Sky and Gabby quickly returned to Sky’s house. They’d been gone much longer than intended, and the chances of them not getting caught sneaking back in were rather slim. They scrambled through Sky’s bedroom window, where they found Wesley sitting on the bed, waiting.

He popped up when he saw them. “Where’ve you guys been? Sky’s dad has checked in on me ten times,” he said. “That guy gives you no space.”

“Long story,” said Gabby. She’d fill Wesley in on all the details later. She put her hand on Sky’s shoulder. “Listen, Sky, I’m really sorry for short-circuiting your brain today.”

“Are you kidding?” gushed Sky. “I got to go to school, dress like a teenager, and do gossip. Aside from almost dying, it was the greatest day of my life!” Her eyes danced with glee.

“That’s actually pretty typical for a day with Gabby,” confirmed Wesley. His life had improved massively since Gabby got to town.

“You think you’d wanna hang out again sometime?” Sky asked. “But, you know, not as a babysitter. If you want to. I mean, we’re friends, right?”

Lucky for Sky, Gabby Duran took her friendships very seriously. “Sky, c’mon. After what we just went through, we’d better be!” In truth, it was Gabby who felt lucky to have made a new friend as amazing as Sky. Something told her they had a lot of adventures ahead of them.

After saying good-bye to Sky, Gabby realized she was starving. She and Wesley grabbed their usual booth at Luchachos Taqueria. The restaurant had sombreros on the wall, Mexican wrestlers in the logo, and the best quesadillas in town. Maybe the state.

“Sorry Sky’s dog wasn’t your dog,” said Gabby, her arms folded on top of the table.

“Yeah, me too.” Wes nodded. “I guess I just have to face the fact that Brisket’s gone and he’s never coming back.” He shrugged with reluctant acceptance.

As Gabby reached for a sip of water, the waitress brought their order: one large quesadilla. Wesley stared at the food in front of him, his eyes wide with wonder.

“What?” asked Gabby, her eyes also wide but with hunger.

“The quesadilla! It’s Brisket! It’s his face!” said Wesley, spinning the plate so Gabby could see for herself.

Sure enough, the quesadilla had an image of a dog’s face burned into the tortilla.

“Gabby, this is a sign,” Wesley said, all fired up. He gestured wildly at the miracle quesadilla. “Brisket’s still alive. And I’m never going to stop looking for him. And when I find him, I’m—”

Wesley stopped midsentence, his eyes burning into Gabby as she took a huge bite out of a quesadilla wedge. The melted cheese strung from her mouth. “Sorry, I was hungry,” she said with her mouth full. “It’s been a long day.” Besides, the best babysitter in the galaxy deserved the best quesadilla in the galaxy—mysterious dog face or not.

Gabby looked across the booth at Wesley, thrilled to have found such a fun and loyal best friend in her new town. Between that and her intergalactic babysitting gig, Gabby had to admit her life in Havensburg was pretty dope.