Page 131 of Atmosphere

So that was how this would work. Barbara would pretend it was normal. There would be no taking it back, no apology. Joan could only hope, for Frances’s sake, that one day Barbara would regret it. That she would, in the future, attempt to fix this, to win Frances’s trust back.

But if not, then Joan would be honored to step in for the rest of Frances’s life. It would not be easy. Already Joan was building contingencies for how every facet of her life would have to go to plan B. But Joan would do it all joyfully, despite the heaviness that loomed in the background. She could already feel the full weight of all the ways, both big and small, that this would forever alter her life.

—

That afternoon, Vanessa picked Joanand Frances up and the three of them went to Donna and Hank’s for the holiday.

Donna had invited Joan and Vanessa before Joan had left for her mission. And had gotten so excited when Joan called her and asked if Frances could join.

“Yes!” Donna said. “Because I need a babysitter to come over hereand hold this fuckin’ baby. I need a break, and Hank is going to be smoking the turkey all afternoon.”

When they got to Donna and Hank’s, they could smell the smoker from the driveway. Donna greeted them with huge hugs. Thea was napping. Donna immediately put Frances to work folding napkins.

Griff was standing at the stove wearing a plaid apron that said, “Who Invited All These Tacky People?” And then over at the table, snapping green beans, was Lydia.

“What is Lydia doing here?” Vanessa whispered.

Donna waved Vanessa off. “Hank says that because she’s part of your mission, I had to invite her. Steve and Helene are stopping by later, too, so it’s the right thing to do. I tried to keep an open mind today. But when she got here, she said our house smelled like mold and we should look into that, so I’ve closed my mind again.”

Joan laughed and went over to Lydia to help snap the beans, while Frances folded napkins right next to her. Lydia barely acknowledged Joan’s presence.

When Hank walked in to grab a beer, he put a hand on Joan’s shoulder to greet her and introduced himself to Frances.

“Nice to have you back Earthside,” he said to Joan.

At which point, Lydia dropped the green beans in her hand.

“Okay, I’m just going to say it,” Lydia said. “I heard you puked the whole time.”

Donna laughed. Vanessa bit her lip. Griff stopped stirring and turned toward Joan.

“I heard that, too,” Griff said with an embarrassed look.

Donna put both hands up. “I’m staying out of it.”

“Joanie, is that true?” Frances asked.

Joan looked around to see that everyone was waiting for her to respond. “Well, if you must know,” she said, finally. “That is correct. I puked straight into the air.”

Frances threw her head back and cackled. All of the adults in the room started laughing with her.

“No, I used barf bags. Many, many, many barf bags,” Joan said,delighted by Frances’s reaction. Frances laughed so hard she went silent and her face turned red. “Let the record show I did not let it stop me! But I am very happy to be home now with you fine people,” she added, putting her arms around Frances’s shoulders and giving her a squeeze.

“Hear, hear!” Vanessa said, raising her glass.

—

Later, they all sat aroundDonna and Hank’s dining table, Frances crammed in between Joan and Vanessa. Griff told everyone he’d met someone and was thinking of introducing her to all of them. Donna made fun of him.

Lydia kept asking people to pass the potatoes, and when people didn’t hear her one too many times, she stood up, walked to the other side of the table, took the casserole dish of mashed potatoes, and walked them back to her seat, where she put them in front of her plate.

“There,” Lydia said. “If anyone wants them, they can ask me.”

“Lydia,” Vanessa said, her tone completely dry. “Can I have the potatoes?”

When Thea woke up, Frances sat in the living room with her and rocked her over and over. Hank went in there and sat with them.

Joan overheard Frances ask Hank what it was like to fly the space shuttle and he said, “Dunno, kid, but I’m excited to find out.”

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