Free Maggie's Story (Intergalactic Matchmaking Services) by Ava Louise Page A

sleep will never get one in a hospital. Maggie was missing her cat, too. She hadn’t slept away from her for a couple of years and she could really use a little purring furball of comfort right then.
     

CHAPTER 13
     
    The doctor authorized Maggie to leave the hospital the next morning. With instructions from the nurse to take it easy for a couple of weeks, Maggie decided to head home. She asked the taxi driver to wait until she waved him off from the door; first she wanted to make sure no one was lurking in the dim hallway. Ensuring the corridor to her apartment was safe, she waved to the taxi driver and hurried to her apartment door, letting herself inside quickly.
    “I’m home, Mamzell.” She knew she was in for a yelling from the cat. Being left alone all night didn’t make either of them happy.
    While the cat berated her for the perceived abandonment, Maggie wondered what to do now. How was she supposed to stay safe? She didn’t want to hole-up in her apartment and wait for the police to track down her attackers and Juan Santiago. That was no kind of life. As she got comfortable on her couch, her eyes noticed the bright pink flyer on the coffee table. Could she do that? Could she go to the alien space ship and hide out for a couple of weeks? Right now Maggie couldn’t think of another way to stay safe. What she knew for sure was that the gang members couldn’t touch her if she wasn’t in town, wasn’t even on the planet.
    Decision made, Maggie called Claire.
    “Hi, Claire, this is Maggie. If the offer is still open, I’ve decided to visit the aliens for a couple weeks.”
    “Of course, Maggie, the offer still stands. Is something wrong? You sound odd,” said Claire. Believing honesty to be the best policy, Maggie explained about her attack.
    “Since I need to lay low, I figured why not check out the situation with the Nordonians. Fate seems to have dealt an odd hand at the moment. There doesn’t seem to be a better time than now, since I can’t teach for a couple of weeks. But I’ll only go if I can take Mamzell; that hasn’t changed.”
    “Okay, Maggie. Let me contact the ambassador and someone will pick you up. Do you need me to be there?”
    “I’ll leave that up to you. I know it’s a long drive up here from Seattle.”
    “Go ahead and pack a bag and gather whatever you need for your cat. We’ll go on the assumption that everything is okay to go. I’ll call you back in an hour or so after I hear from the Ambassador,” said Claire.
    After hanging up the phone, Maggie started thinking about what to take on her “space trip.” What does one take to visit aliens? Deciding on her craft bag with the yarn was easy; she was bound to have some idle time. Then she gathered a few toys and treats for Mamzell, sticking them in the outside pockets of the black nylon kitty carrier. Maggie wondered how Mamzell was going to handle the trip to space. Does this mean Mamzell would be the first feline into outer space? Oh man, the pain meds must be making me loopy , thought Maggie.
    An hour later Claire called and said someone would be picking her up in another hour. Since Maggie had met a couple of the Nordonians, Claire felt comfortable saying she would pass on this visit; it was a long drive from Seattle. Maggie continued to gather things to take with her. As she grabbed her blow dryer, she paused. Do they even have outlets for appliances? Only one way to find out. Maggie called the principal of her school and told him she was going out of town for a couple of weeks since she couldn’t teach. Then she called and left a message for the detectives, saying the same thing and leaving Claire’s phone number with them as an emergency contact number. Her final call was to Shirley; she didn’t want her to worry. She got lucky and was able to leave a voice message for her. Maggie wasn’t up to playing 20-questions with her at the moment.
    With a small suitcase, her craft bag, and Mamzell’s carrier ready to