A New Beginning

'You know, this is the first time we've been alone since we left,' he said.

'What?' she said, clearly distracted.

'I said, this is the first time… ”

'Michael, there's something strange going on in this town,' she said, as if he hadn't spoken.

'Right here, in fact,' Michael said, not even trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

'Michael, I'm serious. Haven't you seen those missing- person posters in town? It's creepy.”

'Well, we're not going to be staying long,' Michael said.

'I ran into Gomer, and he said something about aliens, like the girls were abducted by… ”

'Here we go,' he said, shaking his head.

'I know it sounds stupid,' she said.

'That's because it is stupid,' he said, raising his voice. He was angry now… more at himself than at Maria. He hadn't wanted to fight with her. As they drove in the van and the miles sped by, Michael had found the earliest stir- rings of peace on the road. He had hoped that things would be different for him and Maria. As they drover far- ther away from Roswell and the pressure they had always been under, he had felt sure that things would be different. He would make them different.

But why did she have to drive him so crazy? 'So you're saying I'm stupid?' she said.

By sheer force of will, he kept himself from saying any more.

'Then what…,' she started, her own face scrunched and angry.

'Stop,' he said, raising one hand. 'Look, I'm sorry.”

That seemed to stop her cold. Michael saw that they were getting close to the diner. He didn't want to spend the few seconds they had fighting.

'What?' she said.

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to suggest that you're stupid. I'm just saying that the only aliens you're going to find in this town are the ones you brought with you. We need to be careful, but we left all that stuff behind in Roswell. That was the point of this class trip,' Michael said.

Maria looked at him, thankfully silent for a moment.

'We've all seen the signs,' he continued. 'There is something strange going on here, but it has nothing to do with us and nothing to do with aliens. My guess is that a bunch of girls got wise and escaped this hole-in-the-wall without leaving a forwarding address.”

Maria started to speak, but he raised his hand and she was silent.

'But if some psycho is kidnapping girls, I'll watch out for you. Just don't go outside alone, or… better yet… unless I'm there.”

He paused for a moment and said, 'Okay? 'Okay,' she said, nodding.

They were approaching the diner door when he stopped her with a hand. 'Don't worry,' Michael said.

He smiled and said, 'I don't want to fight with you.”

Then he did what he'd wanted to do since they left the garage… actually, since they left Roswell. Michael leaned down and kissed her.

Though surprised, Maria responded immediately.

A few seconds later, he felt her hands on his chest. Then she was pushing him away… gently at first, then with force.

'What?' he said.

'What are you doing?' she asked.

'Well, I thought it was self-explanatory,' Michael said. 'I guess not.”

'What are you thinking?' Maria said.

Michael raised his hands in frustration. 'Well, I was thinking that I wanted to kiss you, but I've reconsidered,' he said, feeling his face go flush as the hairs on the back of his neck began to stand up. With effort, he fought down the rising anger.

'Look, Michael, I'm just not ready for this. Too much has happened, and I just don't know what we are to each other anymore. I'm going to need some time here,' she said, the challenge clear on her face and in her voice.

A voice inside his head screamed, I stayed on this planet far you! 1 blew my one chance to go back to the place I came from. For you! But Michael put his hands down and said, as calmly as he could, 'Okay.”

She was silent for a moment, looking at him with a sur- prised expression. When she spoke, her voice was calm. 'Look, I'm just not sure what I want right now.”

'There's a surprise,' he muttered under his breath.

'What?' she said.

'Nothing, but understand this: I know exactly what I want, and I will wait if I have to,' Michael said.

She looked at him with the same surprised expression. Well, he was surprised at himself. But he did know what he wanted, and he was determined to break the cycle of stupid arguments that had kept them apart too many times in the past.

'I'll wait,' he said, then he pointed to the diner door.

'Maria, you'd better get back to work. We'll come by before your shift is up. Don't go outside until then.”

He took a moment to enjoy her stunned expression, then turned and headed back for the garage.

Kyle found Dan in the office.

'I just have to check the seals and add the fluid, then I'll be done with the transmission,' he said. 'What's next?”

'Points and plugs on the Impala. And check the brakes. They've been grinding. They'll need pads, but see if you can save the rotors. I have to stop in town. I'll be back in about an hour,' Dan said.

Kyle nodded, 'I'll be fine.”

'I'll keep an eye on him for you,' Dawn said, flashing Kyle a smile.

Kyle could barely keep the goofy grin from his face. When did my luck start changing? he wondered.

He nodded to Dawn on his way out and said, 'See you later.”

'You know it,' she said.

As Kyle entered the garage, he was glad his back was to Dawn, because he lost the battle with his goofy grin, which spread itself wide across his face.

A few seconds later, he was back under the car, doing a quick inspection of the seals on the transmission. It took some effort for him to concentrate on his work, but he forced himself to do it.

'Hey, I want to talk to you,' a voice said from above him.

It took Kyle a moment to place the voice. He was immediately annoyed at the interruption, because it ended the warm feeling that lingered from his encounter with Dawn.

'I'll be up in a few minutes,' Kyle said. He would actually be less than that, but the last thing he wanted to do was to let Gomer think he would rush on his say-so.

'We'll talk now. You don't have to get up,' Gomer said. 'I just wanted you to know that Dawn is my girl.”

Kyle shook his head. This was ridiculous. 'Funny, she didn't mention that,' he replied.

'Well, I'm mentioning it,' Gomer said.

His voice was tight, as if he was trying to intimidate Kyle. Well, Kyle was not going to be intimidated by this bad-tempered tow truck driver who worked at a shop in the middle of nowhere.

Nevertheless, Kyle was very conscious of the fact that while Gomer was standing on the shop floor, Kyle was flat on his back with less than a foot of clearance between himself and the car above him.

Kyle knew guys at the garage who didn't like to work under cars, either out of claustrophobia or a vague fear about the safety of the hydraulic lift that held the car off the ground. Though he had never had that problem himself, Kyle suddenly understood it. He considered sliding out from under the car, but he didn't want to give his nervousness away and give Gomer the satisfaction of thinking he had shaken Kyle up. Keeping his voice casual, Kyle said, 'I think Dawn's big enough to decide what she wants for herself.”

Kyle heard Gomer make a sound like a grunt. When he spoke, he shouted, 'You got a smart mouth. You want to watch that. We don't much like smart guys around here.”

'Then you must fit right in,' Kyle shot back immedi- ately.

Gomer didn't reply, but Kyle heard footsteps and a click. Leaning his head up, he could see Gomer's legs were