As a young woman passed the group, she gave each of them a cheery grin. "Good afternoon. Nice to see you."
Rembrandt gave her a half-hearted wave. "Uh, yeah. Nice to see you, too."
When the woman had moved down the sidewalk, a man in a well-tailored suit walked past Quinn. The man stopped and clasped Quinn's hand firmly.
"Afternoon," the man said in a slight British accent. "Very glad to meet you. And you sir, sir, my good sir, young lady. Have a wonderful day."
The man strode off, leaving Quinn staring at his now-empty hand.
Just as Quinn was about to speak, a car driving by screeched to a halt in front of them. The driver leaned out of his door.
"Hi," he yelled at the five bystanders. "Great day, isn't it?"
"Uh, yeah," Wade called out. "It's...nice."
"Take it easy," the driver called out, then leaned back into his cab and drove away.
Arturo watched the car go by, then frowned. "Unusual. Highly unusual."
"There somethin' weird about us?" Rembrandt asked. "Why's everybody sayin' hi?"
"It's not just us, Rembrandt," Quinn said. "Look, everybody's doing it."
Arturo watched the other pedestrians, and realized Quinn was right. Men and women passing each other never failed to say hello or shake hands. Some actually hugged each other before moving on. As cars drove down the street, people waved their arms out their windows in greeting.
"Friendly place," Wade said as she began to walk again.
David said "Wade" to get her attention, then began to gesture in sign language. Wade translated his movements as, "Is this normal for a hearing world, guys?"
"No way," Quinn said. "Back in our world, nobody said anything to anybody they didn't know."
"Yeah," Rembrandt said. "Reminds me of some o' the small towns I played in back with the Topps. Everybody knew everybody there. Couldn't walk down the street without somebody sayin' good mornin' to ya."
"It's more than that," Arturo murmured. "Look at their faces. These people are not just friendly. They are happy. Incredibly happy."
The others watched the people they passed on the street. Wade nodded.
"Yeah, you're right, professor," she said. "I've never seen so many big smiles on so many people in my life."
Arturo glanced over at a man in torn jeans walking briskly down the sidewalk. As the man passed an old woman, he suddenly ripped the purse from her hand. The man took off down the street, running at full speed.
David began to point at the man frantically, but the others were already aware of the crime. Quinn ran after the thief, who had the purse clutched tightly under his arm. Quinn tore down the sidewalk, finally tackling the thief. Arturo hurried after the others who ran to the old woman.
"Are you okay?" Wade asked the woman.
The old woman smiled up at her with a curious expression. "Why, of course I am, young lady. Sweet of you to ask. How are you?"
"Uh, I'm fine." She exchanged a look with Arturo that spoke volumes. Something strange was going on here.
Quinn came up to them, dragging the struggling thief by his collar. "Got him. Little punk tried to pull a knife on me, but I got it away from him. Here's your purse, lady."
The old woman took the purse from his hands. "Oh, thank you. Nice meeting you. And how are you, sir?" Her last comment was addressed to the thief.
The man looked as confused as the rest of them, pausing momentarily in his attempts to escape. "Huh? Uh, I'm...fine."
Wade took the old woman's arm. "Uh, ma'am? You...you realize this creep just tried to steal your purse, right?"
The old woman frowned. "Oh, really? I didn't notice. It's such a lovely day, I guess I wasn't paying attention. I'm sorry. You may let him go, young man."
"What?" Quinn blurted. "But he..."
"I said, let him go," the old woman said. "Please."
Quinn glared at the man in his grip, then released him. The man yanked himself out of arms' reach, then glared at the woman.
The old woman shuffled forward and pressed her purse into the thief's hands. "Go, my friend. I hope you fall on better times."
The thief stood gaping at the woman for a moment, then glanced at Quinn, flashed him a sneering grin, and ran off down the sidewalk.
Wade's mouth opened and closed a few times before she managed to say, "Lady...are you nuts? That guy just stole your purse."
"Yes," the old woman sighed. "If he's that desperate for money, then he must need it more than I do. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, my friends. Enjoy this wonderful day."
She hobbled off down the sidewalk, humming to herself.
Rembrandt shook his head. "That was definitely not normal."
"Yeah," Quinn said. "There's something weird about this world."
"Maybe," Wade said. "Or maybe she's senile?"
"Either way," Arturo said, "there does seem to be a general pattern to this world. I think this bears further investigation."
David signed to Wade again, who repeated his comments. "Hey, guys, Dave wants to know if we can stop off somewhere. He'd like to see his family."
"Your family?" Arturo said. "We left them behind, young man."
David signed again. Wade said, "Not his real family. He wants to see his family in this world, an alternate version of them."
"I dunno," Quinn murmured. "We've gotten in trouble with our doubles before. Sometimes, you're better off not knowing how people turn out in other worlds."
"Please," David signed, speaking through Wade. "I've always wondered what my family would be like in another world. I've often fantasized about having loving relatives who cared about me. I've got my brother. If my parents are anything like the rest of these people, then I'd like to see them."
Arturo sighed. "Well...I suppose this is your first slide. We might as well indulge you just this once. But at the first sign of difficulty, we must leave as quickly as possible."
David grinned and crossed a finger over his heart.
Quinn shrugged. "Okay, let's go. Uh, taxi..."
A taxicab screeched up to the curb before Quinn even raised his hand to call him. The driver leapt out to run around and open the backdoor for them.
"Good afternoon, my lady, gentlemen," the driver said. "It's my sincere pleasure to be your driver this evening."
Rembrandt chuckled as he climbed into the cab. "Man, one thing I like about this world. Great service."
The driver grinned at him. "Well, I love to drive, sir, and this job lets me do a lot of that. Best job in the world from my viewpoint. For me, life couldn't be better."
Arturo regarded the driver cautiously as he got in after Rembrandt. "Yes, well, we're quite happy for you. 4159 Blue Jay Way, if you please."
"Yes, sir," the driver said, snapping a salute.
When the last of the group had stepped inside, the driver shut the door and circled the cab, whistling a jaunty tune. He got behind the wheel and drove off down the road.
David leaned over to Rembrandt, gesturing carefully. Wade nodded, then translated, "He caught your comment about the Topps. David wants to know who they were."
Rembrandt snapped his fingers. "Hey, yeah, I forgot we never gave you the lowdown on my illustrious career. Well, kid, get ready for the history of my meteoric rise to glory."
Arturo smiled. "Yes, and like all meteors, the inevitable crash to Earth."
He burst out laughing while Rembrandt glared at him.
"Hey, do you mind, professor?" Rembrandt asked. "I'm tryin' to enlighten the kid on the rise o' the Cryin' Man. Now, Dave, the Spinnin' Topps were one o' the all-time great R&B bands. So of course, I was one of 'em..."
Arturo distracted himself from Rembrandt's tiring history lesson to glare at the driver. The man still hummed as he drove, occasionally sticking an arm out the window to wave at a passer-by.
"There is something about this Earth," Arturo whispered, "that sets the little hairs on the back of my neck on edge."
Wade smirked at him. "Oh, come on, professor. It looks like the people of this world are just really nice and happy."
"Miss Welles," Arturo murmured, "there is such a thing as being too happy."
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