Jesse Ramirez zipped up his jacket as he ran down the hall from his upstairs home office. It was 7:42 AM. While he lived only a quick 10 minute drive from the middle school where his two daughters attended, their inevitably rushed morning routine usually involved him throwing four Pop Tarts in the toaster and then making sure their homework and lunches (prepared the night before) were packed in their backpacks. More often than not, the girls ate breakfast on their way to school. He loved Isabel and their two adopted daughters, Melissa and Chloe, but none of them were morning people.
As he ran down the stairs, Jesse began shouting out, "Girls, I hope you're packing your backpacks, otherwise we're going to be…"
Jesse reached the bottom of the stairs to find an unusual sight, at least for his family.
"…late…" his voice lowered and trailed off as he looked into the kitchen to see a scene he imagined would be typical for a family full of morning people.
The girls were fully dressed, with their backpacks packed, sitting neatly behind the two barstools where they sat at the kitchen island. Chloe, a short, Asian preteen of 12, wore a white t-shirt under a thinly woven beige cardigan extending to her knees with skinny jeans, no socks and a pair of beige sneakers. She wore her black hair down, straightened and extending just below her shoulders. Jesse was somewhat relieved to see this because Chloe was going through a phase of wearing skimpy clothing all summer which Chloe and even Isabel chalked up to style. Jesse always fought to get Chloe to cover up. Melissa, 14, sported a simple dress with black and white vertical stripes. The dress extended halfway down her thigh at the bottom and the sleeves came down just above her elbows. She wore black sneakers with white soles and trim along the sides and toes. Melissa's chin length curly blonde hair looked washed and was worn down for the first time all week.
Isabel stood smiling on the other side of the counter. Dressed in a white, fluffy robe, her hair pulled up into a messy bun, Isabel started gathering the girls' empty plates and glasses right as Jesse walked in. On the far side of the kitchen island, Jesse spotted an impressive spread of pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon and a pitcher of orange juice.
"What's all this?" he asked her with a wry smile.
"You were working, the girls and I were up and I decided we could all use a warm, fresh, hearty breakfast for a change," Isabel explained with an almost eerie level of enthusiasm.
Jesse couldn't mask his surprise. "That's great," he said, sincerely happy at the sight, yet still thrown off by the uncommonness of it. Isabel often woke up and started her day closer to 9 AM, well after Jesse dropped the girls off at school.
"Now you should get going, so you don't make the girls late," Isabel teased. "A warm plate will be waiting for you when you get back."
With that she gave Jesse a quick kiss and started cleaning up some of the dishes she used to cook the glorious breakfast spread.
"Ok, girls," Jesse said, "you heard Mom, let's head out."
Jesse grabbed a couple strips of bacon for the road and he, Melissa and Chloe rushed off to the car to head over to the school.
On the drive over, Melissa and Chloe talked in the backseat of their Toyota Prius. Jesse often used this time to join the girls in conversation, learn about what their school day had in store or sometimes liven things up with silly talk and lame dad jokes if he sensed they were particularly groggy.
On this summer morning, he found himself preoccupied with Isabel's recent behavior. It started a couple of years ago when she revealed to him that she and Max now shared some kind of psychic empathic bond. Then, she asked him to help her acquire a super encrypted phone so that Max could call her. This led to a couple weeks of arguments since the whole group agreed not to stay in contact after Jesse and Isabel bowed out to settle down and start their family. The first couple times, Jesse didn't make it a secret how uncomfortable it made him to know Isabel and Max were in touch. Jesse came to partially regret this admission because it didn't persuade Isabel to break off contact, and it left him to suspect that she may not always tell him each time Max called.
For so many years his wife being an alien hybrid felt like nothing but an afterthought. Max and Michael were largely out of their lives. Isabel began rarely using her powers even while on the road during their van years and he really never caught her using them once they settled in Suncook. Michael did track them down after him and Maria got out four years ago. After learning of the circumstances of Maria's pregnancy, Isabel stayed in touch with them quite often at first. She even flew to Flagstaff, where they settled, to be there when Maria had the baby. Isabel checked in with Jesse and the girls so much that he remembered feeling like they'd gone with her to Arizona. Michael and Isabel talked regularly after that trip but not all the time. Neither family perceived that as anything to worry about because Max and Liz continued to use their powers and attract any pursuit by the government. Isabel was very open about how she mostly provided Michael with advice on baby stuff for his and Maria's daughter.
Jesse pulled up to the drop off lane at the school.
"Ok, girls," he said, "have a great day!"
"You too, Dad," Melissa said.
"Thanks, Dad," said Chloe.
"Love you!" Jesse shouted after them through the rolled down window. Melissa, his oldest, bowed her head in embarrassment, no doubt concerned someone hearing that would tease her later.
On the drive home, Jesse continued running over the impact of Max re-entering the picture. Jesse never disliked Max after he learned and accepted the truth about their alien heritage. In fact, their four years on the road together allowed him to bond with his brother-in-law, and Jesse regarded Max as a really great guy. Jesse worried about the safety of his family knowing that Max and Isabel were talking on the phone, despite trusting the security of the encrypted phone he helped her get.
And then Isabel started dreaming about El Quarterlejo. Dream walking was one power he knew she still used, but the odds of that one exposing her true identity seemed remote. Isabel shared that she came to see it as more of a privacy violation as she became an adult, so she used that ability sparingly. But it was supposed to be Isabel's choice of whose dream to enter. The dreams in El Quarterlejo were violent and Isabel didn't choose to enter them. In fact, she didn't even know whose dreams, or more like nightmares, she entered. Three nights in a row it happened, though. She would wake up in a raw panic. Jesse would comfort her but also worried she'd wake up the girls. He didn't want them to feel concern about their mom's nightmares or question why she never seemed to have them before now.
Jesse pulled into the driveway running along the side of the house and parked in his usual spot. He walked inside, starting to look forward to a plate of the warm, home-cooked meal. Instead he found an even bigger surprise than his wife up early and cooking.
Isabel sat at the kitchen table, fully dressed in a black tank top and black pants. She always wore something more stylish and colorful, always. Her sandy blonde, arm pit length hair was tied into a tight ponytail. Two suitcases were sitting to her left. Her expression looked serious.
"What's all this?" Jesse asked, scratching the back of his head.
"I need to go to Texas," Isabel told him, "Max needs me."
In the early years of their marriage, this is something Jesse would've tried to talk her out of. But after 21 years, he knew his wife well enough to know that simply telling her he didn't like this idea and didn't want her to go wouldn't work. If he could point out factors she neglected to consider and Isabel decided to rethink, then he could still change her mind. That was Jesse's only chance.
"So just like that, huh?" Jesse asked, using a tone typically reserved for giving closing arguments, not arguing with his wife. "The girls will come home from school this afternoon and their mom will be gone for… how long?"
"I know," Isabel empathetically conceded, "this is going to be hard on them… and confusing. And I won't even be there to help you explain everything."
"What should I even tell them, Isabel?" Jesse asked.
Isabel rubbed her forehead between her eyes, "I don't know," she said, "…tell them I needed to go help Uncle Michael with a problem with his family. They love their Uncle Michael and will probably accept that."
The deep concern in Isabel's voice for her brother and an infusion of duty and obligation quickly convinced Jesse that she was right.
"You really have to do this?" he asked.
"Yes, Jesse," Isabel told him grimly, "I don't know if I can even describe to you the things Max is feeling. Whatever's going on in El Quarterlejo, he's struggling more than ever since leaving Roswell. I can't just know what I know and do nothing. I have to help him."
"But you barely even use your powers anymore," Jesse contended. "How do you know you can still hold your own and keep yourself safe? Aren't you concerned with being rusty or something?"
"That's not how it works," Isabel explained. "It's like riding a bike. It's not something you ever forget."
Sensing Jesse wouldn't take her words at face value, Isabel raised her right arm across her left shoulder with her palm facing him. From Jesse's standpoint, she waved her hand from right to left across her body. At first he didn't know what happened. Then, he felt a draftiness caressing his chest and arms. He noticed the open window behind the kitchen table where Isabel sat. Jesse looked down to see he was now completely shirtless.
"Ok," he said sheepishly, "I see your point."
Isabel looked at him judgmentally for a moment, now crossing her legs and tapping her right index finger against her chin just below her lower lip.
"When's the last time you went to the gym?" she asked playfully, wagging her finger in a mockingly scolding gesture.
"Isabel," Jesse exclaimed, "c'mon, this isn't a joke! You could die!"
Isabel's bouncy expression rapidly faded. She waved her hand in the opposite direction and Jesse's shirt and jacket returned.
"I know," Isabel told him gravely, "and I'm scared too. You know how much I love you and the girls. But I also love Max. We've been through so much together and as much as I adore our life here in Suncook, I can't just ignore what I know he's going through now."
She got up from the table and hugged her husband. Jesse could feel her fighting back the urge to cry.
"It's ok," Jesse said tenderly, breaking free from her embrace. "You're right. Max is part of this family even though we don't get to see him and that's important too. Don't worry about me and the girls. Go help Max. Be careful, stay safe. And please… please come to home to us."
"Thank you, Jesse," Isabel said, "I will come back to you and the girls. I promise!"
Isabel grabbed her two bags and rushed right by him and out the door. And in the blink of an eye, Jesse's family, his reality, looked completely different. A deep-seeded worry emerged to gnaw at him, not to leave until he saw Isabel again. He glanced over at the breakfast spread at the kitchen island to his left. He was no longer hungry.