No jam? I got the empty jar and scraped it with my last piece of bread. Hard to face retail on a nearly-empty stomach.

My phone startled me and I dropped the jar. Which shattered. My thumb hit the wrong spot and hung up on the caller—my boss? Uh boy. It’s 8 am already? But I had to laugh at that stupid picture with her mouth open. Her daddy’s money helped her start Crafts Anonymous. Customers evaporated during COVID. Except people who don’t like masks. Fusses when I wear mine.

It rang again. “Hey, Pat, what’s up?”

“You got a lot of nerve hangin’ up on me! Didja know I was callin’ to fire ya?”

“Whoa—wait—fire me? Why?”

“You worked for Betty last night knowin’ you’d go over 40. We don’t pay over—”

“I didn’t go over—”

“’Cause you worked for Tom Saturday!”

“Pat, Kathey begged me to come in ‘cause she couldn’t—”

“Kathey’s just the Night Manager. I own this company. And, I say, you’re fired.” Click. And, my job at Crafts Anonymous is now history. For working when they needed me? Like I need a third job, anyway? Tomorrow, I’m working all day at Jason’s Hardware.

I went and splashed some water in my face. That lifeless brown hair’s getting a bit of silver at my temples. Still look young. Only 32. But, dark circles under my blue eyes make me look older. What I’d give, to just slow down and go on a nice date with someone. In my dreams. These jeans are too tight because I gained weight over the holidays. Exercising makes my back hurt worse.

Since I had time now, a whole day, I’ll watch some SETI news. I put on CNM.

“It started early, before sunrise. First, a sequence of prime numbers. Then, they started sending a treaty for the UN. It appears the aliens want Earth to join a trade network covering seven galaxies. Here’s Marty Essenger to tell us all about it. Marty—”

My phone rang again. “Kia, I need ya. Nancy came in drunk this mornin’.”

I rolled my eyes. “Kathey, Pat just fired me.”

“Well, I’m rehirin’ ya—”

“She says I’m over 40 this week as of last night.”

“Yeah, and I’m havin’ her business when William gets done. Hear that?” I heard vague male yelling.

Last time he did that, he didn’t offer to buy it for her. “You know she’ll tell his wife if he gets it for her, don’t you?”

Didn’t wait for her to recover. Hung up. Like she would sell to him. Waiting for the fella with the thick Indian accent to offer her more money. I think he’s about done with her games. I’m done with my little soap opera job. Just, done!

I turned off an ad and looked for another story. More political mumbo. My tummy’s rumbling.

Maybe there’s something under that ice in the freezer. Hmm. Corn dogs? Why not?

I put one in a dish and ignored the ice crystals.

My phone rang. Again? Oops, Carla! “Hi, how ya doin’?” What I wouldn’t give to be thin as her.

“Don’t how ya doin’ me, kid. Yer in trouble.”

“What?”

“You closed Tuesday, right?”

Tuesday. Oh yeah. Bowling alley snack bar. “Yeah, I did.”

“You didn’t care to tell me about the leak in the sink?”

“There wasn’t any leak—”

“We had to bring in a company to deal with inches of water. Storeroom got soaked. Charlie wasn’t happy. You’re fired. Charlie’s lawyer will be over to your apartment today. Don’t leave.”

I stopped the microwave and put the corn dog in the freezer. Leaned against the fridge. Lawyer? Can they prove that’s my fault if it happened after I left? Then Randy’s words came back to me.

I don’t get mad, Honey, I get even.

He’s had it in for me ever since Charlie gave me the job that he wanted. His girl’s the bowling alley mechanic. Did he do something? He was still cleaning up when I left.

What to do? Who to tell? Then a rumble behind that freezer door, and the motor stopped. I jerked it open. Steaming! Glass all over the ice. Thought it couldn’t be—

The doorbell. I sighed. I’m dressed.

“We’re here at SETI and there’s excitement in the air!” My phone started playing and I stopped it.

Opened the door.

Two men in white suits and diagonal sashes filled with pins! Lawyers? “Look, I think I was framed! I wouldn’t leave water running when I close up!” I lost my cool.

The men took my arms. “Oh, we aren’t here to—what is wrong, Miss Garfield?”

Wasn’t going to—but another man in a blue suit put an envelope in my hand. “Sign here, please.”

“Excuse me, what is this about?”

“Charlie’s Lanes is suing Miss Kia Garfield for destruction of his property. They believe she cut the drain pipe and left water running overnight—”

“I wouldn’t do that! Randy threatened me! He was there Monday when I left at 6 am—”

“He has a job at Crafts Anonymous and they verified, he was there from 4:30 am cleaning the store.”

“What?” I didn’t think Pat would stoop that low!

The silver-haired one on the right kept talking. “How much are these damages?”

“So far, $5000, but they’ve only gotten the plumber’s estimate and they’re not through with the inventory.”

“My company will pay for this. I hope you will investigate this further. Perhaps someone at Crafts Anonymous is not being honest.”

The man sneered. “From a man in a white suit? Honestly.”

He handed him a business card, and the weaselly lawyer paled. Real lawyers don’t do courier work. That business card had a hologram of a garden that shone in the bright morning sun. Didn’t know they could do such realistic ones!

Silver hair struck a dramatic pose and pulled out a wallet. “Here is my UN ID which gives my title as diplomat. My Georgia International Driver’s License. My wallet Passport. I am learning about Georgia State Law from our lawyer. Here is his business card. He will be in touch. My government will pay for all these damages, but our lawyer will investigate.”

The man took the business card and left, fast! I was a sobbing mess!

“Oh, let me introduce myself. I am Irdaktin, Diplomat Of Biehshah. Here is my friend, Der, also Diplomat Of Biehshah.” He pulled a pristine, white handkerchief from his pocket and wiped my face. Great, even my mascara’s running. Drips on my green sleeve made me cringe.

“Thanks! I’m Kia.” Can’t curtsy in blue jeans. My, he’s handsome! But a diplomat? I’m competin’ with teens for jobs because my degree in Music with a concentration in singing wasn’t practical, since I didn’t make the cut at Julliard. I sighed. He’ll probably marry a princess.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

A cold breeze made us all shiver. “Won’t you come in?”

“Thank you.”

I led them into my tiny studio with three folding chairs. So embarrassing! Had to move my basket of laundry to fold.

The silver-haired one with the huge brown eyes took it. “Where shall I put this, for you?” Irdaktin. No last name? He doesn’t look like a person from India. But, how would I know. anyway?

“On the floor over there’s fine! Thanks!”

They both waited for me to sit first. Both of them, very athletic. Der smiled at Irdaktin. But he smiled at me. “We wish to offer you a job. Do you think you would enjoy the medical field?”

“Medical?” I took care of Mama until she passed, of cancer, and thought about becoming a nurse. But Dad remarried and they moved to Mexico. So I had to move out, and couldn’t afford an apartment and school. Had a scholarship in music so I finished my degree, since I just had a bit left. Didn’t really know how to get a singing job except in a bar, and I don’t— “I might be interested. But how did you find me?”

Irdaktin took my hands. The white walls of my apartment faded away, replaced by a red one.

People here were lying in white-robed healers’ laps, not standing.

“Kia, you cannot enter Rin’s Ennead. She has not the experience to teach you. When you shared with Patran, I heard also. Patran thinks he is stronger than he is at times. He was a slave. Once, he was a Master Healer of great skill.” Shas reached a twin-fingered hand to touch Patran’s silver curls. Another healer held him, sleeping. He thought I had potential as a healer. That skin was orange before he tried to teach me, now it’s yellow. I felt awful! “Now we must stop him when he attempts beyond his strength. Daughter, I grieve, but if Patran cannot teach you to control your telepathy, I cannot. No one can! Despair not. Molly always needs healer helpers.” Kia flunks another kind of job. Patran tried to teach me how to heal Earl’s bruised twin-toed feet, and my telepathy hurt him, and the old healer, too.

After that, I was scared to touch anybody. Earl woke up and didn’t remember me. He seemed happy to let Shas care for him. They wouldn’t let Patran heal anyone and I worried.

I walked around the ship. A beautiful red hull with rainbows in it curved over me. When I first came aboard, I enjoyed the springy feel of the floor under my tennis shoes. Will I be as much of a failure here in space as I was on Earth? Stars outside that hull didn’t seem as welcoming, now.

All of these tortured people! I felt unsure of my healer helping skills. Didn’t want to talk to anyone.

On the other side, two Biehshah and five Bisillips huddled together. The Bisillips didn’t try to talk, just looked down. Like walking green skeletons, half my width and bald. One Biehshah lay moaning on his back. The other held a hand on his curly, blond head. They were both yellow. Large men, as most Biehshah were, with bigger eyes than us but pretty Earthan-looking, except for the golden yellow skin. The sitting one had bright blue eyes that seemed to glow as he stared at me. “Mesta ranarishmech! The answer to my prayer!”

“What does that mean?” I looked behind me. Nothing except a bunch of Thordes. The purple men smiled.

His five-fingered hand pulled at mine. “Your mind is strong! I beg your forgiveness, but my brother dies, and even the Zheien healers cannot assist me because their minds are not in sync. Yours is in sync.”

“It is? You’re sure I won’t hurt him? I already hurt two Zheien today—”

He patted my hand. “We have different gifts. I wish to give to you. Help me heal my brother and I will make of you a great healer!”

“I’ll help! What do I do?” Oh, how I wanted to believe him!

Slowly, he pulled my hand to his brother’s head. Ow! He hurt! “Leave your hand on top of his head. I will add mine and help you. He needed so much healing in the night, I exhausted early. We have three brains. There. Do you feel the three pullings?”

I started to tell him I didn’t understand, but I did feel three distinct—almost magnetic—tugs at my fingers.

“Pull the forces together. Quickly!”

Closed my fingers. Thought they’d pass through, but energy connected. I heard musical notes. A symphony of sounds and voices. The sound mesmerized me.

“Are you harmed? Novas! Let me bring one of the Zheien for you—”

I wanted to tell him I wasn’t hurt, but I couldn’t take my mind off the music. Part of me sang along with it.

I gasped! The four walls of my apartment came back. “SETI—you’re from out there?” I waved my arm out and felt dumb. Friends say I’m too dramatical.

Irdaktin stood. “Yes! Our star, the Alb System, is out there!” He pointed to the bathroom. “I am from Biehshah, and once I saw this memory, I had to come find you. In this other future, you had healing for us that our greatest healer, Tenadu, does not know.”

“I did?”

“He waits on our ship! We wish to take you to him, to learn healing.”

His hands went cold in mine. I rubbed ‘em. “Let’s go!”

Der giggled. “This was easier than I thought!”

I laughed. “I always wanted to be an astronaut!”

With a smile, Irdaktin gave a graceful wave. A green swirl of light appeared, and the middle showed a crowd on a red-violet ship. “Here is a dimportal. Walk with me, Kia.”

He led me into that green swirl. The crowd moved so we could get in. Like that red ship, but red-violet. I saw tree limbs above us. Inman Park? We’re in a yard there?

Tenadu ran to us, bright blue eyes wide. “Oh, Miss—”

“Call me Kia! I’m ready to learn healing!” I pumped his hand.

He laughed. “I am ready to teach you. First, you must have an aandat. Ir, did you show her memories?” He smoothed his blue robes.

“I showed her you. Did you give her an aandat?”

“No. How did she get it? Perhaps we must begin where all Earthans begin, yes?”

“Yes!”

“Yes!” Irdaktin looked around. We felt rumbles. “Oh, no! We offended our Zheien friends—”

One of the twin-fingered men put a hand on his shoulder. “Dear friend, we are ne offended, but merely—ne accustomed to speaking of them.” He turned orange in his face. “All of us will need to learn to speak of them, so Earthans may.” The man smiled.

Then all of the twin-fingered ones—in a rainbow of skin colors—smiled. Purple men and women with five fingers like me. Pink ones with eyes that turned light. And fire-engine red ones with four fingers. Wow! I felt like I’d stepped into that cantina in Star Wars. Without booze. Nice!

Tenadu looked down and Ir had a grip on my hand. “My son, should you hold her hand? Be careful.”

He held my hand against his chest. “I want to marry her, Ten!” Memories flooded me. We got married in that other future. His people wanted him to know me 5 years before courting!

The healer fella gasped! His yellow skin paled! “You must not speak—”

Another yellow fella marched over. Had a lot more pins on his blue robes. “Irdaktin, you are of Leheren. I can have you Excluded for this! Drop her hand. How do you know that any Earthan will want to have a 20-year courtship with you?”

Tenadu took my hand out of his and put his hand down.

“Because I saw our future together! We married in the Rainbow Unwell Colony—”

“Which does not yet exist! I warn you—”

“I moved my house to Ye~ Zheien Colony this morning. Ryonne~ made me a citizen of his colony—”

“This is madness! No Biehshah can survive—”

Ten men stood with him. “See my friends, who also moved their houses! Many are already Excluded and work in Siotu for ScSv. They now work in Ye~ ScSv.” He shook all over. “More die in Leheren than any other prov of Biehshah, because of changes, because of our many rules, and more are Excluded from there than any other. Your governance, Garat, kills us. No one dies in Jujujean, from a change in the weather, or a birth, or a death. This colony will be New Jujujean. I will welcome all of the Excluded, from any prov, and I will not Exclude anyone.” He shook all over.

Memories flooded me, of our marriage, how happy we were in Jujujean of Rainbow, our own little paradise on Alb Seer. But, Ye~? Where’s that? And I haven’t learned healing yet! Irdaktin sweated.

Other Biehshah stood by him and frowned at Garat. “Then, all of you can join his colony and die there! I will Exclude all of you!”

A Zheien walked to him. This one had more pins on his sash, a much younger man, but confident. “Friends, what is wrong?”

Ir took my hand. “Theapet, I witnessed 30 marriages this morning, between Zheien and Earthans, between Thordes and Earthans, Elshars and Earthans, and I am one of two Biehshah who witnessed a prophecy of his marriage. I love Kia! I hope she loves me! I want to marry her, and Ten believes we shall die if we do not, and Garat wants to Exclude me for it!”

This Zheien’s anger rumbled on me. I shook with it. “Gar, surely you know that we nae marry lightly. Like you, our emotions can cripple one. Irdaktin served years, faithfully, and saved millions in situations few Zheien could survive. Will you forget, because he wishes to marry?” His bright blue eyes filled with tears.

“He knows our rules, and he has broken 27 of them with this foolish notion! I do not believe he will die from waiting. Zheien are different.”

Ten pulled at Ir’s arm. “My son, I am your healer. I do believe you. Be calm. Drink this.” Handed him a blue-green milkshake.

He startled, but tasted it. Downed it! Smiled.

Garat didn’t. “I wish to speak with Ryonne~.”

Theapet frowned. “He left the ship. But, his father is here.”

“Yes, I wish to speak with King Eanne~.” Garat snapped into an exaggerated, rigid stance. Like military, but rigid-er. His expression with his lower lip poked out reminded me of a 4-year-old.

A stately man with silver curls to his shoulders came. Even more pins than Theapet had! He bowed low, one leg far behind him. “Garat, you ask for me?”

“Why did you create a Biehshah colony without asking our leaders?”

“I did not ask, but Ry’nao requested the space, and we provided it. I serve our Emperor, and I hope you do.”

“We are not part of the Unified, and I do not consider any leader other than ours. We are independent. We gave you protection from pirates that Theaspaura asked, but I am tempted to have it withdrawn from your world if you allow these Excluded ones to settle there. I have much influence on our Council.”