Alien Night on Union Station (EarthCent Ambassador Book 2) by E.M. Foner

Author:E.M. Foner [Foner, E.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Paradise Pond Press
Published: 2014-07-12T22:00:00+00:00

Twelve

“Is it normal for humans to have imaginary friends?” Libby asked over the office speakers. While Donna was certainly on good terms with the station librarian, they weren’t close friends like Libby and Kelly, and Donna couldn’t recall the last time Libby had initiated a conversation with her.

“Sure, Libby. It’s very common at Dorothy’s age, even a little later. Are you asking because she talks to an imaginary friend while you are supervising her InstaSitters?” Donna couldn’t suppress a flicker of a smile at Kelly’s expense.

“No. Dorothy doesn’t have an imaginary friend that I’ve noticed, at least, not one she engages in long conversations.”

“She’s still a bit young for it, I guess,” Donna replied. “Blythe didn’t have an imaginary friend, probably because she always had a willing audience in Chastity. But Chastity did have an imaginary little boy she played with when Blythe wasn’t around.”

“Actually,” Libby paused for a moment, “I was thinking of Kelly. She’s always talked to herself, usually it’s just compliments or insults, but in the last month she’s taken to discussing everything from galactic politics to literature with an imaginary friend. Oops, here she comes. Don’t say anything,” Libby admonished Donna and withdrew.

“Morning, Donna,” Kelly greeted her friend and office manager cheerily. “What’s new with the wonder girls that has Blythe skipping dates with Paul? The poor boy moped around the house for nearly an hour after she cancelled last night.”

“Really? Moped?” Donna asked skeptically.

“Well, maybe he went out to play Raider/Trader, but I’m sure he would have enjoyed it more if she was there,” Kelly answered defensively.

“Since you brought it up, did you know the girls expanded InstaSitter to provide incubation services last cycle?”

“Incubation? Like sitting on eggs?”

“Sure. Many of the species on the station are egg-layers, including the Dollnicks,” Donna reminded her. “Incubation is a highly stressful time for the Dollys because one of the parents always has to keep the eggs warm, and the girls have hired a whole flock of Dollnick sitters. You haven’t seen their ad campaign?”

“No, I guess I missed it,” Kelly confessed. She was beginning to wonder if Donna’s teenage daughters weren’t doing more for interspecies relations with their business than she was with her embassy. “Are they up to anything else?”

“Yes, and it’s actually quite brilliant. When you and I got started with EarthCent, it was already a few decades after the Stryx came along and changed everything, but the majority of the human expatriates were still fairly young. It used to be rare that you’d meet somebody past middle age in space. But today, even with all the medical technology, some older humans need quite a bit of help to get by. We don’t age as gracefully as the more advanced species.”

“Don’t tell me. They’ve expanded into elder care?”

“It’s a natural fit. The girls say that the business model is nearly identical to babysitting, though there’s a different set of medical challenges. Little kids are a choking risk with swallowing toys, while older people are more likely to choke on—but you aren’t really interested in the details,” Donna interrupted herself.

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