Liz returned with an armful of ketchup bottles and lowered them to the counter. Maria rolled her tongue at her.

"So you're part alien," Liz teased. "Anything else you've been hiding?"

"You already know I'm really a man, so I guess not," Maria answered. She picked up the sugar box and started refilling the bowls.

"Just checking," Liz said. "Keeping secrets from me is a serious violation. I don't want to have to bring you up in front of the best friend review board." She ducked behind the counter and headed into the kitchen.

Maria shot a glance after her. Liz was doing that kind of joking around that has a little truth lurking somewhere in the background. And the truth was that Maria hadn't been totally up front with her best friend lately.

Liz returned to the counter with a big plastic jug of ketchup and a funnel. "Okay, okay. I wore these shoes because I was hoping Michael would come by," Maria blurted. "And yes, I have a totally hopeless, pathetic thing for him."

Liz laughed. "I knew that already. I was actually talking about the whole psychic powers episode. How could you not tell me about something so big?" She unscrewed the top on the closest ketchup bottle and stuck in the funnel.

Maria felt a blush creeping up her neck. In a second her whole face would be red. "I still feel like such a loser. I can't believe I actually thought I was psychic. You should have seen me. I was so jazzed, thinking I had this amazing gift. It was so incredible to hold something that belonged to a person and then be able to see exactly what they were doing. And healing Sassy. That was awesome."

"You shouldn't feel like a loser. How could you have known?" Liz asked. "Like you were supposed to think, 'Hey maybe that ring I found at the mall has an alien power stone in it.'"