Unfortunately, this was the busy time of year for Nita s dad. Even though the craziness of Valentine s Day was over, it would be Easter soon, and no florist in his right mind took a vacation right now. It doesn t matter, Daddy, Nita said. Kit and I have a lot of stuff we ve been planning to do. We might need to travel, but not far. No farther than Mars, anyway. It ll be nice to just kind of take it easy for a while. Don t worry about it. I m not worrying, said her dad. But there was a strangely neutral sound to his voice, and Nita didn t know quite what to make of it. Daddy, Nita said, are you okay Sure, honey, he said. Nita wasn t so sure, but she didn t say anything. She and her dad went to the checkout, paid for the groceries, bagged them up, and carted everything out to the car. Then they headed for home. They were only a few minutes away from the supermarket when Nita s dad said, There were going to be aliens in the house Nita s thoughts had been occupied with the weather on Mars this time of year, and the question took her by surprise. Uh, yeah, she said. It is an exchange program. Not incredibly strange aliens, I take it. Well, they d have to be able to handle the basic environment, Nita said. Our atmosphere, our gravity. That doesn t mean they d be humanoid; there s a lot of variation in body structures among the kinds of carbon-based life that breathe oxygen. Anyway, whoever these guys were supposed to be, they might look pretty weird. But that wouldn t matter. If they re wizards, we d have the most important stuff in common. Her dad looked thoughtful. They wouldn t be, you know, saving the world or anything while they were here Nita wondered what he was getting at. I don t think so, she said. The manual says it s supposed to be a chance to see what the practice of wizardry looks like in some place really different, so that you get some new ideas about how to handle it at home. You re never formally sent out on errantry when you re on one of these, or so the manual says. If something minor comes up in passing, sure, you handle it. Otherwise… She shrugged. Pretty much you take it easy. Her dad nodded, stopped the car at a traffic light. We did get the milk, didn t we Plenty. I keep having this feeling that I ve forgotten something. Nita pulled out her Post-it note and once again compared it against the list in her head. No, she said. I don t think so… Her dad brooded briefly. This is going to drive me crazy until I remember what it is I think I forgot, he said. Never mind. Nita, why don t you go Where, to Mars No. On this exchange. Nita stared at him. He glanced back at her. Then the traffic light changed to green, and her dad turned his attention back to his driving. Are you kidding Nita said. No, said her dad, turning the corner off Nassau Road onto their street. At first Nita didn t know what to say. Uh, I don t know if I can, she said at last. Tom may already have used the energy for something else. Somehow I doubt that, her father said. Did you talk to him about this Nita said, still very confused. In generalities, yes, her dad said. I doubt you would have heard it, as you were occupied. I could hear you sneaking up the stairs. Uh, yeah, Nita said, okay… Well Nita was flummoxed. But, Daddy, she said at last, what about the aliens They re wizards, you said. Yeah, but And they ll be able to disguise themselves, so the neighbors won t get into a panic and call the cops or the FBI or anything like that Daddy, I think you ve been watching too much TV. I don t think the FBI really does aliens. So these other wizards can cover up for themselves Well, sure, that would be part of it, lots of times you have to do that when you re on another planet, but And Dairine will be here. From what you ve told me, Dairine doesn t have any trouble with aliens. Nita thought about that. Dairine s response to aliens could range from partying with them to blowing them up, but so far she didn t seem to have misjudged how to handle any given situation involving sentient beings who weren t human. It was her own species she seemed to have trouble with. No, she does okay. I hear another but coming, her father said, as they paused at the last traffic light before their block. I don t know if this is a good time to go away and leave you alone, Nita said at last. If Dairine s here, I won t be alone, her dad said. I mean Sweetie, said her dad, I think maybe a break would be a smart thing for you right now. Dairine and I would be capable of coping here. And among other things, it ll give me a chance to practice talking to her without a mediator. Possibly a useful life skill. Nita smiled half a smile. You really have been talking to Millman, she said. About this No. Some things I can figure out for myself. I am forty-one, you know. Uh, yeah, Nita said, and then was quiet for a moment. You need time to think about this her dad said. Maybe the thought of going so far away scares you a little Daddy! Nita said. I ve been a lot farther away than this. On business, yes, her dad said. But this is different. Honey, you ought to be a little kinder to yourself. Go on, goof off a little! You deserve it. And maybe I could use a little controlled weirdness. Sounds like that s what we d be in for. And he threw Nita a sly look. Also, it s a way to give Dairine a little something on the sly to make up for me, and your friends the Powers That Be, slapping her down so hard. Yeah You are such a softie, Nita thought, with a sudden great rush of love for her dad. Okay, Nita said. Thanks, Daddy! One thing, her dad said. I really would be happier if Kit was with you. You two ve been pretty good backup for each other in the past, and he s worked hard, too. I don t think a break from routine would hurt him, either. Obviously it s going to be up to his folks, but when you go over there, see what they think. Without knowing how she knew, Nita was already certain of what they d think. You talked to them about me going already! Nita said. When you didn t even know what I was going to say! Her dad shot her another amused look. We have many mysterious modes of communication, he said as he signaled the turn into their driveway. Aided by the fact that not even children who are wizards can keep an eye on their parents every minute of the day. Nita had to grin as the car splashed through the puddle at the bottom of the driveway. Let s get this stuff unpacked, her dad said. Then you d better go talk to Kit and make plans. Planning Your Trip KIT WAS SITTING IN HIS room, riffling through his wizard s manual, frowning in concentration and trying not to be distracted by the sound of his dog s snoring, when his sister stuck her head in through the open doorway. You busy Carmela said. Kit sighed, pushed back from the desk. No. What is it You are busy, his sister said, walking carefully around Ponch, who had stretched his big black self right across the rug in the middle of the floor and was lying there with his paws in the air, taking up most of the spare floor space in the room. Good, I ll hang around and make you crazy. She leaned over his shoulder, so far over that her single long dark braid hung down in front of Kit s face. What s that little red glowing thing in the air there Just a wizardry. I m playing with the speed of light. I thought that was supposed to be a law, Carmela said. You shouldn t break laws. I m not. I m not even bending this one, Kit said. Just bending space. For the fun of it, his sister said in wonder. You make my brains bleed sometimes, you know that Not half as much as I wish I did, Kit said. Mela, what is it She turned away, sat down on Kit s bed, and grinned. I wanted to know what you thought of Mark. Endless possible answers spun through Kit s mind, all of them true, but none of them particularly kind. He settled for one of the less injurious ones. He looks like a dork, Kit said. How cruel! Carmela cried. Then she smiled, and the smile was wicked. True, but cruel. It s the backward baseball cap, Kit said. I m sorry, but that s getting pretty ancient. Plus his cap s too small for him, and the pop-fasteners in it always leave these marks like little rivets on his forehead Kit stopped himself. I m seriously discussing my sister s would-be boyfriends, he thought. This is not something I want her to get used to. Listen, Kit said, there s something more important than this that we need to discuss. You ve been having a lot of fun with the TV… Since you fixed it so it shows alien cable, his sister said, I ve revised my opinion of you way upward. That concerns me so deeply, Kit said. The fix hadn t been intended to add that particular feature to the new entertainment system, but when Kit had later tried to remove the alien content, the TV and DVD player had gone on strike. Kit had been forced to restore the system, and had had to admit privately that his sister s demands that it be put back the way it d been after the fix were even more annoying than the system s refusal to function normally. So what s your problem his sister said. We need to talk about that first thing you ordered off the Mizarthu shopping channel. Which thing The laser dissociator. Oh, that! It s in my bedroom somewhere. Kit sighed. It sometimes seemed that the contents of whole planets could be accurately described as in Carmela s bedroom somewhere. Where, exactly I don t know. I ll look for it later; I m busy right now. What s the matter with it I need to make it safe. From what Kit rolled his eyes. Not from, he said, for. As in, safe for being on the same planet with. Oh, come on, Kit. There haven t been any problems since we figured out where the safety switch was. There haven t been any problems, Kit thought, his eyes nearly crossing with frustration. Repairing the tile and the plastering in the bathroom had been a week s work, at a time when he had much better things to do and his pop had insisted Kit do it the old-fashioned way, meaning by hand and not by wizardry. There was nearly a problem, Kit said, when you thought you had it set for hot curler and it was set for low disintegrate. I got that sorted out, Carmela said. You always have to harp on the small stuff! I thought that wasn t good for a wizard. I will not kill her, Kit thought. It would speed up entropy. But only a little… Kit let out a long breath. Just find it for me in the next day or so, okay he said. You can still use it on your hair, but I want to make sure that nobody else, like one of your friends when they re over, can find it accidentally, go off with it, and blow up their bathrooms. Or more valuable real estate, like the insides of their heads. An odd look grew on Carmela s face. Like the inside of my head isn t valuable Kit gave her a dry look. His sister opened her mouth. Left yourself open for that one, Kit said. And another thing. These alien chat rooms you ve been using… You re just jealous because I m getting good at the Speech, Carmela said, producing a pouting expression resembling that of a cranky supermodel. Kit rolled his eyes. No, I m not jealous. I just think you should be careful about who you talk to! he said. It s like any other kind of Net chat. What they show you and what they sound like may not have anything to do with who or what they really are. I know that! I don t think you know how much you don t know that! I don t want you thinking you re having harmless clothes-and-hair-and-pop-star talk with some alien girloid, and then have Earth get invaded because it turns out you were actually talking to some twelve-legged, methane-breathing centipede prince who s decided to turn up with a battle fleet and demand your hand in marriage! Carmela s face wrinkled up. Euuuuuu, she said. Centipedes. You just said the unmagic word. Kit kept his face straight. His sister was not wild about bugs of any kind, and he knew it. So don t give people in alien chat rooms your real name or address or anything, okay he said. Okay, Carmela said with a long-suffering sigh. Then she looked curious. What is the Earth s address, by the way I m not telling you, Kit said. You don t trust me! No. And, anyway, it s complicated, and you don t have the technical vocabulary to say it. Yet, Carmela said. I don t think it s going to take me that long. And once I m really good at the Speech, maybe I should look into becoming a wizard, too. It doesn t work that way, Kit said, feeling incredibly relieved that it didn t. Yet the very idea still freaked him out somewhat. Just what I need. My very own version of Dairine…! Oh, please, no. You can t be a wizard unless the Powers invite you, Kit said. And you re too old. Oh, please, let her be too old! Besides, it s a lot of hard work. I m not sure I believe that, Carmela said. Nita makes it look easy. She just reads out of her book, or waves that little white wooden wand of hers, and things happen. It is not that easy, Kit said, starting to get irritated, possibly by the insinuation that wizardry was easier for Nita than it was for him. It s like saying that someone just sits down at their computer and fiddles with the keys and things happen. Wands are just hardware. At the end of the day, it s the software that does the job…and you have to write it yourself. Carmela gave Kit a not-entirely-convinced look. Well, she said, getting up, I ll go get the thingy for you. Downstairs, the phone rang. In a while, Carmela said as she ran out, pounding down the hall. And when you re playing around with it, she added from halfway down the stairs, make sure you don t void the warranty! Kit felt like banging his head against the wall. The warranty, he said to no one in particular. Why should she care about the warranty He looked down at Ponch and heaved a sigh. Ponch opened one eye. You weren t asleep, Kit said. Not the whole time, Ponch said silently. What am I going to do with her Ponch looked after her. Ignore her. She s just saying things like that to make you chase your tail; I can hear it in her voice. She thinks it s fun. Kit shook his head. The problem with sisters is that you can never tell what they re going to pull next. And she s been getting… unusual lately. Then Kit wondered if he should have chosen another word. Ponch, too, had been getting unusual lately. This by itself wasn t a surprise wizards pets often start to acquire strange abilities or behaviors as their companions use their wizardry more, but in Ponch s case, the level of unusual had become very high indeed. Here was a dog who recently had developed the ability to create a new universe and take Kit for a walk through it. And you have to wonder, Kit thought, is someone who can do that really a dog anymore Ponch rolled to his feet, got up, stretched fore and aft, and then came over to Kit and put his nose on Kit s knee. Dinner Ponch said. Kit laughed. Whatever his own concerns, there were still some things about Ponch that were entirely doggy. Yeah, he said. Come on. The two of them went downstairs together. Kit s mama was slumped on the dining room sofa reading a newspaper, dressed in one of her pink nurse s uniforms; she was just back from the day shift at the local hospital and hadn t yet bothered to change. In the living room, Carmela was on the phone, talking rapidly about some new CD to what Kit assumed was yet another of the crowd of guys who were chasing her around. Mama, Kit said, when s dinner ready About an hour. Nita coming She said so, yeah. Okay. You feed the monster there I m doing that now. You looked outside yet Not yet, Kit said, with dread. He was sure he knew what he was going to see. As they went into the kitchen together, Ponch started alternating between dancing around and spinning in circles on the same spot. Dinner! Yeah, Kit said, and you know what it is What It s dog food! Oh, hurray! Dog food again! Ponch said, and jumped up and down some more; but Kit caught the amused glint in his eye. Kit got a can of dog food out of the cupboard where the canned goods were kept. You making fun of me Kit said. His eyes on the can, Ponch sat down, very proper, with his front feet placed so that the white tips on his forefeet came right together, making him look extremely composed and serious. Never, Ponch said. At least, not at dinnertime. Kit opened the can and dumped it into Ponch s dish, filled the dry food dish, and checked to make sure that there was plenty of water in the bowl beside it. Ponch jumped up again, turned around in excited circles a few times more, and then went over to the dish and started to gobble his food. Kit shook his head and rinsed out the can at the sink before throwing it out. In the living room it had gone quieter as Carmela got off the phone and went back to talking to the TV, or rather to someone the Powers That Be only knew how many light-years