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“I’mfine,Kira.Myclothes are already drying andI’llchange and get cleaned up later.Whatdo you need me to do now?”

Ican tell she’s hesitating. “Vedecewas asking for a set of hands earlier, something about tying up herbs or something.I’msure that won’t take long.Thenyou can come back and help serve lunch.”

Pullingthe damp jumpsuit away from my skin,Ifeel the button on the back pop off.Reachingbehind me,I’mgrateful whenIfigure out that at least my ass isn’t hanging out and that only a small strip of my lower back is showing.Maneuveringaround the crates sitting everywhere,Icome uponVedece’smake-shift medical area.She’shung sheets from the ceiling between two beds, then taken old crates and draped them with white material, using them to set instruments and other things on.Stickingmy head around the sheets,Ifind her sitting on the floor surrounded by plants.

“Hi,Kirasent me over to help.”

“Goodmorning,Lacie.Whatmischief have you managed to get yourself into already today?You’recompletely soaked.”

“Iwas sent after water, andIdecided it would be easier to carry back ifIdrenched myself in it instead of using a container.”

“Beinga smartass is never attractive, young lady.”

“Sorry, it’s just been one thing after another.”

“Ihate thatIdon’t have anything for you to change into.There’sno way you can be comfortable.Apparently, a change of clothing is somethingIneed to add to my list of many things still needed.Sincewe can’t do anything about it, you might as well come on down and join me.Betweenthe two of us, we should have this done in no time.”

“Wheredid you get all this?”

“ItoldKyTwhatIwas looking for, and the next thing you know, here he comes with his arms full.Whattook him a few hours to gather would have taken me days.Hisconnection to the organic world around him is fascinating, and he’s like a walking plant.”

“Thatdoesn’t sound like the only thing you might be slightly fascinated with.”

“I’mtoo old to be looking for love, my dear, but he is a pretty little thing for sure.”

“There’sno such thing as being too old, so you’re just coming up with excuses.”

“Maybe… probably.Eitherway,I’mglad that my knowledge of herbal remedies will be of some help here.”

Ican tell the subject about the tree whisperer is now closed as she starts piling things in my lap. “Ok, let me show you how to tie these together so we can get them hung up and dried.”

Ispend the next few hours turning my fingers green as we tie plant bunches together, moving from pile to pile.Eventhough she had to retie a fewIset aside, all in all,I’mproud of how pretty the little bunches looked after we finished.Severaltimes,Itry to get answers out ofVedeceabout her life before, only for her to gracefully change the subject.Eventhough she hides it well behind those beautiful, amber-colored eyes of hers, she seems haunted by something and deeply sad in a way.Oncewe’re done,Istand up, stretching out my sore muscles after we’ve sat on the ground for so long. “Whereare you going to hang these?”

“Notentirely sure, soIneed to go find an alien.”Weboth laugh at that, because the big joke onEarthwas, we needed a human to help us.Especiallywhen you were trying to call a bill collector and that annoying computer voice would come on the line.

“Thanksfor your help and the company,Lacie.”

“Oh, no problem!Itgave me time to dry out, and it was nice not to be in the way for a change.Evenif it took me a little bit to get the hang of tying things together with plants.”

“Iwill take your assistance anytime, honey.I’msureKirawill need you soon if you want to head back over.”

“Areyou sureIcan’t just hide in here until it’s all over?”

Shegets a distant look on her face. “Runningfrom your problems never solves anything,Lacie.Facethe world head-on, no matter the consequences.Thatway, you are never surprised or blindsided because you saw it coming.”Sheturns away from me, sorting through some of the plants we left out, andIknow that’s my key to leave.

Sincemy jumpsuit has dried, it’s become itchy and feels tighter than it did this morning.I’min the process of rebraiding my hair asIwalk around the last crate becauseIdidn’t want it to be loose ifIwas going to help in the kitchen.Thetables are all lined up, and someone has already placed napkins and silverware in random spots among them.They’vedone a great job trying to make the place comfortable for everyone.AsKirasays, ‘a little bit of familiar always helps calm the mind.’

Ialmost bump intoKira, who swings the large bowl in her hands away from me quickly. “Whoops, that was a close call, and you’re back just in time,Lace.CarlaandIdecided to do something different today.We’regoing to serve them buffet-style.Thatway, we’re not trying to handle every plate.Wehave almost everything done if you want to help bring them out.”

Shebuzzes past me, rearranging the few bowls they already have on the main table up front.Carlais humming to herself whenIcome around the counter, noticing the other bowls that needto be taken out. “Well, hello stranger!Wherehave you been all day?”

“Iwas here earlier and then went over to helpVedece.”WhenIgo to grab the next bowl, she stops me.

“Here, take this one.Itneeds to be next to the pasta salad we were able to mix up.”

“Wehave pasta salad?”

“Well, a version of it, and it doesn’t taste too bad ifIdo say so myself.KiraandIhave been experimenting with some of the food that was sent down with us, trying our best to come up with anything we can that’s familiar.”