"Thank you, honey. It was sweet of you to bring these." Mom took one of the cookies and ate it happily.

"Well, he hasn't been by since last year, but he's stationned at headquarters now and that's way back in the Tilburg section, remember?" The Tilburg section was about sixty light years away, which made it a 20 day travel on a fast shuttle. "But I actually spoke to him last week. He told me..."

Mom seemed glad at the change of subject. She happily talked about her conversation with uncle Ben, relieved to steer away from the topic of you leaving for space. The tension in the room seemed lifted now.