened his entire estate on the stipulation that your husband sell his seat in his first class flight to Jupiter to him instead.” <br><br>I stared at my phone. <br><br>“What?”<br><br>“He was very explicit in this. You, your husband, and your lawyer-including myself- are barred from his funeral, his wake, his entire...death, really, if you do not comply. I really can’t stress this enough. Losing the inheritance of your father-in-law will more than likely ruin your husband’s career with NASA.” <br><br>I rolled out of bed and went to the kitchen to make some coffee. <br><br>“Let me get this right. His career with NASA will be ruined if we don’t sell his seat...to space...to his dad...who *just died*...because he was fascinated with space?”<br><br>“Yes, that’s correct.”<br><br>“Well then, I think there’s been a mistake.” <br><br>I laughed. <br><br>“My father in law wants to buy my husband’s seat on his *first mission to Jupiter*. Problem is, his first mission to Jupiter was supposed to be in July, and it’s *December*. He...he died in training.” <br><br>There was a long pause. <br><br>“I thought training ended months ago.”<br><br>I laughed again. <br><br>“It did. Training ended in June, and his first mission was supposed to be months ago, like I said. But he didn’t make it. Training just dragged on and on and on, and he just never got out the door. He was just...so sick, for so long...it was awful, I’m so glad it’s finally over.” <br><br>There was another, longer, pause. <br><br>“Ma’am?”<br><br>“Yeah?”<br><br>“Well...did he ever go up at all?”<br><br>I sighed. <br><br>“No, he never did. He...wow, I just can’t believe how long it’s been. I wish I had thought of this sooner, but he was originally supposed to go up in April of last year, and it just kept being delayed, and delayed, and delayed. Training just went on for such a long time, and he was so sick, and eventually it was just too late. I’m just so glad he’s feeling better now.” <br><br>There was an even longer pause. <br><br>“Too late? What do you mean?”<br><br>“His first mission was supposed to be in April and then July. But then they kept pushing it back, and at first he was really confused, but then he stopped asking questions about it. And I think it’s just because he finally really got *why* they needed to keep pushing it back. He was so, so sick for so long. They didn’t think he’d survive.” <br><br>There was a long silence again. <br><br>“Well...I think there may be a problem.”<br><br>“Why?”<br><br>“Well, he was in training for over a year, right?”<br><br>“Yes, of course.”<br><br>“Well, he was supposed to go up at the end of that training period. That’s how it works. When you are in training, it is for a specific mission, and...well, at the end of training, you go up.” <br><br>I frowned. <br><br>“His training ended months ago.”<br><br>“Well then yes, there may be a problem. Because your husband went up in July, as scheduled.” <br><br>I bowed my head and closed my eyes. <br><br>“Oh my shit.”<br><br>“Yes, ma’am. There is a problem.”