Wanna Paint Pt. 02

So now Di was working on housing for Mildred and her five-year-old daughter, Marg, starting January 2023. Di was pleased with Mildred's decision, feeling she could easily complete a BA or BA-MBA degree course in five years.

Carl and grandmom Rosa stayed in Richmond for four days, enjoying a nice visit with Rosa's family. Everyone there treated Carl so kindly that he felt like a part of her nuclear family.

Once they returned to Beaufort, Carl jumped right into helping Tarza inventory the Art items returned from the Charlotte gala. He and grandmom Rosa also helped finalize some details on the special reception scheduled three weeks out.

Sam was busy with meetings and supervising the Savannah gallery inventorying their items returned from the Charlotte gala. He would visit Beaufort a few days before the special reception since Tarza always presented Sam as the gallery's owner at these lucrative elegant business/social receptions. Most private receptions carried a minimum $10,000 bottom line profit for the gallery.

***

Meanwhile, emotions were running high in The Estates halfway into the girls' ten-day vacation at grandmas Paisley and Judy. The twins, Denise and Mary Ann, were with their parents, Jules and Emily, for three days. So it was just the grandmas, June, Mooch, and Risse, at the Estates for dinner tonight.

Ten days was a long time for Mooch to be away from home. But Abby and Sheryl totally understood her adoration of June and her close attachment to Risse. Also, Sheryl had glimpsed a recurring inner conflict/emotion that occasionally surfaced in Mooch. So she explained her feelings about this to Abby.

Abby's parents were dysfunctional, and she had no siblings. Sheryl's bio-family was nowhere to be found, as she had been in the demeaning foster care cycle since she was twelve. Finally, Mooch did not even know who her father was, so she was lost in space regarding biological (family), with only Abby.

Mooch's primary contact with reality, other than Abby and Sheryl, was through her close relationship with the grandmas. So Sheryl thought it very important for Mooch to be allowed to fully bond with Paisley and Judy. Mooch connected with the grandmas unlike any other friends or families in Charlotte. So Mooch would stay at the Estates with June and Risse until the God-mom trip to Beaufort, as she had asked her moms.

Grandmas Paisley and Judy were relaxing with their three gran-girls after dinner when June sprung an astonishing conversation on them.

June started slowly, "We absolutely love you, grandmas, and you are most important in giving our lives balance. Mooch and I do not have any biological grandparents, and both of us have been rejected by supposedly close family. Mooch's rejection was from her bio-father and mom-Abby's nuclear family.

"I feel absolutely rejected by my bio-parents, whom I have not seen in three years. I cannot even remember the last time my mom or dad hugged me. I know that mom-Di has invited my parents here two times, and their answer was, 'No, our digs are at a critical stage.' I felt so forsaken by their preferring two-thousand-year-old dirt over a living and breathing daughter.

"We enjoy Risse's grandparents when they visit Beaufort, usually twice a year for ten days each visit. But they are in Memphis, a long way from Beaufort, on the Mississippi River.

"Risse has also experienced some rejection from her bio-father and his family, who never really loved her. She does not even remember what they look like.

"We know that our Moms, Di, Tarza, Abby, and Sheryl, are absolutely the best in the world and love them more than can be imagined. Our hearts burst with joy every morning, waking up to our moms' smiling faces.

"Renee, MCsee, and Sheryl rescued Mooch from terrible loneliness. Her mom, Abby, loved Mooch but sometimes was so sad she couldn't even face the daylight. Now Abby is happy being Sheryl's new bride and Mooch's real mom again. Abby has found the light at the end of the tunnel and is alive in life again."

June, softly crying, "You, Grandmas Paisley and Judy, have become our anchor. We want to be here when we are not with our moms because you love us so much."

All three girls were crying now. June continued, "The three of us talked last night under the stars. We have loved this place from the moment our feet first touched the ground here. The day that Mooch and I chased the twins and Risse to the barn and down into the kitchen, we knew there was love for us here. Both of you were smiling beautifully; without question, we knew this would be our special place.

"We are always so happy here no matter what we are doing. The past five days have positively sealed our love for grandmas Paisley and Judy. You are our tried and true grandmas who make our lives so happy every time we see you. We want to visit you monthly, so we can take walks together, watch the stars together, picnic together, ride horses together, and do many other fun things together.

"We love you, grandmas, and do not care about Disney World or any of that kind of stuff. We are astoundingly happy with our moms, and having you two as our loving grandmas gives them the freedom to occasionally play, uh, board games. They do not worry when we are here because this is our home. We are so very safe and at peace here with our loving grandmas."

Risse runs over and jumps into a stunned Judy's lap, repeatedly kissing her cheeks. "I love it here, grandma Judy and I love you. Sometimes we might ask our moms to bring us here to our vacation home so we can stay with our grandmas. Okay?"

Judy and Paisley's faces are streaming tears as they hug their three gran-girls. "You three girls and the twins have brought so much joy and love into our lives. The Estates will always be your vacation home, and we will always love our gran-girls."

Out came the ice cream, which sealed the unbreakable love bond of the two Grandmas and three Gran-girls. There was an abundance of thankfulness, love, and joy at The Estates that night.

***

The God and Gran Moms' four days in Beaufort were unbelievable. Sheryl stayed back managing the BMS-AVT plant so Judy, Renee, and Emily could visit Beaufort for the very special long weekend.

Jessica and Jaime traveled with Paisley, Judy, and the other five girls, so seven young girls and two grandmas rode in the SUV. Paisley had suggested that Abby stay in Charlotte, keeping her new bride, Sheryl, happy since the grandmas loved caring for Mooch.

The group boated, did some deep-sea fishing, and toured the Duke Marine Campus, the Beaufort gallery, and other fun activities. Emily and Jaime did not allow their being sightless to prevent them from having a super great time. Carl's grandmom Rosa joined in on most events, but Sam and Carl primarily stayed behind working at the gallery.

One senior Duke Professor, away on a brief sabbatical, allowed the group to use his huge home free of charge. They all stayed together; the girls and the three grandmoms mostly camped in the fantastic living room on pallets. The younger couples each slept in one of the eight bedrooms.

The weekend's highlight was a special dinner sponsored by Sam at the Front Street Grill. Since Sam was paying, this was a 'boys allowed' event, so Sam and Carl were also there for dinner. Of course, Janice served them, but Di had secretly asked Janice to bring her sixteen-year-old twin girls, Amy and Annie.

While they were all having a great time, Amy whispered to Di that her mom's birthday was next week. Sam asked the Restaurant Manager to order a birthday cake for Janice and have it delivered just before they departed. Janice was shocked by this wonderful gesture but unbelievably stunned by her $500 Birthday gift. All the adults chipped in equally for her gift, so Janice cried as she thanked everyone.

The special God Moms' weekend had finished with June, Mooch, Jessica, Jaime, Risse, Denise, and Mary Ann having the time of their lives. The Charlotte girls were sad when preparing to return home but then filled with joy learning that June and Risse would visit their grandmas next month.

Earlier in the visit, while the girls were sleeping one night, Paisley and Judy pulled Di, Tarza, MCsee, and Renee aside. They told them about their one-hour dinner conversation, where June, Mooch, and Risse had declared the two of them as their true grandmas. All the adult ladies openly cried as Judy described how the three girls felt rejected by many bio-family members. Judy went on to explain how June said that she and Paisley were the girl's anchors as true grandmas.

At that point, Renee gave MCsee a look, which Di caught and smiled. That look was a promise to themselves that Renee and MCsee would never again exclude Judy and Paisley from family events.

Di and Tarza committed to having regular scheduled Charlotte visits, where they would stay at Renee's and their girls with grandmas Judy and Paisley. Di and Tarza also announced their Wedding Date, which would be held at The Estates in Charlotte.

This wonderful story ends with so much joy in Beaufort and Charlotte. Love and honesty had clobbered anger and dishonor in these two wonderful communities.

These families and friends were bound by an unbreakable love bond reflected in their little girls' lives. It is now time for us to allow these wonderful families and individuals some privacy moving forward in their lives.

I genuinely wonder why our country and the entire world don't share this type of love, honor, and commitment to family.

Epilogue

EMERGENCY IN SPACE ON MAR'S FLT MF012

It was late in 2031, with June, now 22, celebrating Mooch's 19th birthday and their recent engagement. Of course, they were partying at grandmas Paisley and Judy's home in The Estates.

All Beaufort/Charlotte family members and friends were present for this special event. June and Mooch had been best friends for nearly nine years, since meeting in 2022, along with Risse, Denise, and Mary Ann. The five girls were inseparable, with Carl, Jessica, and Jaime often joining them.

Di and Tarza had spoken intimately many times regarding the ultra-tight bond between June and Mooch since they first met nine years ago. So neither mom was surprised on Mooch's 18th birthday when June and Mooch asked if they could start dating.

Abby and Sheryl had joyously given their approval, knowing how close June and Mooch's friendship had grown over the years. Those same thoughts regarding June and Mooch's close bond were held by other family, friends, and especially the grandmas. So Mooch's nineteenth Birthday Party had also morphed into a June and Mooch engagement party.

Midway through the evening's festivities, June received an emergency hotline phone call from Ms. President of the USA regarding a NASA-related emergency.

A Mars Expedition Tour Flight was in serious trouble and most likely would be Lost In Space (LIS), with the entire 20 persons on board (crew and passengers) perishing.

June, Mooch, the triplets, and Carl were racing to CHL Airport within minutes. A military transport jet was waiting to airlift them to NASA's Clear Lake Texas Human Space Exploration facility in Houston.

June (SE-1) led a highly secretive team aptly named Space Explorers, which reported directly to the US President. In November 2028, the first woman was elected President, starting a new era in US Politics.

In early January 2029, Ms. President formally signed an Executive Order forming the New Space Explorer Command. As Commander In Chief of the Military, this space explorer team reported directly to Ms. President. So she could summon June (SE-1) to lead this emergency rescue operation.

The privately sponsored tourist space flight to Mars was in serious trouble and definitely needed an immediate return to Earth. Nearly all of the ship's regular oxygen payload had been accidentally contaminated. So only the 25% backup oxygen supply was available for the crew and passengers to survive a few days in space.

June had been a NASA Special Propulsion Consultant since age 16, working primarily on developing faster space travel technology. Her second major space interest was engineering an In Vivo Oxygen Conversion Capsule. This would vastly increase the usable/breathable volume of air produced by the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) or similar system.

June's first generation capsules were now standard and stocked for emergencies on NASA-approved space flights (US-GOV and PRIVATE) of a one-month or longer duration. June's discovery was classified as Top Secret or Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI).

The In Vivo animal testing was hugely successful, reducing the oxygen requirement capacity by 75%, without any side effects. It was anticipated or hoped that the oxygen reduction capsules could be used short-term (less than 1 Year) for humans with no adverse side effects.

Due to the TS/SCI Classification, there had not yet been any human clinical studies performed. NASA desperately wanted June's discovery kept secret from China and Russia. One of Ms. President's first Executive Actions was to order the FDA to approve the capsules for emergency use in space.

These capsules had never been actually tested or used for humans since all previous flights had operated on their regular schedule(s). The standard or routine Mars round-trip tour group itinerary was projected at Four Months maximum:

- Earth To Mars = 30-45 Days,

- Time On Mars = 30-45 Days,

- Mars To Earth = 30-45 Days.

The entire Earth-Mars-Earth return travel on-board oxygen supply was 125% of projected needs based on the total human-KG load. This 25% excess oxygen supply was formulated for being out of Earth's atmosphere for up to a year. It could be produced by a MOXIE-like in-flight system. The crippled Mars FLT (MF012) had apparently lost its entire regular onboard oxygen supply load to an undetermined contamination agent.

The six-member-strong Space Explorer (SE) Team had changed into their Exclusively Sharp SE Uniforms while flying to Houston. June (SE-1), age 22, was the Space Explorer Team Leader, and the other members were her best buds, Mooch (SE-2), age 19, 2nd In Command; Risse (SE-3), age 15, COMS-LEAD; Denise (SE-4), age 15, COMS/VIS; Mary Ann (SE-5), age 15, COMS/VIS; and Carl (SE-6), age 23, VIS-LEAD.

The SE Team had just arrived at the Houston NASA Space Center, taking command of the rescue mission. There was immediate resistance by NASA Control to the SE-Team taking over MARS EXPEDITION TOUR FLT 012 (MF012) because of their youth. Additionally, none of June's team had any previous military experience.

SE-1's response was instantaneous and deadly serious, "I do not have time for this crap! Talk to Ms. President, the Commander In Chief who sent us! Maybe she will dispatch you to reside in Guantanamo for a while, for your gross insubordination and stupidity or both."

She turned to SE-3, "Get me talking to the crew yesterday. I don't care how you do it, li'l sis, but we urgently need to get the flight's coms back online."

SE-3, "I'm on it, boss, but this is gonna take a minute. SE-4 and 5, let's get moving on the coms right now before the boss gets hot under her collar."

Communications with MF012 had been disrupted and down for nearly three hours, which no one could understand or explain. Since turning ten, SE-3 had grown to love communications, being second only to her first love, 'wanna paint.'

After twenty minutes of electronic fiddling, SE-3 yelled, "Worked some magic, boss! Cap and Doc online now."

SE-1 immediately gave them her analysis, "You are in a real pickle, with the onboard oxygen supply level deeming MF012 LIS forever."

SE-1 continued, "What are your thoughts on this, Cap?"

Cap to SE-1, "I will defer you on this one. Those NASA idiots could not bring us back online for hours. It only took SE-3 twenty minutes to get the coms back up, so we are now dealing with experts. What service branch are you with?"

SE-1 snickered, "It would just upset you, Cap, so I will advise you of our specific background details when you are back on the ground in Houston. We want you landing here in Houston, but it will likely require a second, maybe third precise landing approach rotation due to Heat Shield Stress."

"Umm ...."

"Call me SE-1 for now, Cap. We can get up close and friendly later!"

Cap, "Well, up close and friendly SE-1, we are deep six on oxygen. By my calculations, we do not have sufficient reserves to return home. You agree?"

SE-1 again, "Well, Cap, you sure as hell ain't gonna get to Mars on a residual 25% reserve oxygen supply. U-Turn that jalopy around now and plot the fastest reasonable course to Houston. Talk with SE-3 as you plot, and I will come back later for a chat with Doc."

SE-1 yelled, "SE-3, what's the time until we enter a DEAD zone for the coms?"

SE-3 returned, "Coms static breakup in 30 and returned to normal in 60, Boss."

SE-1 again, "Are you cool for now, Doc? We'll lose coms in 30 minutes, and then coms are back up in 60 minutes. Got some good booze on that jalopy, Doc? Go to L26 Emergency Locker and pour yourself a stiff one now cause we're all gonna be busy li'l beavers for the next 36 to 48 hours! Out!"

SE-1 and 2 worked out their best plan for a successful, four-day earth return. They then calculated MF012's required oxygen for a five-day return flight to Houston. It would be tight, but if these NASA Control idiots had followed protocol, they could bring everyone home safely in four days.

This was going to be a hell of an unexpected Clinical Trial for their TS/SCI (BMS-AVT MOXIE O2 Variant) In Vivo oxygen level reduction capsule (MOXIE-O2V).

SE-3 instructed the Cap to have his jalopy on final in 4-days, or he would have an unobstructed up-close and lovely view of the stars for the rest of his short life.

SE-6 to SE-1, "Hey, boss, the visuals appear okay, but there will definitely be an intense heat buildup on the left side lower shield with a normal approach. Cap will need, at minimum, two slow and precise rotations to adequately cool down the left shield plate, or they will surely be fried."

SE-1 asked, "Hear SE-6, Cap? Your jalopy will need deft flying rotations on reentry. Suggest hotshot navigator Roy take control and fly reentry."

Cap, "Let me think on this for a minute?"

SE-1 to Cap; "You have a New York Minute Cap; then I will take full control of MF012 at that time courtesy of Ms. President."

Cap to SE-1, "You guys sound pretty jovial and demanding down there, while we are scared shitless up here! I am the Captain of this spaceship."

"Cap, this is SE-4. You are getting paid big bucks for this Mars folly. Some other onboard fools with way too much money are paying millions to play on Mars for 30 days, but that's your problem. Those rich fools will burn along with their big bucks if you do not follow the boss's orders."

SE-5 joined the discourse, "I was having a ball at a combo 19th Birthday and Engagement Party. Then Ms. President rang saying SE-1 and our team owed her a special favor, so we'd better hightail it to Houston.

"As a service to Ms. President, we are here to save your collective butts. I should be crying now because the party was just going into high gear, but that would scare the hell out of you.

"So, as my boss, SE-1, ordered, you must turn that jalopy around and head for Earth pronto. Four hours before reentry, you will turn the con over to NAV-Roy, who thinks he is some hotshot pilot. A realhot shot pilot is what we desperately need for navigating the severe reentry angle rotation(s)!"

Cap is stunned, "Did you hear that, Doc? Who the hell are these people?"