It's lovely, Nan. I love the way you make us see Jonathan through Martha's eyes, and makes us see how much she loves him - and how much he loves her. I love the way you show us that Jonathan and Martha may not always agree on things - whether or not they should spend more money on a possible adoption, whether or not a science fiction movie is plausible or not - but even when they disagree, they do so in a loving way. How right Martha was to insist they they stop spending money to get to adopt, so that Jonathan wouldn't lose the farm that had been in his family for generations.

I love your vivid description of Clark's spaceship, too:
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It was smooth and silver, all symmetrical lines and graceful curves. It had a rounded nose and what looked like a hatch on the top, but it was much too small to be a rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Martha thought. Besides, it didn't look anything like the great boosters that lifted the space capsules that lifted the space capsules bearing the astronauts into orbit. In fact, it didn't look like any craft that she had ever seen except perhaps on the cover of a science fiction magazine or a comic book.
Nan, as a space buff and long-time comic book reader I just love this. I can so, so see the rocket before me, the way you describe it. How appropriate, too, that Martha should be the one to assess and classify the little space craft, seeing that between her husband and herself, she is the science fiction buff!

I love it, Nan. It's vivid and real, and it's the very best kind of waffiness.

Ann