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Maxine looks like she wants to protest, but instead, Jude puts an arm around her shoulders and walks her back to the gate, shooting a grateful look at Jo over her shoulder.

True to her word, Jo heads for the kitchen and starts pouring Kool-Aid for the kids, then filling glasses with ice for tea or Tab for the women. She sets everything on a tray that she finds on the kitchen table, and she's about to carry it out to the table by the pool when she spots a cupboard that's slightly ajar. The urge to look is overwhelming, so Jo glances around, makes sure she's alone, and then peers inside without opening it much further. Right there, amidst the bottles of vinegar, oil, and jars of spices, is a clear bottle of vodka. It's partially hidden behind the Worcestershire sauce, but Jo can tell by the label that it's a half-empty bottle of vodka. She leaves the cupboard door as is and heads outside with the drinks.

When Jude comes back, she's got tiny, blonde Wendy on one hip and is cradling the little girl to her as she points out the other kids.

"We'll all keep an eye on her," Barbie promises as she joins the group. "She can play with Huck."

Barbie Roman has three boys--Huck is the same age as Wendy--and she crouches down next to her older two boys to tell them to play nicely with the little ones.

"I set up an area away from the pool where they could play games," Jude says, pointing out a patch of grass near the fence where the kids are gathered.

"Everything looks really nice, Jude," Frankie offers. As the only one of the women with no children of her own, she isn't one to get really into kids' birthday parties, but she can appreciate a well-organized event when she sees one.

Jo gives Frankie a look of gratitude. Their little group of five women is close-knit, but Jude is the outlier of the bunch. Carrie and Barbie get together occasionally with their kids to chat the same way that Jo and Frankie have paired off and become closer, but so far Jude has kept to herself. Sure, she'll show up to every event and get together, but there's a reservedness to her that makes it difficult to break through the barrier and really get to know her.

"Thanks, Frankie," Jude says.

Carrie Donovan has joined them. "So anyway," she says, reaching out to brush her daughter's hair from her eyes as she sprints by the group. "I hear I just missed Maxine. What's the word? How is she holding up?"

Jude bites her lower lip and looks at the cement beneath their feet. "She's barely hanging on, from what I can see. It's rough."

"You were just inside her house--is she keeping up with things?"

Jude pulls a face. "I don't want to gossip, but no, not really. There are piles of laundry, and the sink is full of dishes."

"I don't suppose Ryan is in a position to help much," Jo says, thinking of how Jimmy would react in the same scenario. "Though he's going to need to step up here and be the man of the house."

"Idea," Carrie says, holding up a finger. "How about if we all offer to go over one afternoon and clean her house top to bottom, and we enlist our husbands to take Ryan out to catch a ball or something so that he can have some reinforcement from guys who knew his dad. And they can--oh, I don't know how you would say it--maybe give him some advice on how to step up to the plate around the house now that his dad is gone? I mean, Maxine has another baby coming. She's really going to need him to pitch in with the little ones."

Jo is nodding as she listens. "That sounds like a great idea. I think we should set up a time to head over and clean." She turns to Jude. "Do you think maybe you could arrange to get her out of the house one afternoon? If not for a trip to the salon, then maybe just for a cup of coffee or a long walk? We can head over and get things shipshape."

"And I can make some easy pasta dishes that she can freeze and eat whenever," Frankie offers.

"That sounds wonderful." Jo nudges Frankie with an elbow and turns to watch the children in the grass for a moment. The older kids are doing a great job of looking after the younger ones, and so far, Jude seems to be easing into the event.

"I think we have a plan then," Barbie says. "A good one."

Jude excuses herself then to head back into the kitchen and finish prepping the snacks and cake, and Jo watches her go. She wants to follow and see if Jude is topping off her own drink with a splash of vodka from the open cupboard, but just then there is a wail from the grassy area as two of the kids have knocked into each other and need soothing and attention.

From the window, Jo can see Jude moving around the kitchen, but she's distracted and forgets to worry too much about whether Jude can make it through the party without dipping into the vodka.

CHAPTER4

Bill

Cape Kennedy has been operatingat a low hum since December thirteenth. Rather, there is a distinctive, insistent buzz to the activity surrounding the investigation into the Gemini fire, but every employee walks through their days with grim, determined looks on their faces, speaking in low, hushed tones, and looking out at the launch area morosely.

"Booker," Arvin North is standing at Bill's desk. "Speak with you in my office?” North has his hands in his pockets and he jingles his keys and coins with one hand. "Be there in ten minutes."

A phone call would have sufficed, Bill thinks as he looks out the wide window at the tree line and the blue sky in the distance. But Arvin North has a knack for being forthright in a way that borders on the uncomfortable.

Vance Majors walks over and pauses by Bill's desk, watching Arvin North leave the floor through a set of double doors.

"Buddy," he says, eyes still on the doors, even after they've swung closed again. "You okay?"

Bill leans back in his chair and laces his hands behind his head. Sure, he's okay. He's fine. He's been struggling for several weeks now--since the fire--with the fact that it was his hunch that something like this would happen, but in addition to the fact that he'd been right, he's also struggling with the knowledge that he should have spoken up sooner. Why wait until the afternoon of the launch to bring it up to Trager? Or until they were standing in mission control to voice his concerns to North?

Bill sighs heavily. “I’m hanging in here. Like everyone else. North wants to see me in ten minutes—don’t know what that’s about.”