Her thanks were very adequate.
"Aren't you coming in?" Eileen asked after the pause.
"No ... I don't ... I have to get a good night's sleep, you know. We kick off tomorrow."
She pursed her lips in a small pout, but shrugged. "Then look me up when you get back, Pete."
"Yeah. Sure."
He kissed her quickly and walked away, drumming the fingers of his right hand against his thigh.
Except for the tenseness of blasting off and landing, the round trip to Mars was as boring as he expected. Campiglia won too many chess games at one move per watch, and the deck of cards wore out. For a few days, Wells had a slightly infected finger after cutting himself, but it was a small crisis. The layover on Mars was short, and the thrill was no longer new.
Dudley was glad to step out of the big rocket on Luna.
They had come in during the sleeping period at Ericsson, so the four of them had gone to their quarters for a few hours of sleep after the first babble of welcome from those on duty when they landed. Dudley was awakened by Jack Fisher.
"So early?" he grunted, squinting at his watch. "What brings you around?"