Chapter 28
Jerome had chosen midnight blue for the packaging, with small, discreet silver stars to represent the night sky.
Astra Seta was stamped in silver foil on the front.
The box opened to a jar commissioned from Lalique, the legendary French crystal house, in the same midnight blue, nestled in white satin, and it came with a small silver spoon, to be used for scooping the cream out.
They would also be meeting with the PR firm Bella used for the company who would be in charge of getting this into the hands of beauty editors for the top fashion magazines, with the hopes they would feature it in their magazines.
Bella knew they would, just like she knew Jerome would be winning awards for this design.
Bella didn’t really want to be gone at the moment; as the mission time grew closer, Jack became more and more unavailable, with the most intensive training really starting now.
The crew had also been spending time at John F.
Kennedy Space Center, to inspect the ship that would be taking them to the moon.
Jack said he had inspected every plane he flew in before takeoff, and that wasn’t going to change now.
His attention to detail and concern for the safety of his crew is something Bella loved about him, and one of the reasons he’d been NASA’s clear choice to be mission commander.
By the time they left New York every buyer had committed to the limited-edition jars and the beauty editors were already planning features timed to the launch.
From New York they were all travelling to Houston, where the crew had been asked to throw out the first pitch at a Houston Astros game, over Memorial Day weekend.
Angela and Madeline would be meeting them there, as well as Carrie’s daughter Madison, as Mike and Carrie's relationship had become considerably more serious than anyone — including Carrie — had expected.
And Jerome was looking forward to continuing his moon rock conversation with Margie.
He was determined to get a moon rock or die trying!
The game had been fun, and Bella was thrilled seeing Jack and the crew on the big screen in the stadium, and the cheer that went up from the crowd when they walked out to the mound.
Jack had been given the ball to throw out, but at the last second he handed it to Elena to throw.
Her surprise and happiness on her face at the touching gesture was heartwarming.
She threw a strike right down the middle of the plate, with the Astro’s catcher shaking his hand in mock pain, to show how hard she’d thrown it.
The crew joined them in the NASA suite, and Jack spotted Bella across the suite and laughed out loud.
In a white tee and cropped jeans, she'd somehow managed to make vintage Manolo Blahnik denim high-heeled tennis shoes look completely natural at a baseball game. Only Bella! After the game they all went back to Jack’s for a barbeque.
He’d invited all of the mission crew, including the ground crew, and their families to his place.
It was his way of thanking everyone for the long hours they’d been putting in.
Later, after all the guests had gone, they cleaned up and were relaxing by the pool.
All four girls had gone to the theater, so they had the place to themselves, even if just for a few hours.
“I’m pretty sure I caught Jerome snooping in my office, looking for a moon rock,” Jack said.
“Probably. He’s obsessed with getting one. You didn’t have one. Did you? Please say you didn’t - you’ll never see it again!”
“No, no moon rocks - we aren’t allowed to just take one home and put it on display.”
“Thank goodness for that!”
“The pool looks beautiful and inviting, the way the moonlight bounces off the water," Bella said softly.
"You should see the ocean at night from a cockpit — the moon shining on the water just after launching off a carrier deck - it’s an amazing sight.”
“Do you miss flying?” she asked.
“Yes, but not as much as I used to. There’s something about being alone out there, no land in sight for thousands of miles. And the rush when the jet takes off, zero to one hundred sixty miles per hour in two or three seconds to get airborne. It’s like nothing you’ve ever experienced.”
“Wow, sounds exciting and scary at the same time.”
"It was.” A pause. "It still is. When we launch for the moon, it will be the same feeling, times a thousand.”
“And when you land? What’s that like?”
“Splashdown, we don’t land, we splashdown in the ocean. Shall I show you what that’s like?,” already moving toward her with that look on his face she was going to get wet.
“Jack Calloway - don’t you dare toss me in the pool, I’m wearing Manolos!”
“Well, I suggest you take those off, and maybe a few other things, Ms. Genovese. I’m feeling a bit hot and need to cool down.”
“Roger Wilco, Captain.”
The girls arrived back a few hours later and immediately launched into a full review of the film they'd seen, starring someone they declared a unanimous 10/10.
“Hey, did you guys go swimming? You’ve both got wet hair. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a pool, Mom.”
“Yes, I took a dip - I was feeling hot and I needed cooling off.”
“Oh, okay, well good night, see you in the morning” said Madeline, tossing her a cheeky grin and wink, before disappearing upstairs to the guest room.
The next day Jack took them all on a tour of NASA - Bella and his girls had been there of course, but it was new for Angela and Madeline, and he wanted to show them around.
They marveled at everything, took pictures wherever permitted, and met many of the ground crew who were working on the Diana IV mission.
Angela asked endless questions — the article, of course - while Madeline was most excited about the space food samples.
Afterwards, they drove to Galveston for a late lunch/early dinner at Shark Shack Beach and Bar Grill.
After fish tacos at the Shark Shack, they walked over to the Pleasure Pier, where all four girls played games and rode a few rides.
It was a perfect day, and the sea breeze took the edge off of the heat.
Jack and Bella sat on a bench, holding hands, and enjoying watching the girls have fun.
“They’ve really meshed well, don’t you think?” asked Bella.
“They have, I wasn’t sure - their backgrounds are so different, but they are pretty close in age if you look at it, and they seem to like the same things. I’m glad - I would have been worried if they didn’t like each other, wouldn’t you?”
“Absolutely. And I'm glad Primmy and Daisy get along — that would have been a disaster!”
“What should we do tomorrow? A friend has offered to loan us his boat - it’s plenty big for all of us. We can take it out on the lake.”
“Um, I love the ocean and water but only to look at - I’m not much of a boat person.”
Jack clutched his chest dramatically, “Bella, how can you say that to a Navy man? I’m crushed!”
“I’m sorry - I’m not a strong swimmer, so I tend to avoid it. Plus, I think I watched ‘Jaws’ too many times growing up.”
“Ha - fair enough - no boats. Got it.”
“You know what? Maybe the girls would like it though. I don’t have to go, you can take them, and I can stay at the house - I can run to the store and get something for dinner. What do you think?”
“Sounds like a plan, we can ask them when they get off the Ferris Wheel. I just hope Piper doesn’t get sick - she doesn’t do heights. I’m shocked they even got her up there!”
The next morning everyone left early to head out to the lake, while Bella ran to the store to pick up ingredients for dinner.
She'd decided on a lemony theme — a nod to her love of the Amalfi Coast and all things lemon - marinated chicken, lemon-ricotta stuffed ravioli, ingredients for an antipasto tray, and then she would make a lemon granita for dessert. She also stopped by the liquor store to pick up bottles of Aperol and prosecco, for Aperol Spritzes — Jack had never had one, but she had a feeling he'd like it. She knew her way around Jack’s kitchen by now, so she got everything out of the cupboards that she’d need for preparing, quickly changed into something comfortable — a vivid Pucci caftan she'd found in a vintage store in Rome, twisted her hair into a messy knot on the top of her head - and then got to work.
She was making the pasta from scratch - no store bought for this Sicilian girl!
Jack and the girls arrived back at the house after the day out on the lake - they’d all had a great time - to find Bella singing and dancing in the kitchen, with Taylor Swift blasting through the kitchen speaker.
“Jack! Girls! You’re back! Did you have fun? Was it nice? Did you get seasick - ha! Angela - you look a little pink. Go grab that balm from my bag and put that on right now - that will help. Dinner will be ready in about an hour - Jack, did you want to fire up the grill for the chicken? “
Jack listened to all of this and laughed. “Of course - do I have time for a quick shower? I need to rinse the sweat and sunscreen off.”
“I’m sorry - yes, of course. Girls, do you want to shower as well? Go ahead, we’ve got time - no rush.”
“Ooh - I love this song!” Bella said suddenly, as Taylor’s “Style” came on.
“Dance with me, Jack” she said, pulling him by the hand into the kitchen, and twirling around.
Jack obliged her by twirling a few times, entranced by the smile on her face.
Both of them were completely delighted, all four girls laughing at the sight of them - the song ended and Jack went into the master bath for a quick splash.
He shaved, put on clean clothes - a pink Ralph Lauren polo shirt and cargo shorts - then returned to the kitchen to find Bella waiting for him with an Aperol Spritz for him to try.
“It’s very orange,” he said, eyeing the glass with mild suspicion.