"Kyle, what's with the newspaper (mid-sentence interrupted by the high-pitched barking of what looks like a mop head.)

Kyle peeps his head over the couch with the puppy posed on his chest barking at what he believes to be an intruder.

"It's a Shih Tzu," Kyle cuddles the dog in his arms and whispers in its ear.

"Calm down it's only my dad," he commands the small dog and is immediately graced with obedience.

"But, why is it here?" The Sheriff has progressed into the room and lets the dog smell him before he goes on to scratch the puppy's neck and behind its ears.

"It's Teresa's," he says awkwardly. "She has to convince Sondra to let her keep it so I volunteered to puppy sit for a few hours."

"Max and Alex were pulling up when I arrived." He heads back to the door to let them in and leads them into the living room where the puppy starts barking at the new arrivals.

Kyle quiets him with a look and the puppy returns to his temporary bed in the corner.

"So what time are we meeting everyone at Sondra's?" Sheriff Valente asks as he thumbs through the mail.

"Michael and Liz won't be able to make it until 10:30 because of work, so anytime after that is cool I guess," Max answers off handedly.

"So Kyle, do you want to tell us want happened today or do you what to wait until we're all together?" Alex queries his new friend.

The Sheriff is suddenly alert and raises an eyebrow to his son. "Did something happen today? I thought this was just our regular meeting."

Kyle looks to Alex wondering how he knows and comes to the only one conclusion - Teresa. She probably told Isabel or Maria and the grapevine effect ensued.

Meanwhile at the group's booth at The Cashdown Isabel, Maria, and Teresa are waiting for Liz to take her break so they can hear the dish on Kyle Valenti.

HE SAID

Kyle looks around the room and expels an audible sigh before relaying the events of the alien encounter.

"Teresa and I were walking to my car which of course means she has to stop to look in every shop window on Main Street. She was mooning over this puppy (points to the puppy now asleep in the corner) when suddenly I see reflected in the pet store window the same bleakness as we all saw projected from Liz to the mirror.

I didn't want to chance turning around so I tell Teresa to slowly turn around and look across the street and get a look at the alien's human face."

"Since we still don't know if they can recognize you guys," he nods towards Max. "I kept her body hidden by pretending we were a couple embracing."

"Teresa saw him standing in front of the bakery and verified that she could also see his soul by looking into the pet store window.

My back is still to him and I don't know what he looks like so I turn my head slightly to get a peak at his human face and see him crossing the street heading straight for us.

"By this time she is getting really scared and I thought she was going to bolt when the alien crosses the street so I pull her into my arms and kiss her." He looks at his dad and continues, "To calm her down, you know."

"Yea son, I use that one all the time in my line of work." The Sheriff smiles and nods his head in mock understanding.

Kyle looks to Max and Alex who look away from him trying to keep their composure.

"Well, anyway it worked because her mind was taken completely off the alien where upon she didn't see where he went once he was on our side of the street."

"Before I know what's happening, she yells, "there he is" and runs into the pet store where the alien is waiting to talk to Mr. Fleming."

Max sits up in his chair and angrily asks, "And you let her?"

"I didn't have a choice but he didn't pay any attention to her because apparently the puppy was making such a racket the whole store was pleased that she was able to shut the thing up." Kyle retorts.

"I was getting ready to get Teresa out of there when I heard Mr. Fleming recount tales and rumors he has heard for the last fifty years. He was about to mention something that happened last September when I interrupted to say that we wanted to buy the puppy."

"Mr. Fleming called me Jimmy like he's done since I was 4 years old and I reminded him that my name wasn't Jimmy. I then convinced the alien that Mr. Fleming's memory was failing him. It worked because the alien left soon afterwards without talking to Mr. Fleming."

"By the time we got outside he was gone." Kyle concludes.

SHE SAID

Liz is taking a break and joins Isabel, Maria, and Teresa at their booth.She is anxious to hear the scoop on Teresa's and Kyle's budding relationship.

The girls all lean in close, elbows on table and ears wide open for they don't want to miss an iota of what the girl had hinted at being budding couple news of the most delicious kind.

"Well, you know Kyle always parks his car at the station which is like three blocks away so I always stop and look in shop windows making the walk and the time we're together longer."

"So we're standing in front of the pet store looking at the most adorable Shih Tzu, which Sondra has agreed to let me have. She is so cute and cuddly…

Liz interrupts her with, "I only have fifteen minutes for my break so if you will continue with the good stuff."

"Oh yea, so we're looking into the window when all of a sudden Kyle grabs my shoulders from behind, stands directly behind me, his body pressing into my back and whispers that there's an alien across the street because he just saw its reflected soul in the glass window of the pet store."

"He turns me around, our bodies never losing contact and pulls me close and puts his arms around my shoulders.

"He says that we should pretend to be a couple so as not to alert the alien that we were on to him but ladies he was not immune to our closeness."

Maria emits a small laugh, as she shakes her head no, "No, You don't mean."

"Yes I do, unless he had a banana in his pocket." Teresa nods her head triumphantly.

"Sssh Maria, let her finish," Isabel hisses and gestures for Teresa to continue.

"I lean in close to his body, close my eyes and inhale the male smell of him. He smelt so good I thought I was going to die."

They all start to hit at each other's hands and squeal with delight causing the other customers to look in their direction.

Michael has been watching them for a while and comes over to see what all the commotion is about.

"What's going on?" He looks to his sister who avoids eye contact and everyone else looks from him to Teresa and start to laugh hysterically.

He walks away shrugging his shoulders, "Women."

"Where was I?" Teresa says after gaining her composure. "Oh yea, so I open my eyes and the first thing I see is the alien crossing the street headed directly towards us."

"My fingers sink into Kyle's arms and I'm asking him what shall we do when panic sinks in and I'm about to run."

"Kyle must sense that I'm about to bolt because he pulls me into his arms and starts to kiss me."

Teresa touches her fingers to her lips in remembrance and lets out a heavy sigh.

"What happened then Teresa," Liz looks at the time and at Michael pointing to his watch to say that her break is over.

Liz gestures to Michael, just one more minute, okay.

Teresa continues, "He pulls away from me and asks where did the alien go?"

"I'm like, how should I know? My eyes were closed. So then he asks me why where my eyes closed and I say, because you were kissing me. And he has the nerve to say that he was kissing me not K I S S I N G me."

"What did he mean by that?" Maria makes a face, rolls her eyes and shakes her head, "Men."

"I guess he meant that it didn't mean anything?" says Teresa.

"So then I say if you didn't mean for it to be a kiss than why did you stick your tongue in my month?"

In unison from her listeners, "You go girl."

"You guys I have to go take an order, I'll be right back. Don't finish without me." Liz scurries away from the table.

"Come on Teresa, don't leave us in suspense, we can fill Liz in on the rest later. What did he say to that?"

"Well," barley audible she whispers, "He said you put your tongue in my mouth first."

Isabel leans forward, "I didn't hear what you said."

Maria is smiling and looks to Isabel and repeats what Teresa had said. "He said that she put her tongue in his mouth first. You hussy you."

Isabel covers her mouth trying to stifle her laughter.

They all start to laugh and squeal causing Liz to rush over wanting to know what she missed.

They tell her the infamous tongue story and she joins in their laughter.

"I know you told him off, right?" Maria asks once she's able to speak again.

"What did you say to him?" Isabel queries.

"I looked him directly in the eyes and said Je suis de la Nouvelle- Orleans."

"He already knew that," Maria holds out her palm and shrugs her shoulders as though to say I don't get it.

They all look at each other and back to Teresa.

"I'm from New Orleans." She arches an eyebrow, "French," and when they still don't get it. "French Kiss"