«No, Kyle," she said gently, sitting beside him. «But I thought we could spend the afternoon together. Maybe take your mind off your troubles, as they say.»
He tried not to look too disappointed. After all, she did care about him, and was only doing what she thought best. But once again he failed miserably as his body slumped back into the couch.
«Isabel, it's been about two months since I remembered Alex's death," he reminded her. «We've been through the trauma of Max's child and your canceled departure-to say nothing of final exams. Somehow, I don't think one afternoon is going to do it.»
«That's because you don't know what I have in store for you.» She stood with a gleam in her eye. «Come on, what have you got to lose?»
Since Kyle couldn't argue with that logic, he finally got up off the couch. Grabbing the remote, he put an end to the torturous screams of the woman dressed entirely in Lycra on the television. Now III never know if she forgives her two-timing husband. He smirked. Darn.
«I walked over here," Isabel explained as they left the house, «so we're going to need to take your car.»
Kyle reached into his pocket and pulled out the keys, handing them to Isabel. «You'd better drive. My reflex time is a little slow this morning.»
«Mind if I put the top down?» she asked as they got into the red convertible.
«Why not?» he went along.
Isabel started the engine, and Kyle indicated the button that she would need to push. His convertible was one of the best parts of living in Roswell. Being in a desert meant that he rarely needed to drive around with the top up to protect him from rain-which he figured probably also explained why Max kept getting vehicles without roofs as well.
Kyle continued to fight against sleep as Isabel drove his car through the streets of Roswell, talking about her mysterious fun plans for the afternoon. The smooth rolling of
the car was lulling him as he listened to his friend.
Flash.
The vultures were circling overhead.
His eyes popped open once again as Kyle woke from his daytime nightmare. He looked over to see if Isabel had noticed, but she was still going on about how much fun they were going to have. In actuality, Kyle felt that whenever people talked about the amount of fun they were going to have, it probably meant they weren't going to enjoy themselves at all. However, for Isabels sake, he decided to keep an open mind. Anything would be better than a day of bad television and nightmare flashes.
«Here we are!» Isabel pulled him out of his musings.
«The Crashdown?» Kyle said as the car pulled into an empty spot beside their favorite hangout. «That's your big plan?»
«For starters," she replied as they got out of the car. «Trust me.»
Walking in the door of the restaurant, it was immediately clear they had come in during the lunch rush. Summer was always a little more hectic in there, since it was the tourist season and the theme restaurant really catered to the specific tastes of most out-of-town visitors. Conveniently, Isabel saw a pair of tourists getting out of a booth, and hurried Kyle over to it. «I thought Michael and Maria might want to join us after their shift is over.»
As they sat at the still messy table, Maria hurried over with a bus tray to clear away the plates. Isabel did not envy her for spending the summer clearing dishes and serving the bustling summer tourist trade. Then again, Isabel remembered that she needed to start thinking about
possibly getting her own job soon. After graduating early from high school, she had spent some time helping out in her dads law office, but that had gotten complicated when she started seeing Jesse. Since Isabel wasn't really interested in law, she recently thanked her dad for the opportunity, but told him that she was going to pursue other employment. Unfortunately she hadn't had the time to do any serious job searching, and it looked like she was going to have to put it off a little while longer. There was cheering up to be done.
«Hey, Maria, what are you and Michael up to this afternoon?» Isabel innocently asked.
Suddenly the plates that had been gently placed in the tray were now being slammed together. «I don't know what he's planning to do, but I'm thinking of coloring my hair. How do you think I'd look if I dyed it black?»
«Awful," Kyle said abruptly and honestly.
Maria didn't seem the least bit offended, which suggested to Isabel that their friend was considering making that particular change purely for the shock value. Of course, that translated into the fact that Maria and Michael were obviously still fighting. When is Maria ever going to learn that Michael notices her even if she doesn't do crazy things?
«If you'd like to see," Isabel suggested conspiratorially «I can do it for you with no lasting effects.»
«That's okay," Maria said as she wiped down the table. «It was only an idea.»
«So do you want to join us?» Isabel asked.
«I wish I could," Maria said, «but my mom's been on me to help her catalog her new alien autopsy artifacts. Sorry.»
The apology was obviously directed to her inability to join them as well as to the way she'd be spending her day.
Isabel always felt strange around Maria's mom. She liked the woman well enough, but couldn't get over the fact that Ms. DeLuca was profiting off jokes based on the single biggest tragedy of Isabel's life. Then again, so is ninety percent of the town of Roswell, she thought as she surveyed the patrons of the Crashdown eating their alien-themed meals.
«Do you guys want anything to drink?» Maria asked as she balanced the bus tray on her hip.
«A Rocket Root Beer Float," Isabel said, figuring today was the kind of day to ignore calories and pig out. Comfort food always worked for her, so she figured that it could easily help Kyle as well.
Kyle just nodded as if to say, «Make it two.»
Isabel could tell that Maria was about to make a comment but apparently had thought better of it. Instead, she turned with the tray and went back behind the counter to make the drinks. Isabel then focused her attention on Kyle, who looked rather pitiful slumped down on his side of the booth.
A long, very uncomfortable pause ensued.
Kyle's fingers drummed on the table.
Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap.
«I'll go check with Michael," she said, getting up from the booth.
As Isabel walked across the restaurant she silently hoped that Michael would be up for their little afternoon adventure. Kyle's miserable attitude was beginning to make the task of cheering him up seem impossible, so she thought that bringing another person along could help her
effort. Of course, Michael wasn't exactly the first person who came to mind when the task involved having a positive attitude.
Reaching the large service window, Isabel leaned into the kitchen to find her friend in his usual position flipping burgers on the grill. «Hey, Michael!»
«What do you want?» he said in a surly tone as he dropped a basket of fries into the boiling grease, keeping his back to her as he concentrated on food preparation.
«Never mind.» She spun around and headed back for the table. One miserable person is enough for the day.
«That was fast.» Kyle seemed to be slumped even lower when she returned.
«Michael wasn't exactly in the kind of mood I was looking for," Isabel replied. «Then again, he never really is.» Was that a slight smile on Kyle's face? Maria returned to the table with their drinks and to take their lunch order. She seemed only mildly happier then Michael, although, as a waitress her job was to be perky as to ensure the better tip, so she just grinned her way through whatever the problem was this time. Isabel never bothered to ask about their situation, because she knew that it would work itself out eventually. It always did.
Once the order was placed, their food came much faster than usual, which Isabel attributed to the fact that the cook and waitress weren't engaging in idle chitchat to keep them from their jobs. As she sat in the booth with Kyle, she managed to coax him into a conversation about his new job as a mechanic. The goal of the talk and the entire afternoon was to avoid anything even remotely alien