Alternatives Sextet 1

By Lesley L. Smith

Enjoy 6 stories with Physicist Chloe Phillipson! Chloe and her superpowered family celebrate Valentine's Day, vacation, Christmas, St.Patrick's Day, Ramadan and New Year's. What could possibly go wrong?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lesley L. Smith
• Release date: Jul 31, 2022
• ISBN: 9781950198603

Lesley L. Smith

All right, I confess! I love physics. I blame my misspent youth reading science fiction by the likes of Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke. Not surprisingly, I also love science fiction. I grew up in Missouri, in a family of overeducated overachievers. Following in their footsteps, I've earned far too many degrees including an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Elementary Particle Physics and an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction. Hmm? I may have a split personality. The evidence shows I've authored or co-authored many scientific articles, and am a longtime member of the American Physical Society. I'm also a founder and editor of the speculative fiction ezine http://www.electricspec.com and a longtime member of the Science Fiction/Fantasy Writers of America. Both sides of my personality live in Boulder, Colorado where I do physics by day and science fiction by night. Please visit me on the web at http://www.lesleylsmith.com.

Book preview

ALTERNATIVES SEXTET 1

Novels by Lesley L. Smith

Temporal Dreams

Neutrino Warning

Kat Cubed

Reality Alternatives

Conservation of Luck

The Quantum Cop Series:

Book 1: The Quantum Cop

Book 2: Quantum Murder

Book 3: Quantum Mayhem

The Space Operetta Series

Book 1: A Jack By Any Other Name

Book 2: A Jack In The Dark

Book 3: A Jack For All Seasons

Alternatives Sextet 1

By Lesley L. Smith

Quarky Media

Boulder Colorado

Alternatives Sextet 1

ISBN: 978-1-950198-60-3

Quarky Media, PO Box 3332, Boulder, CO 80307

www.quarkymedia.com

Valentine's Alternatives © 2017 Lesley L. Smith

Vacation Alternatives © 2017 Lesley L. Smith

Vixen Alternatives © 2017 Lesley L. Smith

St. Patrick's Alternatives © 2020 Lesley L. Smith

Ramadan Alternatives © 2021 Lesley L. Smith

New Year Alternatives © 2022 Lesley L. Smith

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Making or distributing electronic copies of this book constitutes copyright infringement and could subject the infringer to criminal and civil liability.

Table of Contents

Valentine's Alternatives

Vacation Alternatives

Vixen Alternatives

St. Patrick's Alternatives

Ramadan Alternatives

New Year Alternatives

Message from the Author

Reality Alternatives Chapter One

This was the first short story I wrote in the Reality Alternatives world. It takes place soon after the events of Reality Alternatives, so, I was excited to find out what happened to Chloe and her family. In particular, I wanted to explore Chloe's love life…

Valentine's Alternatives

Forget having a superpower, I was exhausted from my regular life teaching at the university and trying to be a good mom and wife.

It still felt like the beginning of the semester as February rolled around. I was learning my students' names, and they were getting the hang of showing up to class and studying and all the other college stuff.

When I sat down for dinner at the kitchen table--in the nick of time--I had to force myself to smile. We had a Phillipson family rule that everyone had to sit down together for dinner every night--and no electronics. We also had a rule that we weren't allowed to bring work home with us. Since I was the only one in the family working, that was pretty much just a Chloe rule.

As my wonderful husband Aidan started ladling out servings, a delicious aroma wafted out of the large pot--beans, onion, garlic, and some kind of meat. Mmm, I said. What is that? Stew? It smells delicious.

Aidan said, "I'm trying a new recipe, mon amour. It's called cassoulet. It has pork shoulder, pancetta and prosciutto in it."

My awesome younger son, Trevor, scrunched up his nose. I don't want to eat that. It sounds weird. What's a cassooo?

My awesome older son, Zach, was already taking a plate from his dad. He stared down at it dubiously.

It's a super delicious bean stew, I said. From France.

"Oui, mon amour, Aidan said and smiled at me, his eyes practically twinkling. My heart did a little patter-pat at that smile. And there's baguette to go with it." He pointed at a long narrow loaf of fresh bread in front of me.

I cut myself a slice, and it was still warm. It smelled heavenly. I breathed it in. Wow, Aid. You didn't bake this yourself, did you?

He nodded as he finished serving.

As I took my plate, I was growing suspicious--in the nicest way, of course. He didn't usually get quite so elaborate. Was he trying to get me to do something I didn't want to do?

Trevor poked his stew with a spoon.

For my part, I immediately ate some. Mmm. Beans, spices, onion, garlic and pork. Yummy.

Zach tried it, and he looked a little surprised. Wow. This is good, Dad.

Aidan dipped his head and made a flourish with his hand as he started eating.

We were all quiet for a few moments as we enjoyed our dinner.

When I came up for breath, I said, Is there something you'd like to ask me, Aidan?

He froze for an instant and then held up his hands. Before you say no immediately, hear me out.

I nodded. Okay.

I think we should take a little Valentine's getaway, just the two of us, Aidan said. We need it after the difficult year we just had.

He meant when me and the boys discovered we had a superpower and then went on the run from nefarious government forces who wanted to capture us to experiment on us. We basically had the ability to counteract gravity.

He continued. I made a reservation for a few days--including Valentine's--at a cozy little ski-in ski-out place in the mountains, with a hot tub and a fireplace in the room.

His plan sounded lovely. It sounded wonderful. But there were a lot of logistical issues to solve. "What about the boys? We can't leave them alone. And you want me to take