Chase impatiently waits by the door for the Queen and her sidekick to arrive in style. Pat nudges her red cruiser into her parking spot a little sideways. The doors open, and billows of smoke fill the compartment. The air purifying system kicks into high gear, but clearing the high-grade marijuana stench will take a few minutes. Pat and Glenda each toss their hair to perfection. Glenda adjusts her stained apron while Pat fixes her cleavage to maximize visibility in the red v-neck sweater. The pair floats regally towards the entrance. Chase opens the door and bows, saying, "Good morning, your Majesty." "Good morning, dear one. You have permission to tell me how beautiful I am." "You're simply stunning your Majesty. But I have to catch my bus. See you Friday." Chase races to the portal when the bus to Earth arrives. Pat glows as she says, "I cherish that boy and would love to unload my tatas on him." Glenda asks, "So, your big breasts and blue eyes are weapons now?" "One blast from these babies will sling him into my bed." Pat cups her breasts with her hands and shakes them at Glenda. "It's more likely he'll run from the room screaming from all those rolls and wrinkles!" She cracks up. "You happen to be sixty-eight, and he's barely twenty-one." "I'm the cougar of his dreams, sweetie!" Hilarity erupts. "You're more like a nightmare!" Glenda wipes her brown eyes and says, "I've got to make biscuits. The first break from the mine will be here in two hours." "Yeah," Pat shakes her head. "Enough of this madness. Let me open the front, and I have a mound of paperwork to do." It's now seven thirty, and things are popping at the Outlaw. Two factions have gathered around Pat and Glenda. Glenda tells her group about the latest hijinx of her klutzy husband at one end of the counter. Somehow, he ended up riding their garbage can down the street until it flipped him into the neighbor's yard, landing in Mrs. Jones's roses. They picked thorns out of his butt for hours. Cackles ensued! Pat leans beside the cash register at the other end with enough cleavage showing you can see her belly button if you want to. Her crush, Frank Dallas, is staring a hole through her with his bedroom-blue eyes. Pat melts with his every word. If this continues, she'll be a pile on the floor. The other fifteen men standing around her have yet to find her eyes. This madness continues while over thirty customers drift in and out of the Outlaw, paying for fuel, drinks, food, lottery tickets, and several trinkets. Ninety minutes later, the last one leaves with a huge smile. Pat and Glenda both sigh. Glenda asks, "How much more of a floozy can you be?" "Sweetie, if you got it, flaunt it." "Well, button it up a little. You're showing too much fat and will scare the people away." "I don't see anybody fleeing for their lives." "Those men weren't looking at you with their eyes. Everyone one of them walked away with a bulging crotch." Pat's evil grin appears and says, "I do set them on fire." Glenda answers, "You are so full of crap, it's running out of your ears!" "Yes, but it sure is fun." The supply ship ran about two, and twenty blue crates now sit around the store. The two women are going over the invoice to make sure everything is here. Glenda says, "That's a lot of stocking, and I've still got the kitchen to clean." Pat answers, "Go clean the kitchen, and I'll work on this. Chloe can finish what we don't get done." "All right." Glenda smiles when she gets behind the counter. Then, she checks the security cameras and sees somebody move out on the dock. "Holy crap, Pat! There is somebody on the dock beside your cruiser." Pat comes shuffling and changes the camera angle. "It looks like a little boy. He seems about Riley's age. How did he get here?" Glenda answers, "It has to be the supply ship. Why isn't he frozen to death?" "I don't know, Glenda," Pat turns. "But he will if we don't get him in here." "What if he's violent?" "We'll take weapons." Pat grabs a can of Lysol, and Glenda picks up some hairspray. Glenda says, "At least we can disinfect him and style his hair." Pat says, "Come on." They grab their coats, and Pat opens the dock door. The frigid air invades the Outlaw - sending shivers through their bodies. The boy sees them coming and scoots further down beside Pat's cruiser. Pat smiles when she pokes her head around the engine and says, "Hi, sweetie." The boy slides further away until Glenda asks, "What's your name, son?" He reacts to Glenda's raspy voice, and a hint of a smile appears. "Come with me, son." She reaches out her hand. The boy briefly studies her hand, smiles, and then takes it. He slowly rises and wraps his arms around her in a hug. At first, Glenda isn't sure what to do, but then she remembers with a smile and hugs him tight. With everyone's teeth chattering, they make it back inside the Outlaw. Pat turns the heat up while Glenda slides the boy into a booth. She looks deep into his brown eyes and asks, "What's your name, son?" The boy takes the first two fingers of his right hand and taps his thumb. He then covers his mouth. "He can't talk, Pat, and is using sign language. Bring me my tablet from the kitchen." "Yes, ma'am. I'll call Trooper Jimmy, too." She comes trotting back to the table and hands Glenda her tablet. Immediately, she hears a gruff voice say, "What can I do for you, Pat?" "Oh, so many things, Jimmy, but we haven't got time for that now. We found a boy on our space dock." "You found what?" "A little boy about my grandson Riley's age, maybe nine or ten. He's got sandy blonde hair and brown eyes. He doesn't talk, and Glenda is with him now." ~ Glenda boots up her tablet and types in sign language. The boy is still making the same signs. She finally bounces onto a page of signs and says, "The finger tapping is no, and the mouth covering is talk. He might be able to read lips." She taps her mouth and says, "No talk, yes?" He smiles at her. "Okay, let's sign it to him." Of course, she has to say it while signing it. She sees the sign for "yes" beside the "no." It's making a fist and moving it up and down. "Okay, here we go. No talk, yes?" She signed it the best she could. His face lights up! He signs "yes" back to her. Tears fill Glenda's eyes when she says, "Oh, my goodness, I'm talking to him." ~ Jimmy says, "I need to make some calls. I'll be there in about three minutes, sweetie." Pat answers, "I'll run the security cameras and see how we got this little fellow. See you in a minute." She logs in to the main computer and starts the security file before lunch. There's nothing there until the supply ship arrives, and when Jeff brings in his first load, the small boy races out of the door to Pat's cruiser and hides. "It's a miracle he didn't freeze to death? There's nothing colder than space." ~ Glenda finally warms up and takes off her coat. The boy starts to take off his, and Glenda finds a note pinned to his shirt written in a gnarly script: To Whoever Finds My Grandson. "Oh, dear God," Glenda exclaims. "Pat, you better come here." Pat arrives when Trooper Jimmy pulls next to a pump. "What's that on his shirt, Glenda?" "It's a letter from his grandmother to whoever finds him." "You mean somebody put him on the street and left." "Yes, she did." Glenda asks, "But why?" Trooper Jimmy walks in and says, "Hello, darlings." Pat says, "We haven't got time for that now, Jimmy. Glenda just found a letter." The boy sees Jimmy and clings to Glenda. She glances at her tablet, looking for a sign. The word "friend" pops up. It's your two index fingers joining. Glenda signs and says, "My friend." She places her hand on her chest, hooking her two index fingers. The boy begins to relax and studies Jimmy for a moment. Trooper Jimmy asks, "Are either of you going to read that letter?" Glenda takes the letter off his shirt and hands it to him. "I don't think I can, Jimmy." Pat says, "Me either." "Well," Jimmy smiles. "How the mighty have fallen." He takes the letter from Glenda, opens it, and begins to read. "My dear friend, You may be thinking how heartless I am leaving my grandchild on a street corner, but it is an act of complete desperation. I pray that a loving soul finds him and not the traffickers who patrol the streets looking for victims. Robbie was born in desolation and knows nothing but living on the streets. He's never slept in a bed. Gangs killed his parents several years ago, but we've done all right since then. We get most of our food from dumpsters. There's a soup kitchen two blocks away. Our house is an old block office, a construction company deserted. My health is spiraling out of control. Leaving Robbie will be my final act on this Earth. I ask that you get Robbie the help he desperately needs. May God forgive me and guide my loving grandson to someone who cares." Pat grabs two tissues and hands the box to a sobbing Glenda. Jimmy says, "I can't imagine what he's seen. Death and violence were his daily world. And yet, he made it from the Earth to find you two. Amazing." Pat wipes her eyes and asks, "You think someone sent him to us?" "Yes, I do. I've been a trooper for twenty years and have seen things nobody can explain. Here's another one." Glenda catches a sob to ask, "What's going to happen to Robbie?" "Human Services will be here shortly. Robbie will get the help she wanted him to have. It was all meant to be." Pat and Glenda stare at Robbie with tears flowing down their cheeks. Jimmy chuckles, then smiles, "What a sight. The evil Queen and her sidekick actually have hearts." Author Notes Well, here we go again. I've already written the next story, which is titled Chloe. Look for it soon. Many thanks for stopping by to read! Have a great day, and God bless. mike

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