Shizuka tried to keep smiling as she exited the freeway and stopped in a shopping center parking lot.

Now, where were they?

Of course she’d miss the interchange!

Lan berated herself. All she had wanted was to tell Shizuka thank you. Instead, she had just told her about the Endplague.

How could she, the captain, of all people, let this happen? What could she do now? Apologize? Sure. Ask her to forget what she had said? Maybe. Erase Shizuka’s memory? Could she do that?

She would if she had to, right?

Right?

And then Lan’s stomach growled.

Shizuka laughed, Lan blushed, and suddenly, both of them were back in real time.

“Well, while we’re here, let’s find some food,” Shizuka said. She pulled out her phone. “Not much … There’s an Olive Garden nearby,” she murmured.

“Olives? Garden?”

“Look! A fountain!”

Lan Tran, Starship Captain, former Imperial Scientist, and Earth’s first harbinger of the Endplague, giddily entered the Olive Garden. She stopped at the entryway and said hi to the hostess. She examined the décor. As the server came and sat them at their table with their menus, she gushed at how punctual and pretty she was.

“Everyone here is so polite!” Lan said. Lan pointed to another server’s tray.

“What is that?”

“That’s our Peach Raspberry Iced Tea. Would you like one, too?”

Lan nodded. “This is such an amazing place,” she whispered. She scanned the menu. “Eggplant Parmigiana—it sounds so luxurious.”

The salad came, and then the bread sticks.

Lan ate one, then the other. She looked at Shizuka in horror.

“Oh no! I ate your bread stick, too.”

“Don’t worry. They’ll bring more.”

“Really?”

Shizuka tilted her head. “Lan, haven’t you traveled the galaxy? I mean, surely you’ve been to much nicer places than an Olive Garden in Cerritos.”

Lan scooped more of the delightful salad. “Maybe, but it’s been a while. Sure, I was a systems designer for the Empire. But after I had Markus, I spent most of my time taking care of family.”

She reached for another bread stick.

“They’ll bring more? Really?”

“Really.”

Shizuka watched Lan and thought of all the immigrant mothers in their neighborhoods. She thought of all those who had braved leaky boats, smugglers, and pirates to deliver their families from Vietnam, then spent the rest of their lives never leaving Monterey Park.

“This is so good! And I can’t believe I ordered a dish called Eggplant Parmigiana. Parmigiana…” She let her voice trail. “Even the word feels so creamy on the tongue. And eggplant! Doesn’t it sound cute? Have you had eggplant before?”

“Uh—yes I have.”

“And this peach tea is so peachy!”

As the server brought their plates to the table, Lan pulled out her phone to take a picture of her Eggplant Parmigiana.

“Shizuka! Look at how pretty this is! Shizuka, can you take a picture? Shizuka?”