"Um...."

"Well, that's a topic for another day. My point is it's not till we get here that we get to see the bigger picture." Ruby swept her arms in a wide arc.

Quinlan nodded in agreement, not that she had a clue what Ruby meant. But it seemed like the right thing to do.

"And...here we are." Ruby halted. "Home, sweet home."

Quinlan saw Ruth in a swing on the front porch of a quaint cottage. A picturesque white picket fence framed the property. Quinlan raised a hand in greeting and turned back to Ruby. "So, did it take long? You know, about your name?"

"This last time? Nah, not really." Ruby winked, turning to head back down the street.

This last time? "So what was your Earth name?" Quinlan yelled at Ruby's retreating form.

"Fred," the hefty woman called back without turning. "Later dude," she shouted over her shoulder.

"Fred," Quinlan repeated and tilted her head. "Hmm," she muttered, not completely dismissing the notion Ruby could be pulling a fast one on her. Reaching the front porch, Quinlan asked, "and what's your name?"

Her sister smiled. "Meghan."

Quinlan extended her hand. "I'm Quinlan."

"I know."

Quinlan spent the next week in orientation cla.s.ses. New subjects challenged her obsessive-compulsive need to proclaim total mastery. But, she couldn't concentrate. After the excitement of her arrival wore off, worries of Gracie nagged her daily.

"There's no telling what kind of mess she's gotten into by now." Quinlan proclaimed to no one in particular, ignoring how hypocritical she felt after years of blasting Gracie for talking to herself. "Who's going to help that child?" She hated leaving Gracie. At the time she hadn't seen any choice. Now she felt the miserable weight of abandoning her daughter. This is wrong. I shouldn't be here. I need to get back. But how?

It didn't help that the cla.s.ses held absolutely zero interest for her. Bored beyond belief, Quinlan filed her nails during the "Veils of Self-Deception," napped through "The Bigger Picture," and counted ceiling tiles during "Energy Centers."

On the last day of orientation, Quinlan breathed a sigh of relief. She exited the cla.s.sroom and stuffed the future curriculum brochure into her book bag. Then, realizing Meghan wouldn't be home for an hour, Quinlan headed for the library. She plopped into a comfortable, unoccupied chair toward the back. A row of tables with computers lined a nearby wall.

She yawned. She hadn't been sleeping well, self-diagnosing the cause as her obsessive worrying about Gracie...well, that or too much sleeping in cla.s.s. Thank goodness orientation is over, she thought, pulling the brochure out of her book bag.

Quinlan read the introductory section and shook her head. "Great. More boring cla.s.ses." She had to choose two majors and two minors, or one major and three minors.

She scanned the list on the first page of major topics. "Two majors. Yeah, like that's going to happen."

"Growth Opportunities" [why?]

"Self-Deception vs. Self-Awareness" [I don't think so]

"Emotional Attachments" [don't see the point]

"Religion vs. Spirituality" [not interested]

"Free Will" [boring]

"Control and Other Issues" [what's that?]

"Objectivity vs. Subjectivity" [can we get on with it?]

"Relationships, Forgiveness, Kindness, Love" [know all about that]

"Innate vs. Learned Knowledge" [where do they come up with this stuff?]

"Where Do We Go From Here?" [whatever...]

Quinlan sighed. Nothing grabbed her attention. She flipped to the list of minors.

"Herbs and Gardening" [hmm...maybe]

"Painting: The Colors of the Spectrum" [always wanted to learn how to paint]

"The Five Senses, What They Tell Us" [wow, there's five?]

"Communication Skills" [I talk, others listen]

"Listening Skills" [don't understand topic]

"Bowling" [bowling shirts, not my style]

"Cooking" [been there, got a cookbook]

"Book of the Month Club" [another possibility]

"Well, this is more like it." Quinlan pulled out a pencil marking "Herbs & Gardening," "Painting," and "Book of the Month Club."

"Done," feeling satisfied with her choices. She flipped back to the list of majors, running her finger down the list, stopping at the only possibility.

"Where Do We Go From Here?" Quinlan read the t.i.tle aloud, tapping her pencil on the brochure. "I wonder...."

CHAPTER 8.

QUINLAN.

"Geez, Louise." A familiar voice boomed from the row of nearby computers.

Quinlan turned to find Ruby sitting in one of the soft swivel chairs, her signature blue sungla.s.ses pushed high on her forehead, her jaw working double-time on a wad of Juicy Fruit.

Slipping out of her chair, Quinlan moved toward the row of computers. She raised her eyes to the header at the top of Ruby's computer screen, and felt the air leave her lungs.

"I don't believe it," she squealed.

"Me neither...and after sweeping the dang Orioles." Ruby turned her head and sucked in air, realizing Quinlan stood behind her. The hefty woman bolted to her feet, using her body to shield the screen.

"You're reading the Chicago Tribune." Quinlan spat the words out, pointing to the monitor.

"Am not."

"You are too. I saw you." Quinlan felt her heart rate pa.s.sing the speed limit. "You're reading the sports page."

"Okay, okay, keep your shorts on." Ruby glanced around the library. "And hold it down, will ya?"

"How do you do that?" Quinlan asked. If she could squeeze this out of Ruby, she could check on Gracie.

"Do what?"

"You know. Find out what's happening on...." Quinlan gestured a finger toward the screen.

"Earth?"

"Yes. You've got to tell me." Quinlan tried not to sound as if she were begging, although she would if she had to. Stay calm, she warned herself.

"Why do you wanna know?" Ruby's eyes narrowed.

"Because!" The word propelled out of Quinlan's mouth before she could stop it. "I mean...it's so...." She downshifted. "Interesting."

"Yeah. It's cool." Smack. Ruby moved to the side of the monitor.

Teach me! Quinlan's mind screamed. "So...can you...um...show me how it works?" She hoped whatever super Celestial powers Ruby possessed couldn't hear her heart rattling in her rib cage.

"Sure. But then I'd have to kill ya," Ruby snorted.

The color fell from Quinlan's face. "Oh."

Ruby waved dismissal. "Sorry. Bad joke."

Quinlan's heart rate picked back up. "So," she said, tiptoeing through a mental mine field. "You could show me?" Short pause. "How to look up...things?"

"What kind of things?" One of Ruby's eyebrows shot upward.

"Oh, you know." Quinlan scrambled for a benign answer. "Recipes, crossword puzzles. That sort of thing. I used to do all that...back on...Earth."

"I would if I could, but I can't so I won't. No-can-do." Ruby shook her head. "Newcomers have to get clearance from a higher-up."

Quinlan's mind ran full-throttle. "Well, you can do that, can't you?"

Ruby thought a minute, rolling the wad of gum from one cheek to the other. She slowly nodded as Quinlan's words. .h.i.t their intended target. Her chest ballooned outward. "Yeah, I could, couldn't I?"

"Of course you can. You're way up there." Ego boosting seemed to work wonders with this...well, Ruby.

"I am moving in that direction," Ruby lifted her chin.

"C'mon, you can do it." Quinlan schmoozed. "Just crosswords, I promise," she said, crossing her fingers behind her back. "And besides, you're the smartest dude around." Had she just said dude? Don't push it, goof ball, she warned herself.

Luckily, Ruby didn't seem to catch on to the suck-up routine. "Crossword puzzles, eh?" The larger woman surveyed the mostly empty library. Smack. Bubble. Pop. She sat back down.

"And recipes," Quinlan quickly added, trying to think what else she could cross. How many little lies equal one big fat one?

"Okay. It's like this," Ruby began. "You take your CI card and swipe it here." Ruby pointed to a small slot on the side of the hard drive.

"What's a CI card?"

"Your CI card!" Ruby shot Quinlan a good-grief look. "The little plastic card in your welcome packet...looks like AMEX Platinum?"

"Oh, right." And the hits just keep on coming. Quinlan mentally scratched her head. What in the heck had she done with her welcome packet?

"That's your Celestial Internet card. After you swipe it, just do this." Ruby typed www.earth-viewing.com in the box on the screen and hit enter. An atlas map of planet Earth appeared.

"Pretty easy, huh?" she beamed, looking smug.

Bingo, Quinlan thought, scribbling furious mental notes. "Then what?"

"Anything you want."

"You are brilliant." Quinlan's mental hard-drive downloaded at top speed.

"Watch this." Ruby clicked on the United States. Then, Illinois. Chicago. Then, U.S. Cellular Field. From there, she edged the cursor to the corner of the screen and clicked an icon.

Quinlan swallowed hard. A live baseball game displayed on the screen. Pay dirt. Ruby had not only let her guard down, she'd kicked it clean to the curb.

"I don't believe it." Quinlan worked hard to keep her voice even.

"Yep, sad but true," Ruby answered.

"What do you mean?"

"The Sox are getting their b.u.t.ts kicked." Ruby shook her head and watched the last White Sox batter strike out to end the game. She logged off the computer. "I'm depressed. Let's get outta here."

"Unbelievable." Quinlan exited the library behind Ruby, her mind reeling.

"I know." Ruby dropped blue-tinted sungla.s.ses on her nose. "They got creamed. At least they weren't playing Detroit."

"What's wrong with Detroit?"

"Nothing, if you're Mr. George," Ruby said. "That's his team."

"I don't think I've met Mr. George." Quinlan shaded her eyes against the sun.

"You will."