By the time I am done with my hair, I've played an imaginary sold-out tour all around the world. Ms. Charlotte has been my opening act. I hold her up and try to get her to take a bow. "C'mon, thank all our fans from all around the world," I say, as I, too, bow gracefully for the "crowd."

Someone starts clapping for me, for real. Startled, I turn around quickly. It's Mr. Dictator himself, Marcus. "Didn't Omnis teach you to knock? What are you doing here?"

He's trying to hide his amus.e.m.e.nt but he's not doing a very good job.

"I knocked but you were too busy thanking Detroit to hear me."

I go over to the radio and turn it off. I'm embarra.s.sed but I don't care all that much. It's my apartment. Who told him to come anyway?

"What do you want?" I ask.

"Can we sit for a sec?"

"No. I'm on my way out."

"Where to?" he inquires.

"A place called 'none of your business' and then I'll stop at the 'stay out of my life' shop and get you a T-shirt."

"Clever."

"What do you want?"

"Miku sent me to ask if you wanted to come to dinner."

"Do you guys even need to eat?"

"Yes and no. Yes, we eat. And no, we don't have to."

"So, why do you?"

"Food is a collector."

"Should I know what that is?"

"A collector is something that stores detailed memory. It includes sights and sounds as well as smells of our old lives back on earth."

"So when you eat, you remember the things that happen to you before you died?"

"It's more than that. Jay's mom used to make chocolate cake all the time. So now when he eats a piece of chocolate cake, he remembers the time and day he had eaten that same food. In other words, that particular food holds a particular memory."

"How long do the effects of the collector last? Will Jay spend the whole day recalling the last time he was with his mom eating cake?"

"No, collectors are ephemeral. They do not last. The average time is about three minutes. It's usually not a good idea to have too many collectors in one day. It screws you up and makes you wish for things you can't possibly have again."

"Like what?"

"Family. Every time Jay has a collector, he ends up being really down because he misses being with his family."

"Why can't he just go see them?"

"If we were allowed to do that, we would never complete our mission. We'd always be trying to get back to our old lives. So the further away we are from our families, the stronger the memories are. But if Jay were to try and track down his mom, by the time he would've gotten close her, he would forget who she is. That's so that we stay focused on bigger matters."

"Bigger matters than your family?"

"Yes."

"Like what?"

"A billion other families."

"Oh."

"So, will you be coming to dinner?"

"This invitation isn't coming from you, it's from Miku, right?"

"Why?"

"Because, if you asked me, I wouldn't come."

"Well, it's from her. So, you coming?"

"Yeah, I guess."

He leads the way and I follow him to the house.

When we get there, Miku greets us and takes us to the kitchen. Jay and Rio have laid out an amazing banquet of food. There's a roast turkey, honey ham, and roast beef. All the dishes are placed on exquisite china. There's mixed green salad, glazed baby carrots and three kinds of potatoes, in addition to bowls of fruit and various cheeses.

I point to the dishes on the table that are unfamiliar. "What's that?" I say to no one in particular. Rio answers, "It's Jay's show. I'm just here to help set up."

Jay gladly picks up his cue and starts naming off the dishes that I didn't recognize. He is bursting with pride as he announces each of them.

"Okay, here we have green apple and celery salad with walnut vinaigrette."

He walks down to another dish. "This is lemon-roasted green beans with Marcona almonds."

He gets to the last dish and pauses for dramatic effect. "And the piece de resistance: corn bread ca.s.serole with b.u.t.ternut squash."

"Jay, everything looks so good. You did all this?"

He speaks but never takes his focus off of whatever is in the oven. "Baby girl, I got skills you don't even know about."

"But whose gonna eat all this?" I ask.

"It's not all for us," Miku says. "We hardly eat. Rio and I can't have collectors, Reese only likes liquid ones, Ameana hates them, and Marcus refuses to even try one."

"So, that means it's just you and me," Jay says, taking a chocolate cake out of the oven.

"You're gonna eat all this? That's a lot of memories, Jay. Are you sure that's a good idea?" I ask, concerned.

"I'll only try the bread and maybe some cake. I can handle that."

"I'm not gonna be able to eat all this," I warn him.

"It's cool; most of this is going to the shelter down on West Fourth. Every week we make a big meal and help them feed the homeless."

"You are so sweet," I say.

"Yeah, you Earth girls like, huh?" he says.

Just then Reese Blinks in and Ameana comes out of her room.

"Okay, everyone take a seat and don't dirty the table cloth. It's new and I'm not doing another wash," Miku says with the authority of a First Guardian.

This is going to be interesting. I put a few things on my plate and watch to see what the others will do. Jay places a piece of warm bread on his plate. He puts it in his mouth and then he disappears. I turn to Marcus, stunned. I didn't know that having a collector made them literally disappear into their memories.

Marcus, reading my face says, "Don't worry, he'll be back."

I turn my attention to the center of the table where Reese is pouring himself a gla.s.s of foggy brownish water.

"Reese, what is that?"

"River water. Jay always gets me some when he's in the area."

"And you like it?"

"No, it's river water. But the memory it collects is a favorite one of mine with me and my sisters. It's the day our dad took us fishing. I try not to have collectors, but when I do, this is my favorite." He drank the whole thing down. When the last drop was finished he, like Jay, was gone.

Miku plays with her napkin while Rio watches her. He then takes a piece of fruit from the table and asks her a very odd question.

"You think strawberries are safe?"

"I wouldn't," Miku warns.

I turn to Marcus for an explanation. He leans in and whispers to me. His lips are brushing my ear but I try not to pay attention to the tingle it causes to run down my spine.

"Their deaths were very violent. Every collector they have always takes them back to the end of their lives. It's called Spreading. That means the violence and blood from their life on Earth is so profound, it has seeped into every memory they have. Even after death." Marcus says.

"How'd they die?" Even as I ask, I know he won't answer me. Like Rio, Marcus isn't keen on sharing the secrets of others.

"You should eat something," he says.

I put a piece of ham in my mouth. It's so good, I take four more thick slices. Jay is the best cook I've ever known. I'd tell him, but he hasn't come back yet. Plus, I have a feeling he already knows how good he is. I try some of the vegetables and it comes as no surprise that they, too, are delicious.

I turn back to Marcus. He and the twins are joking around about something I didn't catch.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Last week, Reese and Jay were racing to see who could get to school faster. Reese lost focus and ended up inside the women's bathroom at a nursing home," Miku laughs.

"Where he scared an 80-year-old woman half to death," Rio adds.

The thought of Reese and that scared old lady has me cracking up. Then both he and Jay reappeared.

"Reese, you didn't tell me you were into mature women. I have a neighbor-she's only 65, but she's got nice legs. What do you say?" I ask him with a straight face.

Jay knows instantly what we were talking about. He laughs so much, the rest of us start up again. Reese shakes his head. "Okay, okay. You know what? Make fun, but I'm a good and decent angel. Not only did I revive her, I promised to be her date for the prom."

"You what?" Jay says laughing so hard he can barely get out his words.

Reese answers with pride, "That's right. The Martin and Sylvia Tannenbaum Center for a.s.sisted Living is having their Annual Seniors' Senior Prom Night. This year's theme is 'Sunset Serenade!'"

Jay struggles to speak but can't stop laughing. The twins are beside themselves. I look over at Marcus and he's laughing as well. I've never seen him laugh. It looks good on him. Even Ameana can't help but join in.

"If you need any dance moves, ask Emmy. She's got some great moves." He looks at me and smiles. He's never done that. Even though I hate him, it's good to see him happy.

Over the course of the next hour, Jay disappears three times. When he reappears after the third time, looking somewhat sad, Marcus suggests he not eat anymore. Reese has another gla.s.s of river water and comes back laughing. He tells us about catching a fish even bigger than his dad's. The twins start boxing everything up to take to the shelter. We have hardly eaten anything.

I had a few slices of ham and a turkey wing. I found out angels can't eat meat because then they flash back to the memory of that animal. And it's usually the last moments of their lives, and, just like the twins, the animal comes to a b.l.o.o.d.y end.

The food is packed up nicely and put into containers. I offer to hand it out with them, but Marcus comments on the time. I look at my watch and realize it is almost eleven-past my curfew. Marcus says he'll take me home.

Jay volunteers to glide me, but Marcus says he will do it since Jay had been planning on going to the mission all week. He also reminds me that my mom won't get home until sometime after one. So I calm down and say goodnight to everyone.

Marcus goes into the garage and comes out in a sleek black car. It looks overdone and way too fancy for my neighborhood. "What kind of car is this?" I ask as I get in.

"A Lamborghini Gallardo. I know that because Jay wouldn't stop talking about it for the first three weeks he had it. We ran down a Runner and Jay took his car after we killed him."

"So, this is Jay's?"

"They are all his."

"How many does he have?"

"Ten or so," Marcus says, like he's talking about skateboards.

"Where does he keep them?" I want to know.

"Around the city."

"It's so flashy. I don't think I like it."

"Because you don't like flashy or because you don't think you deserve to sit in it?" Marcus grills.

"A little of both I guess," I say.

"It's just a car. It can be crumbled and broken like any other. And, believe it or not, this is one of his least conspicuous cars."