Read Saving Gracie for Free Online

“I’d say she’s hanging on a bit to her Earth life.”
    “I was afraid of that.” Ruth shook her head. “She has a long history of over-reacting when it comes to her daughter, Grace.”
    “And why is that, luv?” Maggie asked.
    “Ever hear of a helicopter mom?” Ruby asked.
    Maggie shook her head.
    Ruth made a swirling whistle sound, her index finger circling in the air. “Named after my sister,” she said. “Helicopter moms hover. They try to control everything .” A pause. “Kathryn never allowed Grace to do anything for herself. Of course, in her eyes she wanted to be the perfect mother. It’s like she embraced motherhood with clenched fists.” Ruth shuddered at the thought.
    “Sounds like she went a bit overboard,” Maggie said, her concern for Kathryn bumped up a notch…or three.
    “Ya think?” Ruth said.
    They joined Kathryn, whose plate was filled with plumb strawberries, perfectly ripe mangos, avocados and fresh pineapple. A second plate of assorted cheese and crackers hovered nearby.
    “I’ll leave you to your meal.” Maggie placed a hand on Kathryn’s shoulder, “Your sister will show you to your next appointment.”
    Maggie left the building and returned to her office, plopping down in her chair. “She’s a bloody mess, that one is.” She powered on her electronic notebook and began on what she was sure would be a lengthy report on the new arrival.
    ~~~
    Kathryn, enthralled by the luscious fruit, hardly noticed Maggie’s absence. She looked around and found Ruth staring at her. “What?” she asked.
    “So, what do you think so far?” Ruth asked. “Still don’t believe in this nonsense?”
    Kathryn paused before answering, her mouth stuffed. “Well, I certainly didn’t think it’d be anything like this.”
    “Like what?” Ruth asked.
    “I can’t decide if I’m in The Twilight Zone or a fairy tale,” Kathryn replied. “Although I did like the water slide.”
    “What do you think about Maggie?”
    “Love the accent.” Kathryn plucked another strawberry from her plate. “But during the nap thing I had an awful dream.”
    “You had a dream?”
    “Awful. Gracie completely screwed up my King Ranch Chicken.”
    Ruth’s eyebrows rose. “This happened in the peach room?”
    “I call it the Dreamsicle room,” Kathryn said. “But yeah. Anyway, Gracie—”
    “Wait a minute,” Ruth said, “back up. You dreamed about Gracie during the procedure?”
    “I just told you that.”
    “We’ll talk about this later.” Ruth took Kathryn’s arm. “We’ve got to get going.”
    Kathryn watched Ruth check her in at the reception desk and receive a key. Once inside the elevator Ruth inserted the key and pushed the top button.
    “Look, taking instructions from other people is not your strong suit,” Ruth said. “But you’ve got to pay attention to what you’re being asked to do.”
    “Why, is there going to be a test?” Kathryn snickered.
    “Listen to me!” Ruth gave Kathryn the big-sister stare.
    “Oh no,” Kathryn feigned fright. “Not the look .”
    “Be serious a minute. It’s wonderful here. You’ll love it. But you’ve got to listen to someone else for a change. You think you have answers to everything and that may have been so back there. But you’re here now.”
    The elevator stopped. The doors opened and Kathryn was pushed out of the elevator.
    “So be good,” Ruth said.
    Kathryn watched the doors close. She turned and came face to face with a young woman with ash-blonde hair, high cheekbones and clear blue eyes. “This way, please.” She led Kathryn through three sets of doors, each of which had to be securely closed before opening the next. After locking the last set of doors, the woman extended her arm in a Price is Right gesture, motioning toward a set of towering white enameled double doors.
    Kathryn fought back a tacky remark, remembering Ruth’s recent advice, and settled for a smile and a polite nod. She placed a hand on the doorknob,