"Fine. I'll be there. It's not like I have much of a choice, but this isn't a priority for me, Phil."
"Thank you, Jack. I think you'll find it interesting. I've spent some time with their chemist; there is more to it than just throwing some things in a jar and calling it a moisturizer. They study and work just as hard as our people here. And the owner, she's a really nice lady. She started the company a few years ago after her husband passed. Isabella Genovese. I play golf with her dad sometimes. You'll like her."
Great, Jack thought to himself. Some little old widow lady was coming in to slap stuff on his face. The best he could hope for was maybe she'd bring samples of other things he could take home to his daughters, Sloane, fifteen, and Piper, thirteen. They liked all that frou-frou stuff.
Jack's wife, Susan, had been tragically killed in a car accident five years earlier. It had been a freak accident, with no one to blame. Jack had considered dropping out of the astronaut program, but both his girls and Susan's parents insisted he stay in. Susan knew it was his dream to walk on the moon, and she would never have forgiven him if he gave that up. He was fortunate that both his family and hers were always willing to help, coming to stay with Sloane and Piper when he was away training. He struggled when the girls wanted to talk about boys, makeup, and other more personal matters, but they seemed happy, so he supposed he must be doing okay. Still, bringinghome some nice cosmetics would definitely earn him dad bonus points.
Maybe it wouldn't be a total loss.
Bella, Jerome, and Carrie arrived at noon. Dr. Campbell had arranged a car to pick them up, so after a quick identification check at the security gate, they were driven to Building 419, the conference center at Johnson Space Center.
Dr. Campbell, along with Mr. Jones and Mr. Smith, were waiting to meet them. After distributing guest badges and helping them secure their personal items in the visitor lockers, the group headed toward the conference room. NASA wasn't particularly fond of unauthorized photography.
"Are you looking forward to the presentation? Our research team told me this is the highlight of the week for them. I think they're hoping you brought them some goodies as well," Dr. Campbell said.
"We wouldn't dream of showing up empty-handed, Phil. Big G would never forgive me. We brought a selection of our best-selling products and some new shades we're evaluating for Carrie's Color Crayons. Plenty for your team, and extras for anyone who wants to take something home to family members."
"That's wonderful. I'm sure they'll appreciate it."
As they walked, Dr. Campbell glanced at his watch.
"Well, it's almost 1300 hours. We should head over. I imagine most of the team is already there."
"1300 hours?" Jerome asked.
"Military time, Jerome," Bella explained. "In our world we'd say one o'clock."
"Oh, okay. What hundred hours are we seeing the moon rocks?"
"You've already got more than enough rocks in your head. You don't need moon rocks too," Carrie teased.
Before entering the conference room, Bella ducked into the ladies' room for a quick touch-up. She checked her reflection in the mirror. She'd chosen the new floaty pink dress because the lightweight fabric was perfect for Houston's summer heat and paired it with sequined silver-trimmed sneakers.
One last glance to make sure she didn't have lipstick on her teeth.
"It's showtime, folks."
Dr. Campbell stepped to the podium at the front of the room.
"Good afternoon. Thank you all for joining us. You should have received your briefing folders and samples of the reason we're here today: a special cream developed for us by Bella Pelle. This product will be used during the Diana IV mission, with results being studied upon the crew's return. As we look toward longer-duration space travel, understanding how the human body responds is vital. And now I'd like to introduce the CEO and founder of Bella Pelle, Ms. Isabella Genovese."
Bella walked to the front of the room, acutely aware of the many eyes on her. Behind her, Jerome manned the laptop that controlled the presentation while Carrie offered an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
"You've got this."
Bella smiled.
"Thank you for having us here today. We at Bella Pelle are honored to be part of this important mission. We've brought some additional products for you to try and take home, so please stop by the table in the back for your goody bags. I'm looking forward to telling you about the product we've developed, answering your questions, and working more closely with many of you throughout the week."
Jack was barely paying attention.
His shoulder was still bothering him from a training injury, and his thoughts were on the physical training session scheduled afterward.
"Wow, look at that," Mike whispered, nudging him.
Jack looked up.
And immediately looked again.
