Part 6

Caroline was shocked to discover her daughter had got engaged. She had started to feel a little more at ease with her being away, perhaps because she knew it was supposed to be drawing to a close soon, and now it seemed that Lucille would never come home. When Lucy had told her the news later on Christmas day, the first words out of Caroline's mouth had been,

"But you're still so young! And how could you commit yourself to someone in such a short space of time?" Lucy had already braced herself for a negative reaction. She knew that there was a part of her mother who had clung to the hope that the relationship with Jeff would fall apart, not out of malice but due to a wish to keep her family close. Caroline had only ever dreamed of raising a nice family in nice surroundings. Her daughter appeared to be continuing to want to rebel against her mother's wishes. So it was that when Lucy and Jeff came to England on a small holiday at the end of January, she had been determined to find something to dislike about her daughter's fiancé, but she found it to be impossible. In those short ten days or so, Caroline came to accept that the feelings Lucy had for Jeff were genuine and not some silly little fantasy. She came to accept Jeff too, and instead of denying that Lucy was seeing someone, she would often sing his praises to her friends at the community centre where she was a volunteer.

"Such a lovely man," she would say. "Very well mannered. A proper gentleman. And very handsome too." All that was before she got to the bit about her future son-in-law being an astronaut who had been selected for the moon landings. Yes, Caroline liked to have something to talk about and Lucy returned to America with Jeff feeling a lot happier with her mother.

The couple's attention turned to their wedding. Jeff was adamant that they had to be married before his first mission, which gave them a maximum of only six months or so to plan and organise things. They decided that they wanted to marry abroad for several reasons. Firstly, it would mean that neither family would feel that the other was getting preference. Secondly, time was going to be tight, and they couldn't have a long honeymoon. If they were married abroad, then at least they would have some time away in a nice place. The decision was also due to Lucy's dream of getting married on a beach.

"I just really like the idea of getting married on a beach, somewhere sunny," she said, with something of a shrug. It was a hectic few months, what with Lucy working – Joel had offered her an extended contract, which of course she accepted - Jeff preparing for his mission and the two of them planning their big day. So it was that July came around sooner than anyone thought possible, but all was calm on a beach in Saint Lucia, where a wedding ceremony was almost over.

"Jefferson, do you wholeheartedly and lovingly enter into this lifelong union with Lucille, to cherish what you already have together, to explore the unknown together, to be there for each other in creating the partnership that will be your marriage?"

"I do." Jeff carefully placed the ring on Lucy's finger. The officiant turned to Lucy and repeated the words of the vow. She smiled unhesitatingly at Jeff and in turn pushed the ring onto his finger.

"I do," she said. The officiant beamed at them both.

"Then by the power invested in me for this ceremony, I am delighted to declare you married. You may kiss!" he said. The newlyweds obliged, to a round of applause and smiles from the small number of close family and friends present. Lucy turned to Karen, who was her bridesmaid, for her bouquet.

"My mascara hasn't run, has it?" she asked Lucy, wiping away a tear.

"No, you're fine," Lucy smiled at her. She and Jeff then mingled with their guests to receive hugs and congratulations, and of course posed for photographs, Jeff accidentally standing on the hem of Lucy's long, flowing white dress and almost causing her to fall.

"If you had damaged it, I'd have filed for divorce," she grinned. Jeff shook his head, knowing that she had no such intention.

"You look beautiful," he told her, offering her his arm as they made their way to where the reception was being held.

"Thank you," Lucy replied. She regarded him openly. "You don't scrub up too badly yourself in that uniform."


The rest of the day progressed along nicely, and Lucy was pleased that her mother was behaving herself. In fact, she seemed to have taken to Josie quite well. Grant and John were deep in conversation, Karen was busy chatting up one of Jeff's cousins, and Peter was happily helping himself to the drinks. Lucy and Jeff slipped away for a while so they could watch the sunset together.

"Happy?" Jeff asked.

"Very much so," Lucy said. "You?"

"Best day of my life," he replied, with absolute sincerity.

"Until you go into space," Lucy said, an eyebrow raised. Jeff kissed her.

"Space would have to be a very wonderful thing to beat being with you," he said.

"Aww…Jeff," Lucy said, and rested her head on his shoulder. They said nothing for a little while, watching the sun get lower and lower in the sky.

"So, what's it like being Mrs Tracy?" Jeff asked. Lucy laughed. She had been practising calling herself Lucille Tracy almost ever since they had got engaged in order to become accustomed to it.

"Oh, I think I could get used to it," she smiled at him, before putting an arm round his waist. They sat looking into each other's eyes, not needing to say anything else. Today was the first day of the rest of their lives.


Lucy had thought that things wouldn't be much different from before, but somehow being 'Mrs Tracy' instead of 'Miss Evans' did make a difference, especially now that the newlywed feelings were starting to wear off. She and Jeff had been married for just over three weeks. Today, Jeff would venture into space for his long-awaited first mission as an astronaut. He had been spending a few days in quarantine at Cape Canaveral and yesterday Lucy had flown to Florida to be present at the launch that, all being well, would take place later that day. They were currently squeezing in a final conversation via videocall. Jeff looked at Lucy as she stared back at him from the screen, nursing a glass of orange juice.

"You look awful, Sweetie. Are you okay?" he asked, noting she looked a little pasty. She shook her head.

"I couldn't get comfortable. I think it was because it was warm last night. Or maybe it was the bed."

"Have you had something to eat?"

"I will in a bit. I just need something to drink first," Lucy said. She took a couple of sips of the juice. She felt lousy as she always did when she hadn't slept well.

"You're not making yourself ill through anxiety, are you?" Jeff asked her, concerned.

"No. I mean, of course I'm nervous, you're about to be strapped into a giant explosive and fired into orbit. But it's normal nerves. I know enough about space flight now to understand it's dangerous but there's also great care to ensure safety." She felt her stomach gurgling and swallowed, fighting a wave of nausea. One thing she missed about England right now was the temperate climate. To her, the summer heat was sweltering in Houston and Orlando had proved to be not much better, even when there was air conditioning to provide temporary respite.

"Are you okay to come to the launch?"

"It'll take more than a bad night's sleep to stop me from doing that. I'll be fine after a shower." She had another mouthful of juice and immediately wished she hadn't. Jeff currently felt more concerned about his wife than what lay ahead for him. He and three other astronauts were going on a two-week mission. They would be conducting experiments, doing some testing of components, and basically getting some real experience of being in space and all the challenges of living in zero gravity. It was a day that had felt a long time in coming and he hoped that Lucy being not quite her usual sunny self would be the only hitch. He decided to try and cheer her up.

"Remember, no trashing the place with wild parties whilst I'm away."

"Oh, I will. You can be sure of that," Lucy managed a cheeky grin. "Anyway, make sure you take some nice pictures for us poor souls that will never have the experience of being blasted into space."

"Definitely," Jeff promised. Someone stuck their head round the door to tell Jeff that it was time for him to go. He turned back to his wife.

"I hope you'll feel better soon," he said. "Being back home will probably help."

"It's still hot there," she grumbled. "But I won't have to listen to your snoring for another fortnight so it's not all bad."

"I could say the same about you," Jeff retorted, good-naturedly. Lucy looked at her husband. She felt unusually weepy, and wanted to burst into tears, but she managed to hold herself together.

"I love you, Muffin," she said. Muffin was her pet name for him, although she had no idea where it came from. She had called him it one evening, and it had stuck.

"I love you too, Luce," he replied.

"Good luck," Lucy said. He gave her a final smile before the call was terminated.


Of the other wives and girlfriends present at the launch, the only one she got on very well with was Patty, the wife of the commander of Jeff's mission. Patty had taken Lucy under her wing, and was a great source of comfort to her, having seen her own husband go into space several times.

"Hi Lucy," Patty said, seeing her appear. "They'll be taking us to the place where we can watch the launch soon."

"Good," Lucy replied.

"Are you okay?" Patty asked, seeing that Lucy appeared to be a little quiet.

"I think it's the heat."

"Oh yes. Much as I'm proud of Javier, I'll be glad of the day we can move north again." She smiled at Lucy and attempted to take her mind off things. "Everything will be fine with the launch. He'll be back before you know it. Anyway, I want to know all about your wedding." It did the trick, albeit for a little while. When the countdown finally began, despite her earlier assurance to Jeff, Lucy's heart was beating fast. The rocket blasted off with a deafening roar. Lucy was surprised at just how loud it was. She watched as the rocket disappeared into the sky on a perfect trajectory, rapidly becoming just a glowing speck.

"Well, that's it," Patty said.

"I just hope he enjoys himself," Lucy said, taking a last glance at the sky.


It was a few days later. Lucy was back in Houston and was glad it was Saturday. She had been back at work upon travelling back from Florida but continued to feel below par and it had taken some effort to power through. Even her colleagues, who she usually got on with so well, had seemed irritating. She was currently in bed, taking advantage of Jeff's absence to starfish and enjoy the feeling of the cool sheets beneath her limbs as she stretched. She let out a sigh and glanced at her bedside table. She was procrastinating. She made herself get out of bed, pick up the thing she'd been looking at from the table and disappeared into the bathroom.

She turned out to be right in her suspicion that it wasn't the summer weather ailing her after all.

She was pregnant.

Her reaction, as befitting her Englishness, was to make herself a cup of tea. She curled up on the sofa in contemplation. Lucy had never been against having children and Jeff had hinted he wouldn't mind, but on the other hand, she hadn't given it much serious consideration, either – it had seemed distant, something that might happen 'one day'. And that day had arrived.

"I'm only twenty-four. There's so much I still want to do with my life!" she said out loud. She would have liked a little more time to enjoy married life with Jeff before they were joined by anyone else. It was barely a month since the wedding… Which, thinking about dates, made her realise that there was the possibility they'd had an interloper at the ceremony. She gingerly placed a hand on her abdomen. The thought that there was a baby inside there was weird, and a little scary. She wished that Jeff were home. She now had a dilemma of when to tell him. Despite him being in orbit, they could speak via voice calls most days, but that seemed impersonal for delivering such big news. On the other hand, she was due to talk to him by videocall again in a day or so. Or, the other option was to wait over a week and tell him when he got home. Lucy decided on the latter. It would be nicer to tell him in the setting of home and if she told him whilst he was still on his mission, he'd only start worrying about her, and he didn't need to be distracted. She gave herself a talking to.

"Oh, pull yourself together, Lucille. It's not the end of the world." It was just the start of another chapter in her life. When she had her virtual meeting with Jeff, she felt as if she were holding back some juicy gossip that she couldn't possibly tell anybody else. She waited patiently for Jeff to appear on the screen. She was happy to see that he looked quite relaxed and well.

"Hi," she said, with a little wave.

"How's my gorgeous wife?" he asked, with a grin.

"I'm fine, thank you," she replied, smiling back.

"That's good. Anything to tell me?"

"Your mother hopes you're eating properly, and says that when we go to visit, she's preparing a full set of meals for you, to make up for eating rations."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"What's it like up there?" Lucy asked, changing the subject.

"Quiet," Jeff said. "Probably because I don't have you nagging at me."

"Keep talking like that and you won't want to return," Lucy teased. Jeff laughed.

"Well, it is pretty amazing up here. It's just like everyone describes it, you know, the Earth looking very peaceful and fragile. Anyway, look what I've learned to do." He did several somersaults, forward and back, without stopping.

"Show off," Lucy laughed. "I'd like to see you try do that when you get home, without the benefit of zero gravity."

"I wish you could be here," Jeff said, softly.

"So do I," Lucy said. "I miss you."

"I'll be home soon." Jeff replied. Lucy nodded. It was time to finish up.

"I'll see you later then," she said, and blew him a kiss.

"Look after yourself," Jeff told her, returning the gesture. Lucy wanted to laugh at the irony of his words. Instead she said,

"I will do. I love you."

"I love you too, Sweetie. Bye."

"Bye." Lucy waved again at the screen and smiled to herself. She'd be looking after herself very well indeed.


By the time Jeff was ready to come home after his first stint in space, Lucy had come round to the fact that she was expecting a baby. Despite the continuing bouts of what she now knew to be morning sickness, she was becoming quite excited about it. She was feeling a little pent-up because nobody, apart from herself, knew yet. Naturally, she wanted to tell Jeff before anyone else, but she had grown more impatient for his return than she would have done had she not had the unexpected news. At long last, she and Jeff were reunited after almost three weeks apart. He looked tired, but that didn't stop him from giving her a huge hug, even lifting her off the ground, much to her protests.

"That feels better," he said.

"Ready to go home?" Lucy asked.

"Definitely," Jeff smiled at her.

"Good. I've got a surprise for you when we get there."

"Really? Sounds interesting." Jeff raised an eyebrow, but Lucy gave nothing away. Once they got home and settled in, Jeff called his parents to let them know he was safe and well and to have a general chat. Lucy was glad to have him home again. She was occupied at work during the day, but she had missed his company in the evenings. Eventually he got off the call, and happily stretched out on the sofa, resting his feet on Lucy's legs.

"Slob," she said. He stuck his tongue out at her.

"Where's my surprise then?" he asked.

"What surprise?" Lucy feigned ignorance. Jeff gave her a look.

"You told me there was a surprise for me when I got home."

"Oh, that," Lucy said, flippantly. She squeezed his hand. "Well, what would you say to being a dad next April?" Jeff did a double take and quickly sat up, his dark blue eyes looking intently at her.

"You're pregnant?" He managed to sound both disbelieving and hopeful. Lucy nodded. "When did you find out?" he asked.

"Just before we had our first videocall chat, when you were up there."

"You knew then, and you didn't tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry," said Lucy. "It's felt like forever waiting for you to get home so I could tell you." Jeff didn't respond at first, seemingly collecting his thoughts. Suddenly, he grinned broadly and wrapped Lucy in a bearhug.

"I can't wait," he said. "You'll be a wonderful mother."

"Well, we'll wait and see on that," Lucy replied. Jeff put his hand on her tummy.

"When will it show?" he asked.

"Not for a while, from what I've read. Probably when I'm around four months."

"That long?"

"It's not like television shows, where they get an instant bump," Lucy teased. Jeff kissed her forehead and she let out a happy little sigh. Who could have predicted a year ago that she'd be married and pregnant? And despite her reservations about her ability to take on the mantle of motherhood, she wouldn't change a thing.