Space monkeys swept into the room and carried off  the muffins.  Joe looked up from his Star Wars/Wizard of Oz fanfic.  "That was weird."

The sun went dark, and the Earth was shrouded in shadow.  But then it came back, so everyone decided that it wasn't worth worrying.  

Sam climbed out the window and onto the porch roof. The waiting gargoyle tapped his watch. "Dude." "Sorry," Sam said, and took his place.

Ronnie wormed her way through the air vent.  It was a lot tighter than she remembered--but then she hadn't been through here since before Jim came.  She'd grown in the past year. 

She slithered forward.  It would be her birthday soon, and she always greeted her birthday from the same spot.  Of course, she hadn't always had to crawl through vents to get there.  The station had grown, too. 

She got wedged in a corner.  Her legs were tangled together, and it was hard to breathe.  She was almost desperate enough to call for help when she managed to get herself unstuck.  She patted her wrist communicator.  Jim had made it for her and given it to her early.  He'd been so excited and proud of himself.  He'd never made a present for a friend before. 

It was programmed with three settings.  One went straight to Jim's matching communicator, the second went to the station's main communication line, and the third was the emergency line. 

Jim was a little obsessed with safety.  He'd be horrified when she told him about her trip through the vents.  She grinned and pictured the look on his face. 

She could see sunlight ahead.  She was almost there.  Just a little further.  She pulled herself to the end of the vent.  The thin metal shifted beneath her, and the bolts holding the vent moaned. 

Ronnie tried to throw herself forward, but her foot caught.  She scrambled for something to hold onto as the vent pulled away from the wall.  Her stomach lurched, and she started to fall. 

She hit her wrist communicator and screamed Jim's name.  

Wedding bells tolled overhead as Scott fought his way through the protestors and ran into the church.  He was too late.  At this point, he couldn't do anything but cause a scene. 

He barreled ahead anyway.  He needed to see May one more time before he lost her forever. 

May and Xxxlt'ta were walking up the aisle hand in hand.  The blue-skinned alien looked strange in his tux, but May was stunning in her wedding dress.  Her eyes widened in surprise and Xxxlt'ta's narrowed in anger. 

"What are you doing here?" the alien demanded. 

Scott winced.  Xxxlt'ta's eerie voice always gave him a headache.  "I told you that you wouldn't be able to keep me away." 

May's eyes flickered between Scott and her new husband.  "Xxxlt'ta, what's he talking about?" 

Xxxlta'ta sighed.  "I didn't want him to disrupt your special day." 

May snorted.  "Well, look at how that worked out."  She stepped forward and took Scott's hand.  "I'm sorry for whatever Xxxlt'ta did to you, but I can't let you come between us.  I love him, Scott." 

Scott glanced down at her warm, human hand.  How could she leave him for an alien?  She squeezed his fingers, just like she had when they'd gone for long walks together.  "I just wanted to see you in your wedding dress."  He kissed the back of her hand, then extended his other hand to Xxxlt'ta.  The alien's grip was clammy and weak.  "Congratulations." 

Scott sat with May's family at the reception.  He kept her brothers from drinking too much, and made sure that none of them started a fight.  Scott wasn't the only one who wasn't happy with May's choice. 

May and Xxxlt'ta weren't planning on coming back to Earth after their honeymoon. 

He danced with May once.  He tried to memorize the feel of her in his arms, the smell of her hair, the rhythm of her breath.  Then he let her go.  

 Last Wednesday, Paul, our friend Justin, and I drove to Indianapolis for Gen Con, the best four days in gaming.  That's role playing games, not gambling.  

We've been going every year since 2006, and we stop at Cracker Barrel for lunch on our way out every year.  We like traditions.  I had my best-ever Cracker Barrel meal this year.  They have these new campfire specials that they bring out wrapped in aluminum foil.  Mmmm, beef and vegetables wrapped in foil.  Does food get any better?  

The convention continued to carry that high note.  

 I got two acceptances this week.  My story "Larva Mother" will be appearing in the January issue of Bards and Sages Quarterly, and my story "Three Grams" will be appearing in Dark Recesses.  

In other exciting news, my husband, Paul, sold an article to Pyramid Magazine.  

It's been a good week.  ^_^

The beat pulsed through Joy's soul, vibrated her atoms. She lost herself in the music, and she didn't find herself when the song ended.  

The cat raced around the room, chasing things humans couldn't see. He captured his prey and laid it at their feet. They weren't impressed.

The ship skipped along the surface of reality. Its crew lost count of how many times it bounced. When they sank, they felt only relief.

Jim whistled as he walked to work.  It was a beautiful Sunday morning, and it was his birthday.  He'd been on the station for almost a year.  He was going to work a short shift, and then Ronnie, her parents, and his mom were going to throw him a surprise party. 

No one had ever tried to throw him a surprise party before.  He almost wished that he hadn't overheard his mom and his best friend plotting. 

The maintenance staff's break room was dark.  Jim usually wasn't the first one in, but when he was it was his job to make coffee.  Humming, he flipped the light switch. 

"Surprise!"  Half the station was crammed into the room.  Jim gaped.  Don and the rest of the crew grinned at him from behind a cake.  Ronnie parents huddled together behind a camera. 

Ronnie threw her arms around him.  "We totally got you!" 

His mom kissed the top of his head.  "You should have seen the look on your face!" 

"But--I--you--" 

"Thought the party was going to be later?" Ronnie said. 

Jim nodded. 

"That was a diversion."  Ronnie pulled him toward the green cake.  "It was your mom's idea." 

"It was my mom's idea to have cake for breakfast?"

"Yep." 

Don slid a generous slice of cake onto a plate.  "We got you something," he said, handing Jim a package. 

"Go on, open it," urged one of the other maintenance men. 

Jim peeled back the plain brown paper.  Inside were three workshirts with the station's logo and his name neatly embroidered on them. 

"We figured it was about time we made your position official," Don said. 

Jim throat felt tight.  He nodded and traced his name.  "Thanks." 

Ronnie pressed a heavy package into his hand.  "I got you something, too," she said. 

Jim unwrapped it carefully.  "Oh, wow, Ronnie."  It was three books.  One contained all of the technical readouts on the station.  Another book, this one on the history of the station and the Mars Project, was tucked behind it.  The last was a worn copy of a pulp science fiction novel. 

Jim hadn't been able to bring many of his paper books to the station, and he's missed having them on shelves around his room.  He didn't even remember mentioning it to Ronnie.  The paperback smelled like rainy afternoons at his grandmother's house.  "Thank you," he managed. 

Ronnie kissed his cheek.  "Happy birthday, Jim."  

"My best one ever," he said. 

"Your best one yet," Ronnie said.

Jim pulled on one of his shirts and took a bite of cake.  "Yet," he said.    

The antique store smelled like old leather and furniture polish.  Dahlia wandered between the chairs and desks to the back wall, where knickknacks rested on dusty shelves.  She picked up a duck carved out of dark blue stone.  The duck was cool and heavy, and it made her fingers tingle.

Serena, Dahlia's partner, leaned into the store and shouted at her.  "Have you found your magic thing yet?" 

Dahlia glared, but nodded.  "I'll be out in a minute."  She carried the duck to the cash register and rang the bell.  She waited for someone to emerge from the back room to take her money. 

She rang the bell again.  "Hello?"  The duck didn't have a price tag, or else she'd just leave cash on the counter.  She stalked to the back corner and pushed through the dark brocade curtain.  "I'd like to buy this duck." 

A teenage kid started awake at the break table.  A carrot clung to his cheek.  "Wha?" 

Dahlia held up her duck.  "I want to buy this." 

The kid squinted at her.  "It's not for sale." 

"What?"  Dahlia's fingers closed around the duck. 

He shrugged and laid his head back down.  "Not for sale."  His voice was muffled. 

Dahlia pulled two hundred dollars out of her wallet and laid it on the table. "I'm taking this duck." 

The kid shrugged and didn't look up.  "Whatever." 

Dahlia stormed out.  When the sunlight touched the blue stone, the duck came to life.  It was still cold stone, but it struggled in Dahlia's hand. 

It quacked and flapped frantically.  Dahlia let it go, and it lunged into the air. 

Serena smirked at the fleeing duck.  "What exactly did that accomplish?" 

Dahlia watched the duck fly away and felt an improbable wave of happiness.  "Any day I add a little wonder to the world is a good day."   

The Apollo slipped into the room through the cracks in the blinds. He traced his daughter's cheek. The machines beeped. He felt powerless.

Ronnie curled up in the hideout and pulled out one of the chocolate bars that Jim's grandma had sent with him.  They didn't get much chocolate on Mars, and Ronnie usually savored it. 

She devoured the bar in four bites.  Her mom was driving her crazy.  She thought that she knew more than Ronnie did about Jim and his dad, and she was just wrong.  And Jim didn't want her mom's help dealing with it.  He'd been dealing with it all of his life.  He was fine. 

Ronnie pressed her hands over her eyes.  How could one person be so embarrassing?  She'd practically smothered Jim with affection, and it was plain to anyone with eyes that it was all fake.  Her mom liked Jim well enough, but she hadn't really paid much attention to him before she'd gotten all buddy-buddy with Jim's mom. 

Now she oozed sympathy every time Jim's name was mentioned, and it made Ronnie's skin crawl. 

Jim ducked into the hideout.  "Hey," he said, sitting down next to her. 

Ronnie sighed.  "I'm so sorry about my mom." 

Jim shrugged.  "It's okay.  A little weird, but not bad.  Your mom's just nice.  And it's good that she and my mom are friends now.  My mom needs friends." 

"Yeah, but you're my friend, and she's just... ugh."  Ronnie curled her fingers in her hair.  "She's driving me nuts." 

"That's just how moms are.  Don't worry about it."  He grinned at her.  "So, since I've been helping with maintenance, I've learned a few new shortcuts around the station.  Want to go check them out?" 

"Okay."  Ronnie pushed her mom out of her mind and stood up. 

"Come on, I'll race you to the door," Jim called, already running. 

Ronnie chased after him, laughing. 

He was getting faster--she only beat him by a couple of seconds.