wedding, and even more of the people who were at tonight's
Westerley. Kay promised that the evil CEO who had fired
her wouldn't be there. Still, Rebecca kept looking around to
see if anyone else would recognize her from that painful
day.
Alice gave Rebecca a bear hug. "Now that's a much
better dress than the monstrosity you wore last night." She
pointed at Alien Girl. "Can you believe she's still wearing
it?"
Rebecca laughed. "Hey, Alice. Unlike you, some people
actually enjoy being part of a wedding."
"For which I'm eternally grateful. You folks did a fine
job."
"You don't know what you missed. You could have been
a bridesmaid if you wanted."
Alice held up her hands with a look of horror. "Good
thing I didn't want. I saw how much fun you had being a
bridesmaid." She grinned. "So let's talk about something
else. Aren't you leaving for Russia soon?"
Don't remind me. Rebecca worked in the International
Relations group at a textile company called Ultra Threads.
As a languages expert, she assisted with deals in many
European countries. She was busy, busy, busy-in her three
months of work at Ultra Threads, she had already been to
Europe six times.
"Russia's cold." She shuddered. "And I'm going back on
Thursday."
Alice nodded. "On the road again. Gonna beat up some
Russian businessmen?"
Rebecca laughed. "Yeah, that's it." She stared into space,
and her lungs deflated. "I wish." She wondered how Alice
might handle some of these negotiations, and it amused her
to imagine the tall woman overpowering them with her
commanding attitude.
But Rebecca knew that Alice didn't want to hear about a
boring work trip to Russia. She changed the subject to
something much closer to Alice's heart. "So, did you finish
working on your car?"
Alice brightened. "Yes, yes! It's finished. I totally forgot
to tell you." She hopped up and down. "Come outside and
see. The car practically growls at you. It's so awesome!" She
sang "awesome" in a soprano voice.
Alice loved cars. Her father had taught her to work on
them when she was young. Of the three Road Warriors,
Alice was the most trash-talking, tough-swaggering, motor loving
woman. She spent her weekends tuning engines and
welding body parts.
"Well, that's taken you long enough. You've got to show
it to me."
"Sure. Let's see if anyone else wants to come." She
looked around the room, turning slowly to scan for others
who might care. "I see Quentin isn't here. It's about time
you left him back ho-"
Her voice cut off, mid-word, and she stood still, staring
behind Rebecca. "Wait a minute." She held her hand up to