"It was pleasant," I said, feeling my face grow warm with the memory of last night's lovemaking."It was pleasant," I said, feeling my face grow warm with the memory of last night's lovemaking. "We went to bed early." Susan nodded. "Happy new year, Nyss," she said. Why do I feel uncomfortable with her? I've never been able to figure this out. I feel like something is expected of me whenever I'm near her, but I can't figure out what it is. "Susan?" I asked, remember the question I had earlier. "Does Richard ever drool?" "All over me," she said, smiling. "When he's not tinkering." "In his sleep?" "Yes, he does. Why?" "Oh, nothing," I said. "I just saw Ken doing it again today and I was wondering if it was just him, or are most men like that?" "Most men are like that." I wondered how she knew. As far as I knew, she and Dick had been monogamous all their lives. I laughed quietly, and then, on impulse, leaned over to kiss her cheek. She didn't flinch, but as I eased back she touched her cheek gently where I'd kissed her. It was getting warmer in here, and it wasn't just the fire that was growing behind us. "P'nyssa," she said quietly. "I've got a small confession to make. Dick and I were married 246 years ago. In all that time, there are only two men I've ever made love to. Dick, and Ken, and Ken only once. And Ken because-" "Susan," I interrupted, "You don't have to explain to me why you and Ken made love that one afternoon on Hyzen. I dragged Dick aside, remember?" "But I do," she said, "Because I have to explain it to me. I was never one to be 'faithful'; Dick and I were always the 'think for ourselves' kind of folks, even for our thirty years of marriage back on Earth. It's not even that we believed in monogamy, because we didn't. I just never wanted to sleep with anyone except Dick. He fulfilled my life, he fulfills my life. "I suppose I can excuse it by saying we were helping a rather depressed Ken and an equally depressed P'nyssa, but that's not the case. You two were moping about Hyzen like wounded doves, and Dick and I figured that taking you two aside was the best way to assure you two that we still loved you, even if you were both being completely asinine the night before. "Nyss, I've been married for 246 years; I'm sleeping with my childhood sweetheart. |