Li Su washed the lunch dishes as quickly as possible. She had seen the Dropa in the sky and saw Argent taking the lenses from his truck. She knew also that the man named Dundee had given Argent the jade slab that he had stolen from her. Only she knew their real power, and that was that the rock was an updated version of the disks left at Baian-Kara-Ula. When the Dropa had first visited her people generations ago, they found that the jade was a much better conductor for their musings and left the disks in favor of the new material. Now, their many secrets may be discovered, and Li Su didn't like the thought of that one bit.

Ivan, on the other hand, was lost in the thoughts of earthlings. He began serving the lunch meal while singing Red Elvises pop songs at the top of his very large lungs. He had seen them at a boardwalk concert once in Santa Clara and had since committed every song to memory.
One Monday morning, sitting at the bar
I saw a girl who looked like movie star
I took a seat and give her wink
Hey honey-pie, can I get you drink?
She looked at me and I read her lips
A keg of beer and potato chips
However, it only took a moment for his mood to sour. He saw Red enter the line and he also saw the man who entered the line behind her. His brow furrowed and he watched the young man clumsily flirt with Red. He felt his blood burn when Red flirted back. When she reached the head of the line and reached for a plate, Ivan shot her a look of disgust. She looked back blankly and continued on to one of the picnic tables with the two men. Ivan smoldered as he finished dishing up the heaping plates of food. She was just like her mother that way. You push, she pulls, you say be careful, she smiles at strangers. He had had enough and when he had served the food and slid the final pan to Li Su at the sink, he took off his apron and left the kitchen.

Rex sat at a sunny picnic table, across from Murray and beside Red. The big man talked and told stories, but Rex didn't hear a thing. He had to keep reminding himself that Red might be the most beautiful thing he'd ever laid eyes on, yes, but she also might be the cold-blooded murderer of a special agent.

As they sat there, two little girls ran up to the table and began to tug at Red saying "you said last night that you'd show us.." Red smiled at the girls and she began to softly juggle two oranges and an apple that were in a bowl on the table. The little girls laughed and tried to mimic her with no success. At this, Murray boomed: "Damn, girl. You ever think about giving up this glorious life of folk music and joining the circus?" Murray excused himself from the table, laughing at his own joke.

Red quickly caught the fruit, gave it to the girls and haltingly told them to run off and go practice. She then turned around and slowly began to finish her lunch. Rex noticed the change like a cloud had gone over the sun and said: "Aw, c'mon. You like the circus. Everybody likes the circus."

Red laughed a humorless laugh and leaned towards Rex. All he felt was the warmth of her shoulder against his arm and his heart skipped a beat. Red said softly: "What if I told you that I ran away from the circus to join the real world?"

The cloud that had gone over Rex's sun was in fact, Ivan Turgenev. He walked up behind the pair as Red leaned into the young man. As she backed away, Ivan spoke softly but forcefully: "Lida, I need to talk to you."

Rex watched as the two walked a short distance away. He recognized Turgenev immediately and his previously fluttering heart fell straight into his shoes. He couldn't hear what they were saying because at a few tables over, a kazoo chorus appeared to be warming up with Stevie Wonder's "You Can Feel It All Over".   He saw that Turgenev shook his finger at Red and pointed towards the kitchen. She paled and looked to be offering up apologies or excuses, he couldn't tell. All at once, Turgenev let out a growl and spun back towards the kitchen. Red returned to the table and hastily grabbed her plate and cup.

"What's the matter?" asked Rex.

"Nothing. I just have to move a dead body." she muttered half-jokingly, hoping that false truths would get her off the hook with this guy.

"Oh." replied Rex, picking up his dishes also. "I'll help."

Red could no nothing but stand there in astonishment as Rex took the dishes from her hands and whistled along with the kazoo players as he walked towards the kitchen.