Part Two

Lucy awoke the next morning with a jump. She remembered the previous night and sat up to reach her mobile phone on the cabinet beside her bed. There wasn't any message from Jeff yet, but it was early morning. In the next bed, Karen mumbled something in her sleep as she turned over. Lucy looked at her watch. Eight thirty. She decided to get up and go and find some breakfast. She hated spending any time in bed past nine o'clock as she felt as if the day were wasted. She slipped on some casual clothes and tied her hair back. She would have a shower after some food.

To her surprise, her father was already in the dining room of the hotel munching on some toast. He smiled at Lucy as she sat down with a bowl of cereal.

"I thought that we could go and see the Statue of Liberty today," he said.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Lucy replied, half-heartedly.

"You're not really expecting him to contact you, are you?" John asked his daughter.

"Jeff said he would," Lucy answered. Her father let out a sigh.

"Lucy… Even if he does, and even if I am somehow convinced to let you meet him for a meal, you won't see him again after that."

"You don't know that," Lucy replied.

"Tell me how you plan on seeing him again. You can't afford to make regular flights to the States, and even if you could, he's going to be busy with his training for the moon mission," John said, gently. Lucy pursed her lips together, knowing that her father was right, but at the same time, she was determined to prove him wrong. Instead, she said,

"You make it sound as if we were going out together or something."

"Young men don't ask young ladies out for a meal without reason," John replied, a gleam in his eyes. Lucy tried to stop herself blushing but without success.

"Dad… It'll just be a meal," she said. Her father simply smiled at her. They ate some more of their breakfast in silence.

"Perhaps I could let you go, if I was able to at least take you to wherever you'd meet him," her father said.

"I'm perfectly capable of going by myself if it's nearby. I'm an adult, not a child," Lucy said, crossly.

"You're still my daughter," replied John. Lucy shook her head. At that moment, Karen joined them, still rubbing her eyes.

"Nice of you to join us, sleepyhead," Lucy jibed. Karen simply yawned in reply.

"Hope you're not going to be too tired today Karen. We've got a lot to see yet," said John.

"I'll wake up in a bit. I just need some food," Karen mumbled, and stumbled off to find some.

"I'm going to get washed," Lucy said, gulping down the last of her tea.

"Okay, I'll come and fetch you when it's time to go." Lucy made her way back to her room and checked her phone again. Still nothing, but it was still early in the day. She jumped into the shower, and let her mind drift off into daydreams.


By lunchtime, Lucy had been up the Statue of Liberty, and had seen a portion of Manhattan, but she had still heard nothing from Jeff. She began to wonder if her father was right and Jeff hadn't really been serious about wanting to see her again. But he had seemed such a nice, open person…

The noise of her phone in her bag shook her out of her thoughts, and she hurriedly felt through her bag to find it. She took it out and looked at it. One new message.

"That from Jeff?" Karen asked.

"Shh!" said Lucy, reading the message.

Hi, hope I'm not too late! Is 6pm tonight OK for you? Jeff.

Lucy allowed a big grin to spread across her face, as she sent him a message back telling Jeff that that would be fine.

"I'm going to meet Jeff at six," she told her father, adamantly.

"Where?"

"I don't know yet."

"And what are Karen and I supposed to do this evening?"

"Oh, I don't mind Lucy going to see Jeff," Karen piped up, much to Lucy's delight and John's chagrin. Lucy's phone beeped again, and she read the message before turning to her companions.

"He said he wants to meet me outside that little Italian place just down the road from the hotel," she said, looking directly at her father. His shoulders sagged a little, knowing that he was fighting a lost cause.

"Very well. You can go," he said. Lucy smiled at him. "But I'm going to walk you there, as we discussed this morning," he added. Lucy didn't argue with him this time, despite wishing that her father wouldn't baby her. On the positive side, at least it would allow him to meet Jeff.


Later that day, Lucy was ready to go. Karen had given her a hug for good luck.

"Just enjoy yourself!" she had said. Lucy began to feel nervous as she and her father made their way to the restaurant. Was Jeff going to be the same as he was the previous night? Would they be able to chat away comfortably again? Maybe he'd take one look at her comparatively casual appearance compared to the other evening and realise he'd made a mistake. Her apprehension was lifted somewhat when she saw Jeff waiting for her. He was exactly as she remembered him – tall, dark haired, lovely dark blue eyes and a charming smile.

"Hi," he greeted her.

"Jeff, this is my father," Lucy said. "Dad, this is Jeff."

"Pleased to meet you, sir," Jeff said, shaking John's hand. John was taken aback a little by the absolute politeness of the young man, but then remembered his air force background.

"Likewise. Well, have a nice evening," he smiled at them, then turned and began making his way back to the hotel. Lucy turned to Jeff.

"I'm really sorry about that. He insisted on coming along."

"Don't be. It was nice to meet him," Jeff reassured her, leading the way into the restaurant. They were shown to a table and given a menu to ponder over.

"Did you stay very long last night?" asked Lucy.

"No, I left almost immediately after you," Jeff replied. Lucy held a short silence before speaking again.

"You didn't tell me that you were going to be one of the astronauts on the new moon landings," she said, a little accusingly. Jeff looked up from studying his menu.

"It was nice to talk to somebody who had no idea who I was and therefore wasn't going to ask me a million questions about the moon," he replied, matter-of-factly.

"Are you really that well recognised?" Lucy asked.

"In the big cities, yes. Although the mission isn't for another few years, there's been a lot of publicity about it recently," Jeff replied. "But it's dying down for the time being."

"You must be really looking forward to it."

"Of course. Who doesn't want to go into space?"

"The landings are to do with possible colonisation of the moon, aren't they?" asked Lucy, trying to remember what she'd managed to read about it.

"Yes. We'll be doing surveys and tests and suchlike. I don't really know the details yet," Jeff replied.

"I can't imagine people living on the moon. It sounds too much like science fiction."

"Anything is possible with the right thinking; even crazy ideas can come to fruition."

"Is this one of them? A crazy idea?" Lucy indicated herself and Jeff. He raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe."


The meal was nice, being genuine Italian cuisine. Lucy felt that she would never be able to eat dried supermarket pasta again with the same enthusiasm. She wasn't fussy about her diet, and eagerly ordered a dessert.

"All that sightseeing sure works up an appetite," Jeff said, amused.

"I'll eat pretty much anything," Lucy replied. "Though my cooking skills aren't something to be proud of, I'm afraid! I've not inherited my mother's culinary skills."

"My mother always cooks too," Jeff said. "With living on a farm, she grows her own vegetables, and pretty much makes her own cakes, bread, marmalade…you name it, she can do it."

"Funny how times change," Lucy said. "Most people wouldn't think of growing their own stuff nowadays."

"In the future, I think people will be more likely to be self-sufficient," said Jeff.

"How so?"

"History goes in circles. Whilst people today live fairly insular lives, in the future, I think that there will be a greater sense of community. Well, that's what I'd like to see." He looked slightly bashful at this.

"Like Star Trek?" Lucy asked, blurting out the only example she could think of. She hoped that Jeff wouldn't think that she was making fun of him, but to her relief, he grinned.

"I suppose so. I expect we'll be truly exploring beyond our solar system within the next hundred years."

"Star Trekkin' across the universe," smiled Lucy.

"Boldly going forward coz we can't find reverse," finished Jeff. The pair of them burst into laughter. The conversation turned to other forms of cheesy music, and together they picked out an amazing number of one hit wonders.


But eventually it was time for the meal to come to an end. They collected their coats and made their way outside. The sun was setting, clothing the surrounding buildings in a strange golden aura that fought for dominance with the numerous man-made lights.

"Shall we go for a walk?" asked Jeff. Lucy looked at her watch and seeing that it wasn't too late – in her opinion – into the evening, smiled at him and nodded her head. She wanted to spend as much time as possible with Jeff before they had to go their separate ways. Together, they set off down the road, in silence. Lucy couldn't believe that she had only met Jeff twenty-four hours previously. It felt longer than that. But though she tried to remind herself that a day was not a suitable amount of time to really get to know someone, Lucy felt that Jeff was someone she was meant to know, for want of better words.

"When will you have leave again?" Lucy asked.

"I'm not sure. Around Christmas, probably, though I'm hoping to have some time off before then," Jeff replied.

"How long is it until you transfer from your current air force posting?"

"I have another year, then I start my astronaut training." He seemed to sense what Lucy was thinking and took hold of her hand and squeezed it.

"I'm sure we'll work something out," he told her. He didn't let go of her hand however, much to Lucy's happiness. It was clear to her that Jeff was someone who worked hard, and she understood that she would likely come second to Jeff's career, for the time being at least. Perhaps one day… She shook herself in her mind. She'd only just met the man and shouldn't allow herself to get carried away. Having said that, the twinge in her stomach when he returned her smile was undeniable. It felt as if the more she fought what she was feeling, the more she seemed to be enchanted by Jeff. They continued to meander through the bright lights, engaging in snatches of conversation, and eventually their path took them back to Lucy's hotel. They stood outside.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Jeff said.

"I suppose so," Lucy replied. There suddenly seemed to be an air of awkwardness between them.

"I've had a nice time," Jeff said. "I thought I'd be bored when they told me I had to attend the charity event but…well, it shows that you never know what might happen."

"It does," Lucy said. "My mother won't believe me when I get home."

"You'll stay in touch?"

"Of course I will, if you'll do the same." She got the feeling that Jeff was suddenly holding back from her.

"I hope that you enjoy the rest of your trip," he said. Lucy couldn't bear it and wrapped her arms around him. She felt him tense up in surprise, but a moment later, she felt his arms firmly around her. She wished she could stay inside the embrace for longer, but Jeff released her. Sensing that it was really time to go, Lucy smiled up at him.

"Have a safe journey back to your base," she said.

"Thank you."

"Hopefully we will be able to meet again sometime soon."

"I hope so too," Jeff said. "I'd better be on my way."

"Yes, I should get back to my room," Lucy said, feeling tears prickling the back of her eyes.

"Goodbye, Lucy," Jeff said, smiling at her.

"Bye Jeff," Lucy managed to smile back. They finally parted company, Jeff making his way back to his own hotel, though not without a backward glance in his direction from Lucy. She made her way up to her room. Karen had promised to wait up for her, so she could hear all the details. Despite the awkward goodbye, Lucy knew that as far as she was concerned, it wasn't going to be the last she saw of Jeff Tracy.