Max shook his head. "No, not that." He paused, not sure how to begin. Isabel had always had trouble confid- ing in him when they were growing up. It had only gotten harder lately.

"About Jesse," Max said finally. With his peripheral vision, he saw Michael squirm uncomfortably. Isabel gave him a slightly stunned look. For a moment she was silent.

"This wasn't just another breakup. You were married…," Max said.

"I know I was married!" Isabel exploded. "In fact, I still am. It's just that I'm never going to see my husband again.”

She was angry and immediately went red in the face. Well, angry… even if it was with him… was better than what she could be feeling.

"I'm sorry, Isabel. I want to help if I can," Max said. "Maybe if you talked… ”

"That's the problem, Max. You can't help me," Isabel said, her voice tight. "You can't fix this. I left my husband and my last chance at escaping all this back in Roswell.”

Max could see that Isabel was near tears. He hadn't wanted to upset her, and seeing her so vulnerable unsettled him. He had rarely seen her cry, even when they were younger.

"Listen," Michael said, breaking the silence. "What's so great about being normal? We've been trying since we got out of the pods, and it hasn't worked out so well. And, Isabel, Jesse was okay, but he wasn't the one.”

There was dead silence in the room for a long moment. Max found himself holding his breath. Isabel looked shocked, as if Michael had just thrown cold water in her face, or slapped her. Max could see anger, grief, and some- thing else colliding on her face. For a second, Max wasn't sure if she was going to cry or hit Michael… both options looked like an even bet.

Then, as quickly as the storm of emotions came, it seemed to pass. Isabel seemed to deflate in front of them.

She was holding herself together, barely. Max preferred seeing her angry. Then she leveled a cool gaze at Max and said, "No, I don't want to talk about it right now.”

Isabel got up and seemed on the verge of storming out. Then she turned and sat on the floor next to Max. "What are you playing?" she asked.

"Um, war," Michael said, still holding the cards in his hands.

She grabbed the cards from him and said, "Dealers choice.”

As she shuffled the cards, Max took in what had just happened. He still couldn't believe that Michael had spo- ken up; his best friend usually avoided discussion about feelings with the same intensity that he guarded their big secret.

Max was equally surprised by how much sense Michael had made. They had been trying for their whole lives to be normal. It had never worked, and they had all paid a price for the failure.

And Max was even more surprised that Michael had said what he had about Jesse. It was true, Max knew. They had all sensed it, though they had never talked about it. Instead, they had discussed the fact that she was so young, and that they were rushing the wedding. But the truth was that they had all known the simple truth that no one had said out loud until Michael did a minute before.

Jesse was not the one.

Even so, Max had no doubt that Isabel had loved him and that her pain and grief right now were real. Well, maybe she would want to talk about it when a bit more time had passed.

If Michael could talk about feelings… and make sense doing it… anything was possible.

Isabel dealt out the cards. Since he was sitting on her left, he went first. Max looked levelly at Isabel and said, "Seven.”

His sister leveled a steely gaze at him and said, in an even voice, "Go fish, Max.”

Liz laid two plates at the first table in her station, smiled, and immediately headed behind the counter, where the large cutout in the wall led to the kitchen.

She nearly collided with Maria, who got there a moment before she did.

"Where's my omelette and home fries?" Maria called out.

Sam grunted from inside the kitchen but passed a plate out. Maria took it and was off. For all of her complaining about going back to work as a waitress, Maria had settled right in at Bell's. Liz found that she had, as well, though both girls were frustrated by the fact that they didn't know the menu and prices cold. After years at the Crashdown, they each could recite the menu forward and backward.

So they spent a frustrating first hour checking the menu before they added up the checks. But they picked it up quickly, and now, as the breakfast rush began to taper off, Liz could make out most checks from memory. And she could see that Maria was doing the same.

Liz was surprised at how much of a rush the breakfast rush had actually been. She wasn't sure the diner would keep even one experienced waitress busy, but they both had been. And in the beginning, Bell had been pitching in as well.

Once the owner had seen that the girls could handle the crowd, she had concentrated on seating people and working the register. Liz was glad. For one thing, it meant that she and Maria would keep all the tips. And while the checks were smaller than she was used to at the Crash- down, the running total she kept in her head told her that her tips were averaging a bit higher in percentage.

The customers were all working people… local farm- workers and factory workers commuting to Pueblo. At home, Liz had learned that working people tipped better. Before, she had thought that it might only be true in Roswell, but Liz saw that it was true in Stonewall as well. Maybe it's true everywhere, Liz thought.

Twenty minutes later, Liz watched the last breakfast customer leave. As soon as the door closed, Bell said, "Congratulations" to both Maria and Liz.

Liz found herself smiling and saw that Maria was doing the same.

"How long did you two say you were going to be in town?" Bell asked.

Liz shrugged. "A week or two," she said. She honestly didn't know how long it would take them to earn enough to get the van fixed and get moving.

"Well, I'll be sorry to see you go," Bell said.

"You'll find someone new by then," Liz said.

Just then, Jimmy was coming out of the kitchen, and Liz saw his face drop. Liz cursed herself. She walked over to Jimmy and said, "I didn't mean it like that. I'm sure she'll be back.”

Jimmy nodded and went back to work.

Then Maria was next to Liz and patting her arm.

"You girls deserve a break, if you want to sit down. And have something to eat," Bell said, gesturing to a table.

"If it's okay, we'd like to order some food to take to our friends before the lunch rush," Liz said.

"Sure, just tell Sam what you want," Bell said.

Then she shouted into the back, "Sam, keep the grill hot.”

She and Maria conferred on the order, and Maria brought it to Sam.

As soon as she left, Jimmy was next to Liz.

"Hi Jimmy," Liz said.

The boy was silent, but Liz could see that he wanted to say something. Finally, he said, "They only take girls.”

"What?" she said. Then she realized what he was say- ing. "Who takes them, Jimmy? Do you know who took your sister?”

Jimmy shook his head. "Why do they do that? Why do you think they take girls?" he asked.

Liz felt the weight of what Jimmy was carrying for a moment and she didn't need any special alien-powers to see it. "I don't know, Jimmy," was all she could say.

"Sometimes they come back after a day or two. And they're okay, mostly," he said. Then he added, "Jessica's been gone for a week.”

Almost instantly, Jimmy was on the verge of tears. Then he was over the verge. Liz reached out with her hand and touched his arm gently. The world shifted around her. She wasn't in the diner anymore. She was in a room, except room wasn't the right word for where she was.

Then there was screaming. A girl was screaming.

The scene changed, and Liz saw Jimmy standing in a field. No, it wasn't a field. There were buildings.