“How the devil
are we going to find her pink ballet slippers?” Robert growled as he handed
the cell phone back to John. “Geoff. Do you know where they are?”“How the devil
are we going to find her pink ballet slippers?” Robert growled as he handed
the cell phone back to John. “Geoff. Do you know where they are?”
“I don’t know,” Geoff grumbled. “In her room somewhere I guess.”
“They’re in her ballet box on the top shelf in her closet,” Tori said.
John turned his father-in-law’s rented Lincoln towards the causeway road and the Carter’s home instead of his own subdivision. The four had just finished a round of golf and had received an SOS from Susan who was helping prepare Susie for trick-or-treating tonight.
“How come they were leaving so much earlier than you and Helena? I thought you were all going to the same party.”
“The party is being hosted by some old friends of Mel’s. They were going to help set up or something, I think. We’ll head down to Vero to the party soon.”
Robert turned back to look at his grandchildren. “And you two are too old to trick-or-treat, I understand.”
“We’re almost in high school, Grandpa!” Tori exclaimed. “That’s practically grown up!”
John rolled his eyes. “Well, not quite grown up.”
“Christy and I are going to take Susie around the neighborhood. Grandpa can take the boys.”
“Sam and Robbie assured me they can go on their own,” Robert said.
“Just follow them at a discreet distance, Robert. I’ll talk to them before I leave,” John said quietly.
Robert nodded. What about you Geoff?”
“Pete’s dad is picking me up. We’re going to spend the night playing that new online interactive game,” Geoff said.
“Does your grandmother know about this?”
“Yes sir,” both children called in unison.
Robert nodded, satisfied.
John turned into the Carter’s driveway. Robert noticed that the garage door was closed. “Geoff, do you have a key?”
“I’ve got a key to the front door,” John said.
The four piled out of the car and headed for the front door. John’s long legs carried him to the front door first. He reached forward to put the key in the door and the door opened up.
John’s jaw dropped as he stared at the woman in front of him.
Her henna-red hair was teased into wild tangles. Her eyes were rimmed in dark lines and her lipstick was more black than red. She was dressed in a purple suede mini-skirt with thigh-high black buccaneer boots with wide cuffs and spiked heels. Studded dog collars adorned her neck and wrists. Her artfully torn white t-shirt was fastened with a series of safety pins, revealing a bra of the same purple suede beneath the midriff t-shirt. A silver ring with a ruby stud adorned her belly button.
“Well, hello big boy,” Melissa’s voice purred from the wild looking stranger.
John felt his face go red.
“You must be looking for these.” Melissa dangled a tiny pair of pink ballet slippers incongruously from her fingers with the long black nails.
“Missy! What the hell are you wearing?!” Robert arrived at the door.
“Hi Daddy. It’s a Halloween costume.”
“Good God girl. You look like a … a… “
“Slut?” Geoff supplied with a raised eyebrow. “Cool costume, Mom.”
“Thanks sweetie,” Melissa grinned at her son and put the slippers in John’s hands.
John fought the overwhelming urge to put his hands over his daughter’s eyes.
“Wow, Aunt Mel! Did you pierce your belly button?” Tori asked.
Melissa winked at her niece and touched her belly button. “It’s just a clip-on, V-girl.” She reached carefully with her long black nails and pinched the ring. It came away in her hand. She placed it in Tori’s outstretched hand and the girl inspected it carefully with a grin.
“Neat!” She handed it back and watched carefully as Melissa replaced it.
Robert was puffed up with rage and indignation. “Melissa, I forbid you to wear that out in public!”
She looked at him in complete surprise. “You forbid? Dad. I’m an adult. It’s Halloween. Don’t make a big deal out of this.”
“Does your husband know what you have on?”
“Of course he does. In fact, here comes my old man now.”
They felt it before they heard or saw it; a deep subsonic thudding as Alan pulled into the yard on a huge Harley-Davidson. The front wheel was jacked up and the handlebars were high. Alan wore aviator glasses and black bike leathers. His vest had no sleeves and a v-neck showing an abundance of chest hair and well-muscled arms. His wrists were covered with studded black leather cuffs and as he pulled closer they could see tattoos on his biceps. He also sported a long blond ponytail. He spotted his family standing by the front door and rolled over the front lawn, coming to rest on the sidewalk.
“Dad! What a cool hog! Can I have a ride?”
“We don’t have a lot of time, mate,” Alan glanced at Melissa then grinned at her nod. “Hop on. Once around the orange grove.”
“All right!”
“Stay on the shell road,” Melissa cautioned. “It’s not a dirt bike you know.”
Alan nodded and revved the engine. He handed Geoff the cap-like helmet that had been strapped to the back of the bike. Geoff climbed onto the second saddle behind and above his father. Alan revved the bike and dug a four-inch hole in the front yard as they took off. Geoff’s whoop of delight was lost in the roar of the hog’s engine.
“Where did he get the tattoos?” Tori asked, eyes wide in awe.
“They’re Mehendi. It’s a special dye that comes off,” Melissa explained. “Next time you have a special occasion, I’ll take you to the girl who did it.”
“Wow!”
“Don’t do me any favors, Mel,” John said under his breath.
“Oh, John. It’s perfectly safe; an ancient art form.”
“Not on my granddaughter,” Robert growled.
Melissa just laughed and winked at Tori.
Alan and Geoff came roaring back. Melissa grabbed a black leather fanny pack and fastened it around her hips. She glanced at John to make certain he had the slippers and locked the door.
Geoff climbed reluctantly off the bike and handed the helmet to his mother. “That was the best! Is it ours Dad?”
“Nope. We just borrowed it.”
“Aww. Can we get one?”
“I don’t think so,” Melissa said with a laugh. “Have a good time this evening Geoff, Tori. John we’ll see you tonight.” She blew her father a kiss and climbed on the bike behind Alan. With a wave the pair roared off.
“Some things never seem to change,” John muttered.
“No matter how much we wish for them to,” Robert said.
The four headed back for their car with the ballet slippers.
Back at the Koenig house, Helena and Susan stood admiring Helena’s costume. Their eyes met and both broke out in a fit of giggles.
“I can’t wait to see your father’s face. It’s going to be priceless.” Susan sputtered between bouts of laughing.
“Oh this is tame compared to Mel’s.” Helena supplied as she caressed the soft pink fabric. “I only hope it fits.”
“There’s only one way to find out.” Susan gently patted her daughter’s shoulder. “Come on, put it on so I can help you get your hair up.”
Helena returned her smile and began to undress. After a few minutes of tugging and pulling, the costume was on. With her mother’s help, she had pulled her hair up on top of her head and slipped her ponytail through the hole in the pink pillbox style hat. Both women surveyed Helena’s reflection in the bathroom mirror.
“Hmm… do those look right?” Helena asked staring at the top of her costume.
“I have to ask, are those yours?” Her mother cracked a smile and pointed to her daughter’s breasts.
Helena cupped her breasts with her hands lifting them into place. “They’re all mine.”
“How’d you get ‘em to stand up and out like that?” Susan spied the contraption that seemed to hold Helena’s breasts higher than normal.
“I just put them in there. There’s something special in this bra causing them to defy gravity.”
“Wish mine still stood up like that. I bet your father does too.” Susan said as a sassy little glint racing through her green eyes.
“Mother!” Helena said playfully swatting her mother on the arm.
Susan raised her chin smugly. “We may be older but we ain’t dead.”
Helena shook her head ruefully making the piled up ponytail swing back and forth atop her head.
“In that case, we’d better keep Daddy away from Mel tonight. Her outfit will surely give him a heart attack.”
As if on cue, the two heard a door slam. “SUSAN!” Robert’s deep voice echoed through the den.
“Oops, sounds like trouble.” Helena said.
“You finish getting ready, Sweetie. I’ll see if the shoes arrived.”
“Will you send John in? He needs to get into his costume.”
“Sure.” Susan replied as she eased out of the bedroom.
In the den, Susan found Robert at the behind the bar pouring himself a drink.
“Easy now Grandpa, you’ll need a sober mind to take Sam and Robbie out.” Susan raised an eyebrow and shot Robert the look.
“There you are.” He put the bottle down and came out from the back of the bar.
“Where are the others?” Susan scanned the den.
“The kids took Susie and went upstairs. John’s outside lighting the Jack O Lanterns.”
Susan exhaled and sat down on the sofa, “So, did you find Susie’s shoes?”
He joined her on the sofa with his drink, “Poptart took them upstairs.”
Susan laughed, “You know, Victoria hates it when you call her that.”
Robert feigned an innocent look, “Hates it? I thought she loved it. After all, I’ve called her mother Cake for years.”
Susan reached over and pulled his arm around her shoulders, “Just because her mother didn’t fight it doesn’t mean that she won’t. Part of her is Koenig you know...”
“Yes.... the most stubborn part. I...” Before he could continue, John came in through one of the siding doors.
“Uh-oh, I’m interrupting something.” He walked by and winked indicating Robert’s arm around Susan. “Caught ya.”
Susan and Robert both laughed.
“Oh no...” Susan shook her head as she chuckled.
“Where’s Helena?”
“She’s getting dressed. She said to send you right in.”
“Great.” John headed toward his bedroom. He stopped in front of the door and turned back to face his in-laws. “Now don’t you kids go getting into trouble.”
“Don’t worry, John. I wouldn’t do anything you wouldn’t do.” Robert replied as John stepped through the door to his bedroom.
Still laughing, John closed the door to his bedroom. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of pink satin. A smile crossed his face as he went to investigate. As he crossed the threshold of the bathroom he ran into his wife, literally.
“Whoa.” He said as he wrapped his arms around her and breathed in the scent of her perfume.
“Hey you. Did you find Sue’s shoes?” She leaned her face up and accepted his kiss.
“The shoes are upstairs with the butterfly as we speak. Hmm…you smell good.” He leaned down and tried to kiss her neck only to be stopped by a pink scarf. “Hey, what’s this?” He pushed her away from his body.
She watched his reaction to her costume. His eyes were moving up and down her body. “Well, what do you think?” Her hair was pulled up into a blonde ponytail on top of her head. The ponytail was surround by something that looked like a pink pillbox hat. The small pink vest barely cover the soft satin piece of material that adorned her breasts. She wore sheer pink harem pants that showed off her legs. On her feet were pink slippers and there was a jewel shinning in the button of her bare belly. On her lips, she wore light pink lipstick. Her eyes were enhanced with huge false eyelashes.
“I...you...” John sputtered.
Helena turned back toward the mirror and inspected herself. “Do I look that bad? I mean, I know I’m a little old to be wearing this but...”
John was at her side immediately, “Oh no, it’s not like that.” He smiled. “You look incredible. You’re a dream.” His gaze fell to her chest.
Helena turned in his arms, “And you can call me Jeannie, Master.”
John touched his lips to hers briefly. “If you’re Jeannie, who am I?”
Helena reached behind him and pinched his butt. “Major Nelson, of course.”
“He drove a Corvette, right?”
“Absolutely.”
“I’m all over that idea.” He brought his hands from her hips and cupped her breasts. “And later, after the party, I’m going to be all over these.” He winked as her. “Where’d you get them?”
Helena stepped out of his embrace, “They’re mine!” She gave him the look.
“I didn’t mean to imply they weren’t. It’s just they’re....” He struggled to find the correct word.
Suddenly a little irritated she threw out a suggestions, “Suspended? Gee, are mine that bad?”
“Oh no, honey. You’re breasts are beautiful. It’s just that top. It makes them, well I don’t know extremely sexy.” He reached from her breasts again but was stopped by her hand on his wrist.
“Don’t even think about it, It took me forever to get them into this and you sure aren’t going to take them out before we leave.”
John exhaled deeply. “I can see now that I’m about to take one cold shower.” He turned and headed for his shower.
Upstairs, the Koenig and Carter kids and their friends were going over their plans for the evening.
Sam and Robbie were gathering up pillowcases to use for their candy as Susie bounced out of Victoria’s room. “I’m the most bootiful butterfly in the whole world.” The little girl spun in a circle in front of her brother and cousin.
“Aw, give me a small break.” Sam said.
“Really, gag city.” Robbie echoed.
Susie shot them a Robert Thompson size sneer and stuck her tongue out. “At least, I’m not a stupid old mummy like you, Robbie.”
“Pleassseee.” He returned and rolled his eyes.
“Let’s get out of here. It’s dark now.” Suggested Sam.
“Yeah, let’s go and let the baby play in her crib.” The boys retreated from the room leaving Susie alone. She checked her wings to make sure they hung straight and then checked her pink and silver antenna. “I don’t need those two stinky old boys, I’ve got my Gramma.”
She tumbled down the stairs to find her Grandmother.
Helena slipped something special from a pink and white striped bag into her overnight case as the doorbell rang. The pizza delivery was here with food to sustain the children. Her mother would have enough on her hands playing traffic cops, trying to keep up with all the kids while the doorbell rang constantly from Trick-or-Treaters.
She left the overnight case on the bed by the one she had already packed for John. He could carry them down when he finished dressing. She headed downstairs to join the rest of the family.
Two pizza cartons already sat empty on the dining table. It was amazing how quickly the children could go through food. Sam was just about to wipe his mouth on his sleeve when he spotted his mother. With a look from her, he grabbed a handy napkin instead and basked in his mother’s smile for making a correct, decision. Christy, Tori, and Susie, stood poised by the front door receiving their final instructions for the evening. “Now, Tori carry my cel phone just in case you need to call home.“
“Yes Grand.” Tori said as Susan handed her the tiny device.
“Now, stay in the neighborhood; look before crossing the street; don’t take candy from strangers; and only go to houses you know.
“Yes, ma’am.” Tori replied. “Can we go now?”
Reluctantly, Susan allowed them to leave only to hear Tori remark, “Gesh, does she still think we are babies?”
Geoff watched out the window for his ride. When his ride came, he grabbed his bag and another slice of pizza and headed out the door.
“Well, three down and two to go.” Robert said to Susan.
“Sam?” Helena called as she exited her bedroom.
Robert glanced up at his daughter. “Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Not you too?”
Long used to her father’s tirades Helena just smiled. “Well, I take you don’t approve?” She winked at her mother.
“Where did we go wrong, Susan?”
This statement caused Susan to laugh out loud.
“This isn’t funny, woman. Our daughter is standing here dressed like a common harlot!”
“Daddy!”
“No little girl, I mean it. First, your sister is dressed like a...a...”
“Biker slut.” Robbie supplied for him, mouth full of pizza.
“Er...well... I don’t that’s an appropriate word to call your mother, Robbie.”
Robbie shrugged. “That’s what she called it.”
“So I take it you saw Mel’s costume.” Helena said in the direction of her mother, thankful that her nephew had doused the flames of Robert’s ire.
“Did you need something, Mom?” Sam, the family diplomat, quickly changed the subject. His words slurred a bit as he spoke around his newly inserted fangs. His black hair was slicked back and he wore a black cape in imitation of Bela Lugosi’s Dracula.
“I just wanted to go over your plans for tonight one more time. This is the first time we are letting you two go out alone.”
“Awww...Mom!” Sam complained.
“I don’t want to hear it, Sam. Over here now.”
Sam and Robbie moved to stand in front of her. Robbie pointed to her breasts. “Wow, Aunt Helena. What happened to those?”
From across the room, Helena heard her father’s huff and her mother’s amused laughter. “Nothing happened to them.”
“But they’re...up there.” Robbie motioned for Sam to look.
“Cut that out, you two. Let’s go over the rules.”
Having had to endure a week of rule review, the two boys were sick to death about hearing them one last time.
“No ringing doorbells and running off; no papering trees; no egg tossing; no dog poop on the porch; no pumpkin smashing; and absolutely no staying out late. Understand?”
The boys nodded reluctantly and asked permission to leave. They gathered their pillowcases and headed out the door. Helena exchanged a look with her father who simply gathered his coat and went out another door to follow them.
“He’s always going to be like that isn’t he?” Helena and Susan plopped down on the couch.
“He’s only like that with his girls. If I wore that outfit when I was your age, his reaction would have been much different.”
From behind them the women heard a door open and close. John exited the bed
“Ready to go?” He was dressed in an old traditional US Air Force officer’s uniform complete with ribbons and medals. He looked very dashing.
Robbie and Sam dashed down the street, stopping at each house to collect loot, but keeping an eye on Sam’s house. They knew their grandfather was following them, but that wouldn’t disrupt their plans. When they spotted the girls they leaped into the shadow of a large sego palm and watched. Robbie wore one of his father’s old flight suits, complete with LSRO and mission patches. He had bound hands and face in bandages to give it a spooky effect. But it was as dark as Sam’s Dracula costume and they blended into the shadows.
Robbie punched Sam in the arm. “You’re right. They went the other way.”
“I heard Tor talking to Eric Baker. They’re going to go to his house and pick him up and he’s going to walk with them. So I knew they’d turn toward his house.”
Robbie nodded. “So they should curve around the subdivision the other way and we’ll see them over on Royal Palm just as planned.”
“Exactly.”
Two houses down they met up with a Harry Potter look-alike with wire-rimmed glasses and a wizard’s robe. Seymour Rosenbaum was a classmate of theirs who lived two blocks over. He turned around and headed out with them. They opened their bags to compare and Seymour tossed something heavy into Sam’s bag.
“It’s all set?” Sam asked as they walked along.
“Everything is ready. I even got up before sunrise to test it. It works perfectly, Robbie. Where did you get the stuff to make it?”
“Mom and Dad just had the garage door opener replaced. The old one wasn’t working right. I asked the installer if I could have the old one and he said sure. I’ve been fiddling with it in the mower shack over in the orange grove.”
“It even sounds creepy.”
“The gears have some problems. That’s why it creaks and why Mom replaced it.”
“We should have plenty of time to make the rounds and end up over by See’s house before the girls get there.”
“All right.”
The three were the image of innocence. They spotted their grandfather trailing them as they wound methodically through the neighborhood, but ignored him. More than an hour later they turned a corner and Sam nudged Robbie. The three boys stopped and watched. Christy walked about halfway up the sidewalk to the house in front of them. Susie bounced the rest of the way on her own. While Susie rang the doorbell Tori and Eric remained by the street in the shadow of one of the pine trees that lined this street. Sam watched with interest as Eric leaned down and kissed Tori on the lips. He glanced behind them. His grandfather was around the corner and couldn’t see them. He smiled. This was definitely intelligence that could be used later as a weapon.
Sam reached into his bag and pulled out the garage door remote. The three boys stepped into the shadow of a large hibiscus bush on the corner. Tori and the others were approaching Seymour’s house and all was ready.
Susie and Christy walked ahead of Tori and Eric. Tori was the target and everything was going as planned. Just as Susie and Christy walked beneath the tree Sam touched the button.
All would have gone well if Susie hadn’t noticed something on the sidewalk and stooped over to get a closer look. She and Christy stopped and so did Tori and Eric behind them. There was a creak and a whine and the skeleton dropped out of the pine tree right over where Susie was bent over.
She heard the noise and stood up. A bony foot waved in front of her nose. She screamed and twisted. The other bony foot caught in her butterfly wings. Tori and Eric had both stepped back as the skeleton groaned and creaked its way out of the tree. Susie tried to run toward her cousin, but the wings were stuck fast to the bones and the small wires that held them together. They tugged her back and she screamed louder.
Realizing that his trick was backfiring on his cousin, Sam touched the remote again and the skeleton began creaking its way back up. But this wasn’t working either. Susie had twisted around again to try to reach Christy and the bony foot was now twisted into the gauze of the wings. As the skeleton rose it tugged Susie’s wings up with them. Since the motor was strong enough to lift a garage door, it was also strong enough to lift a little girl by her butterfly wings.
Susie was now crying and squirming, which only twisted the gauze tighter around the bones. “Tori! Help me! Help me! It’s carrying me away!” Susie sobbed.
Christy reached her first and grabbed her around the waist. Tori stepped up next and began fumbling with the wide sash that criss-crossed around Susie’s chest to hold on the wings.
Sam touched the button again, bringing the skeleton back down.
At the sound of Susie’s screams Robert came running, no longer concerned about staying a discreet distance behind the boys. He arrived just as the skeleton creaked its way down to the sidewalk, Susie underneath it, sobbing. Robert pushed aside the skeleton and retrieved his youngest granddaughter. She wrapped herself around him, sobbing “I want my MOMMY!”
Robert stood awkwardly, Susie clinging to him and screaming at the top of her lungs. He glanced around at the other children. The three boys stood nearby and from the looks on their faces they knew they had been caught. The skeleton lay in a heap at his feet, still tangled in the bent butterfly wings.
“Sam. Robert. Home. Now.” The two boys took off running. Seymour didn’t wait to be told, he headed up the sidewalk for his own house.
Robert turned to the girls and noticed Eric for the first time. “Who are you?”
“He lives down the street from us, Grandpa.” Tori explained.
“Hmmm.” Robert looked down at the skeleton and the butterfly wings. “You three bring the wings and the skeleton.” Susie was still sobbing against his shoulder. He set out for Helena’s home, for once not feeling the pain in his knee through the fury at his two grandsons.
The party was in full swing. Melissa was on the dance floor dancing with the host of the party, Reg Gonzales. He and his partner, Trent were her long time friends and frequent business allies. Alan was well aware that Reg had been instrumental in getting Melissa back in business when they returned from the moon, and had also been a major backer when Melissa went looking for funding to create CKI, their current business venture.
Trent showed up at his elbow with two bottles of Corona. He handed one to Alan. “I’m glad you two could make it. I hate dancing and Reg loves it. He’ll keep your wife out on the dance floor all night.”
“And she loves that,” Alan said with a nod. He and Trent frequently played golf together and had become good friends over the years. “They do make an odd couple in those costumes, though.”
Reg was short and had grown rounder over the years. He had chosen a Napoleon Bonaparte costume. The white pants and gold braid made an interesting contrast with Melissa’s purple and black biker girl outfit.
Alan felt a buzzing against his back hip. He frowned and pulled his phone from his belt. He looked at the number and recognized John’s home phone number.
“Trouble?” Trent asked.
“Could be. My mother-in-law can handle just about anything the kids dish out. Probably comes from raising someone like Melissa.”
Trent laughed with him and Alan stepped outside the pool house where the dance floor and the band were set up.
It was quieter on the deck by the buffet table. There were plenty of people sitting at tables around the yard. Each table held a small pumpkin elegantly carved into jack-o-lanterns.
“Susan?” Alan answered the phone.
The first thing he could hear was Susie’s screams.
“Alan, we’ve had a little problem here. Can Melissa come to the phone?”
“Sure.” Alan noticed Trent watching him through the window. He motioned toward Melissa and Trent nodded and moved off to summon her. “What’s the problem?” The way Susie was screaming for her mommy she must have taken quiet a fright, but Susan sounded pretty calm, and he couldn’t hear ambulance sirens, so it must not be life threatening.
“Robbie and Sam planned to scare Tori with an old skeleton that Helena and Robert both used in med school. They hooked it up to a garage door opener and a car battery and suspended it from a tree. The problem was, when it dropped down, it dropped on Susie and caught in her wings…”
“Oh, my lord.”
Melissa was by his side. “Here she is, Susan.”
“Mom?” Melissa took the phone and listened. She glanced at the party-goers and motioned toward the dock. The gazebo out over the water would give them some privacy. They headed in that direction while Susan explained to Melissa. “Put her on,” Melissa said as they reached the dock.
Melissa listened for a moment then said. “Susie? Baby? Mommy’s right here... Susan Elizabeth Helena Carter, stop crying right now,” She said with steel in her voice. “I can’t understand a word you’re saying.”
She listened again. She leaned against the railing and closed her eyes. She shook her head. “Susie. You’re okay, right? Yes, I know, but the wings can be fixed, and we can still hang them up in your room, just like we planned. Listen, honey, it was just a trick. You know there isn’t really a skeleton trying to take you away, right? You calm down now and we’ll take Gramma to the Victorian Doll House store tomorrow afternoon.”
“Don’t bribe her,” Alan whispered.
Melissa waved him off. “We’ll be back by lunchtime tomorrow.” She walked into the gazebo then quickly turned around and walked out. She winked at Alan.
“Yes, Daddy and Uncle John will take care of the boys, but you’ve got to calm down. If you show them you’re scared, they win. You don’t want that do you? Of course not. Now don’t worry about those mean old boys and let Tori and Christy help you fix the wings. Okay? Give the phone back to Gramma.”
Melissa sat on a bench next to the boat house. Alan joined her. “Mom? Is she okay now? That’s good. We’ll be home tomorrow morning… Okay. Let us know if you need us. Good night.”
Alan looked up to see Helena and John coming out of the gazebo. John was straightening his tie.
“What happened?” John asked.
“The boys tried to play a trick on Tori, but Susie got caught in the cross-fire,” Melissa said with a sigh. She leaned back against the bench.
“Does Mom need us?” Helena asked.
“No. I got Susie to stop crying. The boys have been sent to bed and their candy confiscated.”
Alan stood. “Come on, John. Let’s go get a beer and we’ll figure out some suitable punishment for our innovative sons.”
John gave Helena’s hand a squeeze and followed his friend. “There are days when I think being Commander of Alpha was easier than being a father.”
Helena settled on the bench beside her sister.
“Having fun?”
“We were until someone walked in on us.”
“Sorry. Just trying to find a place where I could hear Mom on the phone.”
“We’ll survive. I think we’ll head for Mom and Dad’s condo in another hour or so. The party is fun, but I’m looking forward to some time with just John.”
“Hmm, maybe we need to find some kind of business trip for you to accompany John on.”
“I’ve been thinking that I’d like us to go to the Lake District again. I didn’t get to see much of it the last time.”
“England, eh? Well, it happens that I just got an interesting email yesterday. I haven’t had a chance to talk it over with anyone yet, but I think it would be best if both of you checked out this offer.”
“What offer is that?” Alan asked, walking up the dock with two bottles of beer in his hand. John was following with a beer for himself and a glass of wine for Helena.
“How would you guys like to do some work up at Alpha?”
“Alpha?” John asked with surprise. Helena slid over to make room for him on the bench. Alan took the deck, leaning against a post opposite his wife, touching her booted feet with his. “I thought that was all tied up in litigation.”
“It has been. Thank God we didn’t get caught up in that,” Melissa added with relief. “But the World Court is about to settle some of those cases, and the ILFA wants to do some renovation and expansion work as soon as it can.”
“Cellini’s Rock is getting too much business, I guess,” Alan suggested.
“There’s plenty of business to go around,” Melissa said impatiently. “And plenty more business to be had. Space is a big place, remember?”
“We know that,” John said with a touch of irony.
“And, it’s our future. We need to find ways to move more people out there and quit depending solely on Earth’s resources.”
“You’ll get no argument from us, love.” Alan smiled fondly at his wife.
John leaned back and Helena settled into his arms. “It always amazes me that the three of us have always been so gung ho about space exploration, but Melissa is always the one who finds ways to make it happen.”
“Ah, John,” Melissa said, pointing at him as she sat her beer bottle on the dock next to her. “Listen to the way you phrased that. ‘Space exploration’ implies just going out and poking around to find what’s out there. I’m interested in making it pay. You have to work within the constraints of our economy.”
“Which you do so well, Melissa,” John said with a chuckle.
“Yes,” Helena agreed with her husband. “You keep us all grounded—pun intended.”
They all laughed. “So, tell us about Alpha,” Alan suggested.
“I don’t know much, really. I just got an email from the head of IFLA saying they wanted to discuss renovations and expansion on Alpha so that plans would be in place to start as soon as the court case was settled.”
“They want us to bid on it?” John asked.
“It didn’t say that. I got the impression they were seeking us out specifically because of your experience with the place. If they want to put out bids, they can do that, but I think we can beat anyone else’s bid just because of your knowledge of the existing structures.”
Alan shrugged. “There’s always the company that built Alpha in the first place.”
“But think of all the modifications we made over the years. Life support alone…” Helena mused.
“And the catacombs,” John suggested. “We utilized those to a much greater extent than was ever planned.”
“Plus a lot of the surface buildings took heavy damage,” Helena pointed out.
“Exactly. You three know better than just about anyone else—especially anyone interested in contracting for this project,” Melissa said, nodding in approval. “Well, John, how about you and Helena make arrangements to spend some time in London seeing what they want?”
“London?”
“That’s where headquarters has been since you brought the moon back. It’s closer to the courts in Le Harve.”
Helena looked up at her husband. “It would be nice to be back in London again for a while.”
“The kids?” John asked.
“Leave them with us,” Alan suggested.
“I expect it will take several weeks. They could come join you for Thanksgiving vacation,” Melissa added.
“They would love that. Especially Tori,” Helena said.
“I’d need your help,” John told Helena.
“I like working with you. And it would be fun working on Alpha again.”
John smiled. “All right. We’ll work out the details this week.” He held out his beer bottle and the four joined him in a toast to their next project.
Maureen J. Long
