"So, what do you think so far?" Ruth asked. "Still don't believe in this nonsense?"

Kathryn paused before answering, her mouth stuffed. "Well, I certainly didn't think it'd be anything like this."

"Like what?" Ruth asked.

"I can't decide if I'm in The Twilight Zone or a fairy tale," Kathryn replied. "Although I did like the water slide."

"What do you think about Maggie?"

"Love the accent." Kathryn plucked another strawberry from her plate. "But during the nap thing I had an awful dream."

"You had a dream?"

"Awful. Gracie completely screwed up my King Ranch Chicken."

Ruth's eyebrows rose. "This happened in the peach room?"

"I call it the Dreamsicle room," Kathryn said. "But yeah. Anyway, Gracie-"

"Wait a minute," Ruth said, "back up. You dreamed about Gracie during the procedure?"

"I just told you that."

"We'll talk about this later." Ruth took Kathryn's arm. "We've got to get going."

Kathryn watched Ruth check her in at the reception desk and receive a key. Once inside the elevator Ruth inserted the key and pushed the top b.u.t.ton.

"Look, taking instructions from other people is not your strong suit," Ruth said. "But you've got to pay attention to what you're being asked to do."

"Why, is there going to be a test?" Kathryn snickered.

"Listen to me!" Ruth gave Kathryn the big-sister stare.

"Oh no," Kathryn feigned fright. "Not the look."

"Be serious a minute. It's wonderful here. You'll love it. But you've got to listen to someone else for a change. You think you have answers to everything and that may have been so back there. But you're here now."

The elevator stopped. The doors opened and Kathryn was pushed out of the elevator.

"So be good," Ruth said.

Kathryn watched the doors close. She turned and came face to face with a young woman with ash-blonde hair, high cheekbones and clear blue eyes. "This way, please." She led Kathryn through three sets of doors, each of which had to be securely closed before opening the next. After locking the last set of doors, the woman extended her arm in a Price is Right gesture, motioning toward a set of towering white enameled double doors.

Kathryn fought back a tacky remark, remembering Ruth's recent advice, and settled for a smile and a polite nod. She placed a hand on the doork.n.o.b, feeling the coolness of the simple gla.s.s hardware beneath her fingers. A twinge of apprehension fluttered in her stomach. Opening the door, she stepped into an expansive room, furnishings, walls and carpet all gleaming white. Iridescent white lights beamed down from the ceiling, illuminating the large s.p.a.ce.

"Please come in." A polished, elegant voice sounded from a polished, elegant woman, also dressed in white, behind a ma.s.sive polished alabaster desk. She had a stunning natural beauty and wore no jewelry, with only a modest amount of makeup powdering her glowing complexion. Her pitch-dark hair was pulled into a bun at the nape of her neck, a stark contrast to her attire and the rest of the room's furnishings Kathryn fought the urge to curtsey to Her Royal Whiteness.

"My name is Mary. Please have a seat," she said in a soft voice.

"Thank you." Kathryn slipped into a chair directly in front of the large white desk. "I'm Kathryn."

"Yes." The beautiful woman brushed an elegant finger on an electronic touchpad inserted seamlessly into the top of her desk.

"Let's see." Mary moved screens across the pad. "I see you completed the Q & A with Albert, and..." her voice trailed off. "You've met with Maggie, correct"

"Correct." Kathryn swallowed hard when Mary raised her eyes.

"Veils of Self-Deception," Mary started. "How did that go?"

"Fine," Kathryn lied.

Mary dropped her eyes to the touch screen. "And the Energy Centers procedure? Completed?"

"The colored elevator b.u.t.ton thing?"

Mary studied Kathryn. "Yes, the colored elevator...thing."

"I got four out of seven," Kathryn announced, her chest puffed outward. Not bad.

"Four out of seven." Mary made a notation on the touch screen.

Kathryn held her breath. Wrong answer?

Mary cleared her throat. "You seem nervous."

"No, not at all," Kathryn said. "Well...yes.

"I understand," Mary said, "Why don't you close your eyes and take a deep breath."

Kathryn did as she was instructed, sucked in a quick gulp of air and blew out, squeezing her eyes tighter.

"My dear, that was not a deep breath." Mary's voice flowed like Musak. "Try again. Allow your body and mind to open."

Kathryn p.r.i.c.kled at the order, but remembered Ruth's warning about listening. She closed her eyes and inhaled, shaking her hands out of their balled fists.

"Keep going," Mary instructed. "Three, four, five, six. Now exhale slowly."

"Whoa," Kathryn felt the room spin, causing her eyes to fly open.

"Strange sensation, I know," Mary said, "Once more."

Following Mary's instructions, Kathryn gripped the arms of her chair for balance.

"Very well. You may open your eyes." The woman wrote additional notes on the touchpad. "This completes your initial screening."

Kathryn released an audible sigh. "Did I pa.s.s?"

"Let's just say you didn't fail." Mary ran a slender finger down the electronic pad. "Now, let's see," she said. "About your name."

"My name? It's Kathryn."

"Well. Yes, dear." Mary raised her eyes. "That was your Earth name. Your Celestial name is," she paused, "Quinlan. Quite lovely, I should think."

"Quinlan?"

"According to the records, yes." Mary reached across the desk and pushed a b.u.t.ton on a white monitor.

"Ruby, would you come in, please?"

Through a side door a woman entered wearing a black b.u.t.ton-down shirt, black cargo pants, red Keds and a blue vest with the word "Peace" hand-written on the front pocket. Blue tinted sungla.s.ses held her limp shoulder-length hair away from her face. She had a rock-solid stocky build and posed a strong contrast to Mary's all-whiteness.

"Ruby, this is Quinlan. She recently joined us and will be your new a.s.signment." Mary paused. "Quinlan, this is Ruby."

Quinlan placed her hand in the chubby extended one and winced at Ruby's vice-like grip.

"Pleased to meet you," Ruby smacked on a large wad of gum, emitting strong whiffs of Juicy Fruit. She had none of the grace and elegance of Mary, yet her eyes beamed warm and friendly. "Do you bowl?"

"Bowl? Uh no, I don't." Quinlan answered, puzzled by the question.

Ruby shrugged. "Doesn't matter. We'll fix that in no time." Ruby glanced at Mary. "Anything else, Boss?"

"Ruby, please, do not call me Boss." Mary selected a b.u.t.ton on the electronic screen, bringing a printer behind her to life. She inserted the printed pages into a folder. "Here is Quinlan's file. I trust you can take it from here?"

"Sure, no sweat." Ruby thumbed through the pages while she smacked.

"Hey, this says you're a south-paw. You sure you don't bowl?" Ruby asked. "We could really use a lefty."

Quinlan shook her head.

"And let's see. You'll be living with your sister on Moon Sh.e.l.l Drive. Nice place." Ruby slammed the folder shut and tucked it under her arm. "No need to worry about this one. She's in good hands." Ruby turned to Mary and raised her hand in a salute.

"I will forget about that chewing substance in your mouth if you promise to stop saluting me," Mary said.

Ruby lowered her hand. "Sorry, Boss. Just habit."

Mary's eyes narrowed.

"I mean, sorry ma'am." Ruby pulled Quinlan to her feet. "We'd better go."

"It's been a pleasure to meet you. I...hope to see you again sometime," Quinlan stammered, squelching her desire to curtsey again.

"I'm sure you will, my dear," she heard Mary reply.

CHAPTER 7.

QUINLAN.

Outside the building, Ruby slid the blue-tinted gla.s.ses over her nose.

"Okay, here's the deal." She pawed through one of many cargo pockets on her pants, surfacing moments later with a cell phone. "This is yours. I'm *5 on speed dial." Smack. "You got questions? You call me. Got it?" Ruby slapped the cell phone into Quinlan's hand. "*8 is your orientation schedule," she said. "Moon Sh.e.l.l Drive is up ahead. Let's walk." Smack.

Quinlan slipped the cellular device in her pocket and surveyed her surroundings. "Everything is so clean...so fresh looking."

"Thank you, ma'am. We do our best." Ruby puffed out her chest, as if she were single-handedly responsible for it all. "By the way, you know anything about the White Sox?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"The White Sox. You know, baseball? Chicago? Nellie Fox?"

"No, sorry. Not really a baseball fan," Quinlan shrugged.

Ruby winced. "What planet did you say you're from?"

Quinlan glanced at the plus-sized woman with the blue-tinted sungla.s.ses. "Earth?"

"Are you sure?" Ruby kept walking. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but the White Sox and baseball are only like...G.o.d's gift to the universe. Exactly where on Earth are you from?"

"Houston."

"Yuk. Too far south for me. The Astros aren't a bad team though. Nellie played there before he retired." Ruby blew a bubble. Smack. Then shrugged. "That's okay, doesn't matter, I guess."

Doesn't matter, she guesses? Quinlan realized she'd seriously started out on the wrong foot with Ruby. First, bowling, now the White Sox and baseball...great.

Anxious for a do-over, Quinlan asked, "Do you like it here?"

Ruby shot her a sideways glance. "Of course. What's not to like?"

Quinlan corrected herself. "I guess what I mean is...um, do you like your job?"

"Oh, this?" Ruby thumped the folder. "Temporary. I put my time in here and then I can apply for a stewardship. After that? The Advisory Council. Yep, got it all figured out," Ruby beamed. "This way." Ruby motioned to the right when they reached Moon Sh.e.l.l Drive.

"Did it take long to adjust to your name when you got here?" Quinlan asked.

Ruby thought a moment. "Well, it's not like it's a new name. The Celestial records have been around since...well...forever." Ruby pushed straggly hair out of her eyes. "You know what's weird though?" continuing before Quinlan could comment, "and by the way, I'm from Earth too. When we're there, you know...there, we think we're so...." she rolled her hand around in a circular motion searching for the right word. "Important." Smack. Bubble. Pop. "Yeah, important."

Quinlan raised an eyebrow and waited for Ruby to continue.

"We think we know it all, ya know." Ruby chuckled. "Like we're the only ones in the universe."

"We're not?" Quinlan's shock factor shot up a few notches.

Ruby looked at Quinlan like she'd sprouted a third eye between her brows. "Oh, pu-lease. All the stars on a dark night? The Milky Way? Of course we're not...." Ruby shot a look at Quinlan and then touched her arm. "Wait...you're serious?"