Chapter Eight
Luke
Everyone we invited to the party had already arrived by the time Alexa came downstairs to the main floor. Gathered in the living room were Dana and little James, Mr. And Mrs. Thorpe, John and Felicia, my father and Candace, Mara and Jan who had taken an Uber out to the beach house, refusing to let me pick them up and bring them out despite my offer. The three of them would stay with us for the entire weekend, and would be company for Alexa when she languished in bed and I worked in my office.
"There she is," my father called out as the group turned and saw Alexa. "My beautiful daughter-in-law and her handsome husband. Come and give your old father-in-law a hug and kiss."
Alexa smiled and went to my father, embracing him happily. I think she felt heartened that he came to her defense after my mother treated her so badly. Alexa went around to each of our guests and spoke with them. I brought her a virgin Pina Colada, which was her favorite, and we all sat together and got caught up on everyone's business while the caterer and servers got our dinner ready.
Alexa held baby James, and I imagined what it would be like to see her holding our own baby. One day, our two children could play, and I happily envisioned our two little families enjoying holidays together.
"It smells so good," Mrs. Thorpe said. "What are we having, if you don't mind me asking?"
"It's a mixed meal, with a choice of spicy rubbed pork roast, or grilled lemon garlic chicken, or a tenderloin. Take your pick, or have all three," I said. "Alexa and I couldn't decide, so we decided not to decide."
"Sounds good to me," Mr. Thorpe said. "I'll have some of each. I've been saving up my Weight Watchers points all week for this."
We all laughed, and I examined Mr. Thorpe for a moment, noticing that he had, in fact, lost weight.
"There's less of you than the last time I saw you, Mr. T," I said.
"I hope so," he replied, holding up his glass. "I've been good for the past three months and have racked up a total of fifteen pounds in weight loss. My doc said it was either lose the gut or kiss the world goodbye. So I'm trying hard to lose the gut."
"Congratulations," I said and shook his hand. "That's quite an accomplishment. I hope tonight's feast is worth saving up those points all week."
"I'm sure it will be."
I held James for a while, and watched Alexa with Candace, Mara and Jan, glad to see the old crew together. They sat at a couple of sofas in one corner of the living room, and caught up with each other, while I entertained my side of the new family.
"So, tell me, young man, what's the latest project?” Mr. Thorpe asked. “What are you doing with all that money you earned from Chatter? You and that Layton guy get together yet?"
I smiled and jiggled a toy in front of James’s face, trying to formulate a response before I said anything. Everyone knew the eccentric space industry investor Mark Layton, from Australia, who made his fortune online and now was focused on mining the asteroid field as his pet project. Of course I had already thought about him as a potential partner.
"I've put my feelers out to see if he's interested in a joint venture, but right now, John and I have been busy with family matters.” I smiled and glanced at John. He’d been with his mother, of course, and I had been focused on Alexa.
John cleared his throat. “We’re trying to get a couple of defense contracts for some military coms programs.”
John smiled at me, raising his eyebrows like he didn't want to have to talk about it. Of course, Mr. Thorpe didn’t know about John’s mother.
"We're in the running, but it's early days yet,” I said. “We won't know the results of the competitions until the Pentagon announces the winners. Right now, they're vetting bids. I think our bid for a couple are solid, but Astra Investments is up against some really big players."
"Well, you have to start somewhere," Mr. T said. "Good luck."
"Thanks," I said and bounced James on my knee. "We'll need it. We really aren't that confident in our bid winning, but we wanted to get our name out there as a contender. We'll keep working on our existing contracts and hope the good word spreads and we become a real competitor in the field."
The caterer, a woman in her fifties who retired from being a chef at a five-star restaurant in Midtown Manhattan to cater smaller events, came into the living room. She was dressed in a black chef's tunic and wore a traditional chef's hat. Her white hair and dark e
yes were striking. She held her hands folded in front of her as if in prayer.
"Dinner is served," she said and then bent forward, like she was bowing to us. "Please, come to the dining room."
Of course dinner was perfect -- the food delicious, the company engaging, and everyone was enjoying themselves -- even Alexa. I watched her talking to her three besties, and occasionally interacting with my father and Mr. T., both of whom seemed enamored with her because she was studying international relations.
"Will you work for the State Department?" Mr. T asked. "Gonna join the CIA and be a spy? What other languages do you know?"
Alexa smiled. "I studied a bit of Russian in my undergrad, but not well enough to be a spy. Not by a long shot." She glanced over at me. "Besides, I don't think Luke wants to move to Russia any time soon."
I laughed. "There is a space launch pad in Russia that I could always use, if we decide to mine the asteroid belt."