PETER CALLED ANYA to say he was on his way to pick her up. While she sounded giddy to hear from him, she unfortunately needed another hour before she could get away. Since NASA was right by his old neighborhood of Nassau Bay, he told her, “No problem,” and decided to spend the extra hour reminiscing in the area where he grew up.
Nassau Bay was the town where most of the astronauts lived in the late ’60s and ’70s. The quaint suburban neighborhood was conveniently located on NASA 1 Highway directly adjacent to Johnson Space Center. It was the perfect neighborhood for an adventurous young boy. The developers designed the neighborhood to be as appealing to the future astronauts as possible. They developed a little oasis resort, putting in a small lake, a small bay that connected to the Gulf, an undeveloped peninsula, and a community pool, all within a short bicycle ride.
As he turned off NASA 1 into his old neighborhood, he drove by the local town center. He focused on one shop at the tattered center which used to be the local ice cream parlor. Though he had many memories from there, a smile came to his face when he remembered a classmate’s 2nd grade birthday party. He was sitting next to Jannet Gunter, the prettiest girl in the class. All the children were sitting around the decorated table with birthday hats on, eating ice cream and cake. Out of the blue Peter got this urge to give Jannet a kiss. He couldn’t remember why, especially since he had never kissed a girl before. Not caring what his classmates thought, he leaned over while she wasn’t looking and kissed her on the cheek. All the kids started hooting and hollering. Jannet’s face turned beet red, but to Peter’s surprise, she turned and gave him the biggest smile ever. Peter grinned toward the old building, figuring that early success probably propelled him to be the playboy he became.
As he came up to his old street, he drove by the small bay on his left. He’d had tons of fun water skiing and jumping off the ski jump in the center of the bay as a young teenager. One time he wiped out trying to break his best friend’s record jump. His dad was driving the boat and leaped into the water to rescue him. Peter had broken his arm, and ironically, he ended up getting a couple of dates because of the accident, thanks to the cast on his arm. Some of the prettiest girls signed it, a few leaving their phone numbers. Driving by, he was sad to see the ski jump no longer there. He probably wasn’t the only kid who had broken a bone. Probably for liability reasons, the city had it removed.
Peter turned onto Prince William Lane and drove slowly up the slight slope of the street. Though many of the middle class homes showed their age, the forty-five-year-old neighborhood still looked the same. Homes on the waterfront had been completely torn down and rebuilt or remodeled, but the homes away from the water looked as they had when Peter was a boy, just weathered and aged. Scanning the area and homes, something struck him that he had never noticed before. There were no sidewalks, a sight you wouldn’t find in more modern neighborhoods. He remembered the streets being littered with kids biking and playing and he couldn’t recall an accident ever happening.
Continuing the drive, Peter found he had a memory for almost every house. He glanced over at Colin’s home, his best friend, whose dad flew on Skylab. Across the street was Greg’s, who had been on his swim team. Greg’s father was with Mission Control during his dad’s flight to the moon. Two houses up was Cindy’s, his first crush, whose father walked in space. Each home seemed to have a connection to NASA in some way, and everyone knew everyone. Spacewalkers and Moonwalkers were scattered about, all within walking distance of each other. Thinking back, Peter was amazed at the number of people in this small neighborhood who would end up making history. Did the people now living in the area have any idea of that historical time, or had they too fallen victim to the world’s recent belief that America never landed? He hoped that out of all the neighborhoods in America, Nassau Bay, with its rich history in space exploration, would know better.
Prince William Lane curved right in front of his house, so as he drove up the street and looked ahead, his old home stared right back at him. If he kept driving straight without turning he would run right into it. Approaching the house he saw the color had changed. Otherwise, it looked the same. No one was around, so he pulled up in front and parked. He sat quietly in his car looking at the old house, reflecting upon the many memories it held. Staring at the long driveway he remembered his dad teaching him how to ride a bike, or seeing his dad proudly drive up in his new Corvette. As Peter glanced at the yard, he thought of the many hours he’d spent sweating in the Texas heat mowing the lawn.
Tourists use to always come through the area trying to meet a real astronaut. On one occasion a car stopped in front and the passenger rolled down his window, yelling, “Hey, ya’ll know where any astronauts live?”
Dad had already walked on the moon at the time, and strolled to the car and bent down, saying, “I think Tom Novak lives a few streets over.”
The gentleman got all excited. “Wow, the moonwalker?”
“Yep, I hear he’s a swell guy. Good looking too.”
The man gave his dad an odd look with that comment. Peter laughed in the background, amazed the guy had no idea who he was talking to. His dad went on to give directions to Evan Parker’s home, a rookie astronaut. All the veteran astronauts would send tourists to the rookie’s homes, their way of saying, “Welcome to the neighborhood.”
Peter scanned up to the front door. His room had been above the front porch. In the wee hours one summer night when he was eleven he was awakened by a commotion below his window. When he peaked out, his view was blocked by the patio cover, but heard talking and laughter. All of sudden he heard a loud pounding on the door. Scared, Peter ran to his parents’ room to wake his dad, saying someone was at the front door. His dad, half asleep and in his boxers, walked down the stairs and opened the door, Peter at his side. Standing on the front porch with martinis in their hands were two fellow astronauts in tuxedos with their wives in beautiful cocktail dresses, all with big grins on their faces. One of the astronauts said, “Hey, Tom. We all just wanted to see what you sleep in.”
One of the wives chimed in, “Nice boxers, Tom!”
His dad just laughed and invited the couples in. After his dad woke Mom and put Peter back to bed, his parents ended up partying with the couples until the early morning hours. Peter laughed. Astros in those days definitely knew how to party.
Peter continued to reminisce until he realized it was time to pick up Anya at the space center. He did a u-turn and drove back down the street. His old home was centered in his rearview mirror as he drove away. He glanced at the mirror, watching the house gradually shrink. As the image disappeared, he said “Goodbye” for the last time to his childhood home, and those innocent years.
PETER SAT ON HIS DAD’S WOODEN BENCH in his mom’s backyard. It was a cool, clear evening with a chill in the air. He was glad to be wearing a long-sleeved shirt. He had just finished a wonderful dinner with his mom and Anya. His mom insisted he leave the kitchen while the two women did the dishes, which he assumed was so they could have some girl talk. Giggling floated out to him through the open sliding glass door as they worked. Looking over his mother’s garden as he sat alone in the bright moonlight, he knew he needed to make a decision concerning Anya. She would soon be coming out to join him, and they had only a short time before he would need to take her to the airport. Her plane was scheduled to leave George Bush Intercontinental for Russia later that night. If he was going to break up with her, it was best to do it before she flew home. He accepted he was in love with her and, because of this, regardless of how much it would hurt both of them, he wanted to do what was best for Anya. But what was best? Breaking up, or continuing their relationship regardless that he and Viktor would not be returning home? He looked up in the sky at a full moon and whispered, “Dad, I’ve fallen in love with Anya. Help me make the right decision on what to do.”