Chapter 28 #2
“It’s good for you - Aperol is an aperitif, which is good for the digestion.
It’s a pre-dinner drink. One of my favorite things in Italy is sitting at a café near a piazza — with an Aperol and little snacks, watching the sunset.
They call it ‘aperitivo.’ You’ll see - you must come to Italy with me someday. ”
Jack took a sip and raised an eyebrow. Not bad at all. He went outside to get the grill going while Bella took out plates, put the antipasto tray on the table, and filled a pot to boil water for the ravioli. She wants me to come to Italy with her. That would be nice.
The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing - Angela and Madeline had to head back to their respective schools for the end of the school year and pack their things up for the summer.
It was also the last week of school before the summer break for Sloane and Piper, and there was an end-of-the-year school event that they’d asked Bella to attend with Jack, so she’d be staying the rest of the week there in Houston.
She had her laptop with her so she could work - she also planned on visiting a few of the department stores in the area that carried Bella Pelle - nothing like the founder dropping in to help at the counter!
On the night of the girl’s school event Bella dressed with care.
She wore a pink linen sundress, with a white cardigan, and paired them with Aquazzura Marea high-heeled sandals in seafoam blue - embellished with little fish and seashells.
Several swipes of mascara, tinted moisturizer, highlighter, with a pink lip gloss, and Bella was ready.
After confining the Corgis to the kitchen - Jack hadn’t forgotten the unfortunate pillow incident - he set the house alarm and followed the others to the garage.
“Piper - don’t even think about calling shotgun,” he warned as he unlocked the car.
“Humph,” he heard from the backseat as they all got in.
Reaching the school a few minutes later, Jack dropped the girls at the front and then went to park the car.
No matter how much she protested, Bella’s shoes did not look like walking shoes.
Bella grabbed seats for her and Jack, while Sloane and Piper went to join their classmates before the program began.
Glancing around, Bella noticed Heather’s mom - the blonde - looking straight at her. Ouch - if looks could kill!
Jack slipped in beside her, reached for her hand and brought it to his lips.
She smiled at him and said nothing, and then the program began.
Watching the students walk to the stage, after their names were called for various awards and recognition, they were pleased when both Sloane and Piper received awards.
Jack stood and cheered loudly and Bella stood and cheered alongside him, genuinely thrilled to be there.
The principal gave her closing remarks then directed everyone to the area where refreshments had been set up.
Both girls made their way over to them, a blonde girl hovering just behind Sloane.
“Hey Bella, this is my friend Heather - she wanted to meet you.”
“Hi Heather, it’s nice to meet you. Congratulations on your award, well done.”
“Thank you, Ms. Genovese,” the other girl replied. “Those are amazing shoes. Sloane, you weren’t lying when you said she had killer shoes. I’m so jelly - my mom never wears cool stuff like this.”
“I’m sure your mom has plenty of cool clothes, sometimes we just don’t notice when it’s our own parents,” Bella replied graciously. And speak of the devil.
As if on cue, the other woman came walking up, and made a beeline for Jack, sliding her arm into his. “Jack - it’s been way too long - we never see you anymore. Where have you been? I miss you coming around the house.”
Jack looked bewildered - what the hell is this? “Hi Gretchen, how are you? I’ve, um, been busy, you know NASA stuff.” He gave Bella a look that said “HELP.”
“Oh hey, Mrs. Lange, have you met my dad’s girlfriend, Bella? Isn’t she the prettiest? She owns a big skincare company, Bella Pelle, have you heard of it?”
Piper gave her a sly look, waiting for the blonde woman’s answer.
“Oh. I didn’t know Jack had a girlfriend - Jack have you been hiding her from us? Yes, I’ve heard of Bella Pella, but I don’t use any of your products. Sorry,” she said with a shrug and a look that said she wasn’t sorry at all.
“You should, it would really do you good; you know older skin needs so much help. Well, bye, we are going out for a family dinner.” Butter wouldn’t melt in Piper’s mouth; she was that good.
Jack gently but firmly removed Gretchen's arm from his, said goodbye, took Bella’s hand and hurried away - that was insane, he thought.
He went to get the car, pulled up to the front, got them in the car, and then they were off to dinner.
Jack had let them pick the restaurant tonight, so they were off to a steakhouse on the lake.
After they were seated and their drinks arrived, Jack turned to Bella.
“Bella. I have no idea what the hell that was. I’ve never - not once - been interested in that woman - and nothing has ever happened between us. I don’t know what she was thinking. That was completely nuts.”
Bella took a sip of her martini, smiled, and replied, “I know. But she might want to check her radar — that target's already acquired.”
“Really? You’re not mad?
“No, I was actually amused. But she needs to know - Ghost is spoken for. Now, what’s good here?”
Jack leaned over to kiss her cheek, just as she was taking another sip of her drink.
“I love you - there’s no one but you I want as my wingman. You just took out your target without even putting down your drink.”
The next morning, Bella awoke to her phone blowing up with texts and notifications. Opening the group chat thread with Angela and Madeline, she started to read:
OMG Mom!
I can’t believe it - all my friends are freaking out!
What’s going on - what’s happened?
Mom - haven’t you seen your ‘Gram or Facebook? Go look RIGHT NOW at Jack’s IG!”
Bella quickly opened up her Instagram app and pulled up Jack’s page - all the astronauts had official accounts where they would post updates on the mission, and personal photos from time to time.
There was a picture of her and Jack, right at the moment he was kissing her cheek while she sipped her martini - one of the girls must have taken it.
Jack had captioned it “Out with my wingman,” and tagged Bella’s account.
She quickly went to Facebook and saw the same post.
“Mom - your IG/FB official!”
Is that a big deal?
Duh, he might as well have tattooed ‘mine’ across your forehead!
She smiled a smug smile and got out of bed, ready to take on the world.