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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9b54726 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #65347 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65347) diff --git a/old/65347-0.txt b/old/65347-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 3649baf..0000000 --- a/old/65347-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1766 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of I'll See You In My Dreams, by William -Campbell Gault - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: I'll See You In My Dreams - -Author: William Campbell Gault - -Release Date: May 15, 2021 [eBook #65347] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS *** - - - - - I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS - - By William Campbell Gault - - Ted really loved his wife, but somehow - the blonde next door kept popping into his - dreams--and making them a vivid reality.... - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy - September 1951 - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -_El outer-thought, "I've had all I want of it, haven't you?"_ - -_Nothing from Bee for seconds, and then: "I--don't know. I suppose. -You've been inner-thinking, El. You've been brooding?"_ - -_"I've been brooding. When did our bodies go, Bee?"_ - -_"When Lust was killed. I think we made a mistake, El. I think, at the -time, we were bemused. He wasn't the best of the gods, but he had his -points. We've been inner-thinking alike, dear. This plane isn't enough. -But what--" Silence._ - -_She thought, "Over the hills? This isn't all of our land. There are -people in Valdora."_ - -_"Not--the kind of people I want to be. And how about the others, how -about the Assembly? Will they feel as we do?"_ - -_"Why not? Don't they miss the colors they can't see, the grass they -can't smell, the streams they can't hear? Weren't they human, too, -once?"_ - -_"They were. And perhaps they think as we do. But they won't project -anyone to Valdora. We don't want any part of that town. However, dear, -I'll bring it up. If I had a belly, I'd have a bellyful of this."_ - -_In the glade they couldn't see, above the stream they couldn't hear, -the Assembly met._ - -_"New business?" the Peak thought._ - -_"I've some," Bee thought. "It's--it may be mutiny."_ - -_"We'll listen," Peak answered. "Speaking for myself, and myself alone, -I'm ready to listen to mutiny. So long as it doesn't involve Valdora. -I wouldn't be surprised if the others agree. Could it concern the -resurrection of a minor god who grew major?"_ - -_"Lust," Bee agreed. "I want a body."_ - -_Peak was silent as the affirmative thoughts poured in from the entire -assembly. Then Peak thought, "I'm sure we won't need a vote on that. -And_ how _would we resurrect Lust?"_ - -_"Not by importing Valdorans," Bee answered._ - -_"Nor Velugians," someone thought._ - -_"Nor any of the others," Peak summed up for them. "So--...."_ - -_The scientist Lern thought, "Is this the only planet in the galaxy? -Why confine our thinking?"_ - -_"Not that bloody Mars," Peak thought. "I'll veto that, every time."_ - -_"Earth?" Bee suggested. "What's wrong with Earth?"_ - -_Ha thought, "It would take too long to answer that one. From what I've -heard of it, they're less ardent than arduous. How many lovers have -they developed? Major league lovers, that is."_ - -_Bee protested, "One could be developed. The material's there, and the -planet's attainable. I say let's project one of us in some innocent -guise, some animal who talks the language."_ - -_"But who'd volunteer?" Lern wanted to know._ - -_"No volunteers," Peak decided. "Ha will go, to improve his education. -What he doesn't know about Earth needs knowing."_ - -_Lern thought, "How can we keep him minor, if we resurrect him? This -Lust has a terrible appetite."_ - -_"That," answered Peak, "will be your job. You'll have to think of -something that will keep his weight and power constant."_ - -_Ha was doing no outer-thinking; Ha was inner-thinking about Earth, and -bodies._ - - * * * * * - -Ted Truesdale was sitting on the back porch, supposedly enjoying the -sun. He was, in reality, enjoying the view. The blonde who'd bought the -house directly behind them, and considerably below them, was out on her -patio. - -She _was_ enjoying the sun. She wore a skimpy halter and a pair of -shorts that were. She was well oiled and lying on her stomach. The tan -of her shoulders and along the back of her legs was a fine wheat brown -and she was due to turn over. - -Ted was not lascivious, though Ann Truesdale had frequently stated he -almost was. Ted, to put it honestly, was thirty-nine and worrying about -the forties. It didn't seem logical that he would feel any different -at forty than he had at thirty-nine. He'd noticed no change between -thirty-nine and sixteen; he was a healthy man. - -But there were so many stories about the forties--and the fifties -followed them so closely. - -Now, the blonde was about to turn over. She had one hand, palm -downward, on the blanket beneath her and-- - -And from the doorway, Ann Truesdale said, "Theodore Truesdale, you -licentious old man. I never realized why you sat out--" - -He turned to face his wife. His voice was a model of outraged -innocence. "For heaven's sake, Ann--" - -She sighed, staring at him. She was small and dark and well put -together, and didn't look at all like a woman who could devote every -conscious hour to the house. But she was. - -"Ogling," she said. - -"Oh, Ann--you'd think I was--" He shook his head. - -"You are. Infidelity can be mental, I read somewhere." - -"You _read_?" - -"Don't be superior. I was looking up a recipe in Maitland's magazine, -I think, and I saw the picture of this man staring, as you just were, -and--" - -"You've answered my question," he interrupted. "Ann, I love _you_." - -"Well, that's a strange way to show it, I must say, just eating that -divorcee with your eyes. You should have a job, something to do. You've -too much energy to just sit around like this, Ted." - -Ted sighed. At thirty-nine, he had retired. At sixteen, he'd thought he -was the new Bellows, having facility with a brush and being no slouch -with the horsehide. The St. Paul Saints had shattered the baseball -dream, and Ted's own objective self appraisal had killed the Bellows -hope. - - * * * * * - -He had turned to commercial art and had done extremely well from the -start. At thirty-nine, he'd retired. - -Now, he said, "I've been thinking of going to work." - -"Painting again? Ted, really?" - -"Not painting. I loathe painting. That's one reason I retired. Maybe -I'll buy a cheap ball club." - -"Ted," she said despairingly, "what's wrong with _work_?" She came over -to take the deck chair next to his. - -"Nothing," he said. "Unless it gets to be a disease. From the time I -was sixteen until I was thirty-eight, I worked like three men. That's -twenty-two years a man, and I've forty-four years of rest due me. If -I'm alive, at eighty-three, I'll go back to work." - -"Nobody," she said wearily, "can ever get any sense out of you." She -looked down at the patio below. "Do you really think she's pretty, Ted?" - -The blonde was now on her back. - -"She has a fair figure. I haven't seen much of her face." - -"I suppose," Ann said hesitantly, "I've failed you, somewhere." - -"Well," Ted began. - -But Ann rose hastily. "Heavens, I forgot I had soup on the stove." The -screen door slammed behind her. - -His eyes went to the blonde, moved away, came back. - -"Dreams, that's all you've got!" - -Ted looked at the doorway, but it was vacant. He looked down at the -patio below, but the blonde was quiescent. Besides, the voice had been -closer. - -And there was _nobody_ in view. There was one small, scrubby squirrel -looking at him from the base of the nutmeg tree. Squirrels don't talk. - -Through the screen, Ted heard dimly the movements of Ann in the -kitchen, and below, the blonde had her eyes closed. Nobody, nobody, -nobody.... - -He said, "What do you mean, dreams?" and watched the squirrel closely. - -"Don't be stupid," the voice said. The squirrel hadn't opened its mouth. - -Ted rose, and looked through the screen door, but Ann was still in the -kitchen, her back to him. Down on her patio, the blonde didn't stir. - -Ted said, "I'll be damned." - -"You're all damned," the voice said, "damned by your loyalties. Clean -living is killing you. But you can dream." - -Ted looked at the squirrel, who was looking at him. Ted sat down again -in the deck chair. He asked, "What good's a dream?" - -"What good's reality?" No movement of the squirrel's mouth, but a -certain intentness in its gaze. "And how can you tell which is the -dream? How will you ever know? How much do you know, anyway?" - -"More than a squirrel. You don't even know how far it is from home -plate to first base." - -"Ninety feet. How far is it to Mars, Brain?" - -"Thirty-five million miles--and more." - -A silence. The squirrel walked around the base of the tree and came -into view on the other side. It moved cautiously toward the porch, its -bushy tail alert as a guidon. About halfway between the porch and the -tree, it paused, sitting up on its haunches. - -"Thirty-five million miles to Mars. Close your eyes, Truesdale!" - - * * * * * - -Ted obediently closed his eyes and saw a film of red. It could have -been the sun through his eye-lids! Then the redness faded and against a -pink background a figure appeared. - -It was the figure of a bearded, three-armed man, nailing some boards on -what appeared to be a sluice. Beyond and above the bent figure, a green -mountain towered, its peak topped with a polar cap. At the horizon end -of the sluice, water was visible, flowing this way. - -The man was big, with an enormous chest. Ted's own chest gasped for -oxygen, and he had a sense of lightness, physical lightness. - -The man drove in the last nail, and sat on a hummock, above the -sluice, watching the water slowly work his way. Then he reached into a -container at his side and pulled out-- - -Pulled out what could be nothing other than a skinned rat. Ted gagged, -and the man looked up. He had a knife in one of his other hands now. - -"Lunch?" - -"Not a rat. I'll be hanged if I'll eat a rat." - -"Who in the world asked you to eat a rat?" - -Ted opened his eyes to see his wife standing in the doorway. He smiled -at her, and turned to look at the squirrel. The squirrel was just -disappearing up the nutmeg tree. - -"I was dreaming," Ted said to his wife. - -"And talking in your sleep." - -"Was I?" He rose. - -They went in to lunch. - -It was probably an excellent meal; all of Ann's were. Ted didn't -remember eating it; he kept seeing that pink background and the man -with the rat. Mars? Undoubtedly. A dream? Well.... - -"That squirrel--" Mrs. Truesdale said. - -"Squirrel?" Ted looked up hastily. - -"He watches me dress. I've seen him, at the window. The one in the back -yard, this morning." - -"Pull the shade," Ted suggested. - -"For a squirrel? Wouldn't I feel silly? It's so--so old maidish." - -"That it is," Ted agreed. "I'll give it some thought this afternoon. -Maybe something will come to me." - -"Don't strain yourself dear," Ann said. "Didn't you get enough rest -this morning?" - -"I wasn't resting," Ted told her. "I was considering various -investments in my mind. There are a lot of arguments against buying a -ball club, all right. It's a headache." - -Ann shook her head. Then, "The Garden Club meets this afternoon. You -won't be needing the car?" - -"Not today. Do you remember our honeymoon, Ann? Remember Honolulu?" - -"How could I ever forget it, Ted?" Her eyes were reminiscent. "Those -flowers, those beautiful hibiscus and--" - -Ted poured another cup of coffee. - - * * * * * - -When Ann had left, and he went back to the porch, the blonde was just -coming through the sliding glass door that led from her living room to -the patio. The squirrel wasn't in sight. - -The blonde looked up his way, and Ted smiled. He doubted if she could -see a smile, at this distance, but it seemed presumptuous to wave. - -Did she smile in return? He thought she did. - -He sat down in the deck chair, and gave two minutes of thought to -possible investments entailing a daily job. None appeared desirable. - -At the age of twenty-two, before he became inured to them, Ted had been -in love with a model. It had been a warm, bright, ecstatic affair, -though it had ended with mutual relief. Since that time, there had been -only Ann. And she'd been enough, at first. Before the home and garden -obsession had engulfed her. - -Now, Ted told himself, _I'm not an unreasonable man. I am a romantic, -admittedly, and full of latent energy, but I have no natural Tom-cat -inclinations._ - -The blonde was reading. Looked like a novel, though it could have been -a cook book or a text on hooked rugs. Probably a novel of romance. -Her shoulders were bare and finely moulded, her chin line clean. He -wondered about the color of her eyes. - -From the other side of the nutmeg tree, the scrubby squirrel again came -into view. At the base of the tree, it stood for a moment with its back -to Ted, looking down at the blonde. - -Then it turned and came over to inspect a weather-beaten golf ball near -the sprinkler. Ted watched it closely. - -"Well, traveler, what did you think of Mars?" - -"Didn't see much of it," Ted answered. - -"There's not much to see. Was that a dream?" - -"Wasn't it?" - -"Couldn't get your breath, could you? You _know_ you were there, don't -you?" - -"No." - -The squirrel sat down. "Difficult, aren't you? Why should I bother?" - -Ted said nothing. - -"She's a beautiful girl. Can't see why her husband would leave her." - -Ted asked, "Who's a beautiful girl?" - -The squirrel went over to nose the golf ball, again. - -"I asked a question," Ted said. - -The squirrel sat up, looking at the nutmeg tree. "Look, Mr. Truesdale, -we've got to have a meeting of minds. You know who's a beautiful girl, -and so do I. Good gosh, you've been sitting there, drooling, all -morning. And now you're back for more." The bright black eyes turned -Ted's way. "Don't be so conventional. That's what kept you from being a -first rate artist." - -Ted was silent. - -"Do we do business? Or don't we?" - -Ted said, "How can you talk without opening your mouth?" - -"Talk? Squirrels can't talk, you fool." - -"Well, how can you make yourself heard, then?" - -"Do you have to pry, Truesdale? You're getting a break, as it is. Do -you have to know _everything_?" - - * * * * * - -Ted looked at his hands, and at the nutmeg tree. And back at the -squirrel. A thirty-nine year old retired artist, sitting in the sun and -talking to himself. What a jerk he was getting to be. - -"Okay, I've been wrong before." The squirrel started for the tree. - -"Wait!" Ted almost shouted. - -From below, the blonde glanced his way, and he realized his voice had -carried that far. - -The squirrel waited; the blonde went back to her book. - -"What," Ted asked hesitantly, "did you mean about doing business?" - -"You and the blonde. Don't tell me you wouldn't like to get to know -her." - -Ted squirmed in his chair. "I--well, she's certainly lovely." - -"Sure. I'll go down and sound her out. I'll keep in touch, Truesdale." - -The squirrel went down the hill and hopped on the low, red brick wall -that bordered the patio. The blonde looked up from her reading. - -Was _she_ talking to the squirrel? Her lips were moving. - -Then she rose, and went into the house. When she came out again, she -put some nuts on the low brick wall. And went back to her reading. - -Ted watched for signs of further dialogue, but there were none. The -squirrel came up the hill, the nuts bulging its cheeks. It didn't even -glance at Ted as it went up the trunk of the tree. - -The sun moved behind a cloud and a faint breeze came up from the -west. Ted felt drowsy, but he kept his eyes open, waiting for the -reappearance of the squirrel. - -Nothing happened. Occasionally, the blonde would turn a page, but -that was all. Ted went in and mixed himself a drink. Then he put some -records on the record player and sat near the huge empty fireplace in -the living room. - -Why wasn't he happy? Fine home, fine view, money in the bank, neat, -pretty wife, no job to fret about, nothing to do but improve his mind. - -_Nuts_, he told himself. _Nothing to do but covet blondes, you mean. -Don't give me that malarkey about improving your mind._ - -He rose, in protest, and picked out a volume of Spinoza from the -shelves flanking the fireplace. He stayed with it for seven full -minutes, and then mixed another drink. - -At four-thirty, he was dozing in the leather chair in his study when -Ann came in. - -"You should see Dora's delphiniums," Ann said. - -"Should I? How do you know I haven't?" - -"Ted, you've been drinking." Her voice was not sharp, but soft, her -attitude maternal. - -"A little. I'd like some more. Why don't we go out to dinner, some -place where we can dance?" - -"Tonight? Have you forgotten the Drews are coming over?" - -"I've been trying to. Couldn't you phone them?" - -"Ted." She made two syllables out of it. She looked at him quietly. "Do -they bore you terribly?" - -"They do." - -"And do I?" - -"No. You should, but you don't. You've still a potential. Well, if the -Drews are coming, I'd better shave." - -She was looking at him thoughtfully as he left the room. - - * * * * * - -_Peak outer-thought, "Well, Ha, what do you think of Earthians?"_ - -_"They're like us," Ha thought wonderingly, "except for that stuff -growing on them."_ - -_"Hair," Peak explained. "They haven't our cloud blanket, and their -climate is ridiculous. You've--been gone some time."_ - -_"Had to case a lot of spots. I guess I've a fine prospect. I'm working -on him. Having eyes was--wonderful again. But I had that--that hair on -me, too."_ - -_"You'll get used to it. Ha, no mix-ups, now. We're all counting on -you."_ - -_"It's a cinch."_ - - * * * * * - -For a certain class of people, Eben Drews would undoubtedly make -a fascinating conversationalist. For that class of people who are -engrossed in the elimination of aphids or the control of slugs. It was -a class that lived without Ted. - -Ted kept his eyes on Eben's face and managed a "What do you know about -that?" at the proper intervals, but his mind was on the squirrel and -the blonde. And the dream. Which was the dream? Here, listening to the -Drews monologue or this morning, on Mars? - -He had a strange feeling, as the monotone droned on and on, as the -background of Ann and Mrs. Drews' voice seemed to swell and dim, that -this was the dream. - -As they were undressing, in the room between their bedrooms, later that -evening, Ann said, "It won't happen again, honey. I see what you mean." - -"Don't tell me they bored you, too?" - -"A little. And _I'm_ interested in gardening. Ted--" She seemed to be -blushing. - -"Yes?" In wonder and hope, he gazed at her. - -"Ted, I'll try to read--and--widen my interests. I'll be better." - -Something warm grew in him. - -"If you'll get a job." - -The warmth receded. "Blackmail. Ann, you're incurable." He turned, and -stalked off to his own bedroom. There, he sat on the bed and stared -moodily at the wall, wondering about marriage. - -When the light was out, he stood by his window a few seconds, looking -down at the house below. All the windows were dark. - -He was annoyed and frustrated and not a bit tired. But he was asleep -five minutes after he hit the pillow. Just before he fell off, he -thought he heard a scratching at the window. - -There was an opalescent glow which seemed to come from the solid cloud -barrier above. There was grass and a slope leading down to the stream. -There was no sense of wonder in Ted. - -Beyond the hills to his left, there seemed to be a darker area, as -though there were cities there, and their resultant smog. But this -was--pastoral, peaceful and still invigorating. - -Willows bordered the stream and along the bend there were trees which -resembled cottonwoods, though the bark was darker. Ted breathed easily, -and there was no change in his weight he could notice. - -Then, in a glade, surrounded by the willows, he saw the blonde. The sun -was not visible; there was just the pearly glow. But she was sunning -herself. - - * * * * * - -If it was a dream, his senses were with him. He could feel the strong -grass underfoot, smell the rich growth, hear the blood pounding in his -temples. He walked down the hill toward the blonde. - -He pushed through the willows and came into the glade, and saw her -quick smile of recognition. - -He smiled in return. "I won't believe it in the morning." He sat on the -grass beside her. "Is it Venus?" - -"Where else?" Her face was finely modeled with faintly discernible -cheek bones and a smooth jaw line. "The lover's planet, hidden from the -universe by its atmosphere. Hamilton's work, I'll wager." - -"Hamilton?" - -"You know him, our friend from the nutmeg tree. He arranged it, didn't -he?" - -"I suppose. He--or destiny. I shouldn't be here, really. Because I do -love my wife, in a lot of ways, but--" - -"_Please_ don't say she doesn't understand you. She probably does. Most -wives do." - -"Well, yes. What I was going to say is that she isn't in sympathy with -certain views I hold, and--" - -"Do we have to rationalize? You wanted to be with me, and you are. -You're with me, and we're alone. Unless you've brought your conscience?" - -"Darling," he said "I'm an artist." - -Her face was close now, her lips slightly parted. Her arms trembled -around his neck. Her lips were warm and soft and seeking.... - -The opalescence grew to a soft brilliance, growing and ebbing, ebbing -finally to a languid dusk. The smell of grass was like a violet mist -and the willows sighed in envy. - -"Aren't you ever going to get up, Ted?" - -He looked up sleepily to see his wife standing in the doorway. Her dark -hair was high off her neck and her pert face was freshly scrubbed. She -wore a red, tailored dressing robe. - -He said, "Red brings you to life, Ann. You should wear it oftener." - -"Thank you. Buckwheat cakes and Canadian bacon, sleepy head." She came -over to sit on the edge of his bed. "Ted--I probably worded that badly -last night about the job, but--" - -"But let's not talk about it before breakfast," he said quickly. "I'll -be down in a few minutes." - -"All right." She rose, and her voice changed. "All _right_." Her back -was stiff, as she marched out. - -In his bathroom, Ted studied himself in the mirror. His eyes were -shadowed, his face wan. "You dog," he told his image, and smiled. - - * * * * * - -_El thought, "I wonder if Ha's had any success. I don't trust him, for -some reason, dear."_ - -_"Ha's all right," Bee thought. "Inclined to whimsey, but generally -sound. And he wants a body as badly as we do. But only Lust can give -us one."_ - -_"We gave Ha a body. We projected him successfully."_ - -_"On Earth, Darling, you don't want to live on Earth."_ - -_"Why?"_ - -_"It's all city, like Valdora and Velugia. They have no lover's county, -like this. Would you like that, dearest?"_ - -_"No, no, no. We'll have to rely on Ha. I wonder what he's done."_ - -_"Working. And another thing, dearest, I wouldn't want you in any body -but the one I loved."_ - -_"Sweet."_ - -_"Beloved."_ - - * * * * * - -Across the breakfast table, Ann's level scrutiny was annoying. Ted -concentrated on the cakes and bacon. - -He was just lighting a cigarette to go with his second cup of coffee, -when he said, "What's the matter with you, this morning?" - -The cigarette trembled very little. "Matter?" - -"You seem so--oh, it would sound silly." - -"Let's have it, anyway." - -"So--sort of--_guilty_." - -He picked up the cigarette before it burned the cloth. "What kind -of--Well, I like that. Of all the silly observations!" He shook his -head vexedly. - -"Ted, why don't you look at me? Ted, you _did_ go right to bed, last -night?" - -He looked at her, his chin tilted pugnaciously. "No, I went to Venus -and met a blonde. Of course I went to bed." - -"Well, what are you so nervous about? Heavens, it wasn't that little -spat we had, or _you_ had, rather, about your going to work?" - -"No, no, no. You're imagining things, Ann." - -"Look at your hand. Look how it's trembling. Ted--what is the matter?" - -"Nothing. I had a dream. Ann, I don't want to talk about it." - -"Drinking," she said. "It's those drinks you had, yesterday, I'll bet. -You're just not a drinking man, Theodore Truesdale, and you're too old -to begin." - -"I'm _not_ old. You know I'm not old. You wish I were, but I'm not. Do -we always have to quarrel?" - -She didn't answer. Her lips quavered, but she didn't cry. She rose and -carried a few dishes to the sink. - -Ted went out to the porch with his coffee and cigarette. The view was -unpopulated. Conscience, he told himself. My annoyance is an indication -of it. Why should my conscience bother me because of a dream? Who can -stop a dream? - -There was a scratching sound from the other side of the nutmeg tree and -the inverted head of Hamilton appeared about ten feet above the tree's -base. - -"You don't look happy." - -Ted didn't answer. - -Hamilton came down the remaining ten feet and went over to look at the -geraniums. "Fine gardener, your wife." - -Ted ignored him. - -"Good looking, too. Maybe she could dye her hair." - -No words from Ted. - -Hamilton looked down at the house below, and back at Ted. "Don't blame -me for that Venus trip, Truesdale. You wanted it, but bad." - -"I'm not blaming anybody for anything," Ted said. "Just because I had a -dream." - -"Dream? Why don't you go down and ask her if she had the same dream? -What a man won't say to clear his conscience! Let go, Truesdale, enjoy -yourself." - - * * * * * - -Below, the blonde came out onto her patio. She was wearing white shorts -and halter today. She looked Ted's way for seconds--and then waved. - -Ted waved back. - -"Beautiful morning," she called, and Ted answered, "It certainly is." - -She picked up a book from the low table near her chaise lounge and -settled. - -Hamilton was sniffing the ice plant on the slope. "If the neighbors -only knew--" - -"There's nothing to know. She'd be less than human if she didn't say -'hello' after seeing me day after day." - -"Not to mention one night." - -"Oh, cut it out, drop it." - -His wife appeared in the doorway. "Who in the world are you talking to?" - -"Myself." He looked at her bleakly. "More quarreling about a job?" - -"No." She came out onto the porch and settled in the chair beside him. -"Ted, there's the squirrel. That's the one who's afflicted with--with -voyeurism." - -"Oh, Ann, for goodness sake." - -"His nest is right up there, in the nutmeg tree. Ted, I want you to -destroy it." - -"Don't be childish." - -"I'm not being childish. They eat young bark and buds and birds' eggs. -They're evil things, Ted." - -"I think they're cute." - -"Cute. Without the tail, they're just another rat. How some people can -eat them is beyond me." - -The pinkness and the sluice and the three-armed man with the enormous -chest seemed to swim, for a moment, in Ted's memory. Hamilton went -scurrying up the nutmeg tree. - -"The little devil," Ann said. - -Little devil? The devil, maybe? No, not Hamilton. Ted said, "No club -meeting today? No garden, home, cooking, household management or -knitting circle shindigs?" - -"Not a one." - -"Why don't we drive up the coast and eat out, tonight?" - -"I'd love to, Ted. But I really have to finish that petit point for -Dora's anniversary. I shouldn't be sitting here now, without it." - -"You look very good without it. We could stop at _Sweeney's_." - -_Sweeney's_ had the finest sea food west of New Orleans. And the -immortal Sweeney, himself, behind the bar. - -"Don't tempt me," Ann said, and rose. "Why don't you drive up the -coast? You're restless." - -"Maybe I will," he said. He tried to make it sound like an accusation, -but it came out a flat, dull statement. - - * * * * * - -After she'd gone into the house, he sat for a while, considering the -blonde. He didn't even know her name, and still he.... Well, why should -he know her name? There wasn't much of her visible now; she had the -raised section of the chaise lounge turned his way. - -Hamilton was nowhere in sight. - -He rose, after awhile, and went along the walk to the garage. He -climbed into the convertible, started the motor, and unhooked the top, -pressing the button to lower it. - -Driving out into the sunlight, he reflected this was just pique; he -wasn't going to enjoy it, alone. A man, he ruminated, might as well be -single. - -He drove along the winding coast road above Ynez Junction and parked -there, with the whole, curving, hilly coast line spread out below him. -The water was blue and calm with just a fringe of white where it lapped -the beach. - -It was a clear day, and he could see Venus plainly. He thought of last -night and tried to make it a dream, a product of his wishful thinking, -as were the dialogues with Hamilton. - -Sitting around, going simple, that's what he'd been doing. Talking -squirrels and trysts on Venus and a quick trip to Mars. Punchy, that's -all. The devil finds things for idle hands to.... - -No, it wasn't that; it was just day-dreaming. The devil had no part of -this business. Nor had his idleness. A peeping-Tom, Hamilton might be, -but no devil. - - * * * * * - -_"I think I can see," Peak thought! "Not much, but a dim mist. Lern, -are you listening?"_ - -_"I'm listening. I guess Ha is working, all right. He's going to work -on some others, too."_ - -_Peak outer-thought, "Have you considered our big problem, to keep Lust -minor?"_ - -_"I believe I have it licked. It's an Earthian custom I've been -studying, and it surely keeps its adherents in line. Lust wouldn't grow -much under it."_ - -_"A custom?"_ - -_"Marriage of course. How do you feel about it?"_ - -_"It's--a desperate measure. It's a--"_ - -_"A desperate problem," Lern interposed. "True love can survive it, I'm -sure. We don't want a repetition of the situation that forced us to -kill Lust--and lose our bodies. Of course, yours is the final word."_ - -_"It--well, we'll try it. I just hope Ha keeps working. It would be -just like that whimsical imp to get us half materialized and then leave -us."_ - -_"Or what if something should happen to him, his spirit killed in some -way?"_ - -_"We won't even inner-think that."_ - - * * * * * - -Ted drove down the curving, back rocky road to _Sweeney's_. It was a -low-roofed building of cedar shakes, with an open air dining room on -piles above the water of the cove. - -Ted stayed in the bar. He had French-fried shrimp and garlic bread and -beer. And after that, some whiskey. And after that, some dialogue with -Sweeney regarding the respective merits of Shahn and Albright. Ted knew -very little about either of them, but Sweeney knew less so it was a -satisfying discussion. - -He drove home in a mood. He was remembering the Honolulu days with -Ann, and the days and nights before that. What they'd had, they'd find -again. There was a solution to it all, and not on Venus. - -He came home to find a note on the kitchen table: - -_Henri's in town and he insisted I visit the Blairs with him. He's just -done over their place. Don't wait up._ - -Henri was elegantly thin and fairly tall. An interior decorator with a -modern bent. He'd done the Truesdale place three times. - -If it were anyone but Ann, I'd be jealous, Ted thought. As it was, he -felt only a grating annoyance. He poured a king-sized jolt of bourbon, -added a trace of water and went into the study. - -He didn't turn on the light. He sat in the dark and sipped the -bourbon--and fell asleep.... - -The blonde had her hair up and was wearing a red jacket above a white -flannel skirt. Her smile was the same as last night's, and possibly a -shade warmer. - -"How did you know I'd come?" he asked. - -"I didn't, but a girl can hope. Bad day?" - -"Oh--unsatisfactory. And yours?" - -"Barren. Your wife's out to get Hamilton, isn't she?" - -"I guess." - -"Does she--suspect about us?" - -"No." A pause, and, "Why did your husband leave you?" - -"He didn't. I left him. Engineer, lived by the slide rule. Are you -going to leave your wife?" - -He didn't answer that. He pulled her close and buried his face in the -bright hair. The violet mists and the smell of grass and the envious -sigh of the willows. Why couldn't all life be like this?... - -When he woke, again, dawn was coming through the study window. He rose -wearily and stood near the glass door that led to the rear yard. On -the wet grass, the morning quietness lay like a blanket. In the house -below, he saw the shadowed, stretching figure of a woman behind a drawn -shade. She, too, was awake. - -Coincidence? And the rest an illusion? He'd always been more or less -conventional; it was difficult to accept the super-conventional without -reserve or rationalization. - - * * * * * - -He climbed the stairs quietly, avoiding the fifth, which squeaked. -In the bathroom, he studied his stubbled face as though it were the -face of a stranger. Then he went into the bedroom and rumpled the bed -clothes. - -She'd never believe he slept in the study; she'd never believe he'd -been to Venus. For a moment he stood there, looking at the rumpled bed. - -Then he went quietly through the dressing room and into her room. - -She lay partially on her back, partially on her left side, her dark -hair like ink against the clean white pillow, one slender tanned arm -flung along the pillow's upper edge, her other arm bent, her cheek -resting against the back of that hand. - -There was just the breath of a smile on her full lips. What did -she dream of, his Ann? Of porridge and pottery and poinsettias? Of -schedules, menus, rotary floor waxers and blight elimination? Or didn't -she dream, at all? - -Wasn't there, somewhere, a dream they could share? - -Her eyes opened, and she said, "Good morning. Just getting in?" - -He shook his head. "I slept in the study. I rumpled the bed clothes in -my room, but I really slept in the study." - -"And why did you rumple the bed clothes?" She was awake and aware; it -was one of her many attributes that she was bright from the opening of -her eyes in the morning. - -He said carefully, "I rumpled the bed clothes because I didn't think -you'd believe I slept in the study. I thought you'd think I was out -chasing blondes, or something." - -She smiled, studying him, saying nothing. - -"How were the Blairs? And how was Henri?" - -"The Blairs are more fun when you're along. Henri tried to kiss me." -Her eyes awaited a reaction to that last. - -"I'd try to kiss you, too, if I were Henri. Didn't you want him to?" - -She frowned. "I--didn't. I don't--think I did. We have so many common -interests and he _is_ handsome. I must be sub-human." - -"Maybe you're in love with me. The common interests would be flowers, -food and interior decoration. If I were a girl, I wouldn't want to be -kissed by a man who gave his life to that." - -"Don't be superior. Henri's a man of many conquests, as any of my -friends will admit when they're drunk. Ted, I don't usually like this -kind of talk. Why am I talking like this?" - -"Maybe you dreamed of Henri." - -"Oh, Ted--" She slid her feet out, and sat up on the edge of the bed. -"Do you think--with us, it was just--animal attraction?" - -"It could have been. You were, and are, an attractive animal. It's -nothing to be ashamed of. Some of the soundest marriages are founded on -it." - -"And maintained?" - -"Founded and maintained. With a minor compromise, here and there. But -no major ones. When are you going to see Henri again?" - -"For lunch, here. And you'd better be home, Theodore Truesdale. I don't -want to be one of those--those, well, one of them." - -"I'll be here, glowering. I suppose, with the super gourmet as guest, -you'll be working on the lunch all morning." - -She shook her head. "I'm giving him hamburgers. It's a sort of test." - -What was the change in her, this morning? Ted sensed it, but couldn't -isolate it. And what had motivated it? Being with Henri? - - * * * * * - -_Peak thought, "I can smell, too, now. Ha, you've brought another -subject up?"_ - -_"I'm going to have to. That Truesdale is getting conscience attacks. -It seems to be an Earth trait. I've got an awful hot wire on the line, -though. He could materialize us fast."_ - -_"Well, get him, get him. Or stir up Truesdale. Maybe you could -alienate him from his wife and he'd spend more time here."_ - -_"I'm doing my best, sir. The situation is--muddled. The wife doesn't -favor me at all."_ - -_"Watch yourself. Be careful."_ - -_"That I will."_ - -_In their glade, Bee outer-thought, "Darling, I can see! Ha didn't -desert us. Sweetheart, Lust is wakening."_ - -_"I can't see, dearest. Are you going to materialize and not I? -Beloved, if--"_ - -_"Calm yourself, darling. You_ ARE _materializing. Not the -senses, yet, perhaps, but I can see one leg of yours, one long, slim, -lovely leg. Oh, beloved one--"_ - -_"This time, we'll be careful. Even if we--what is that word Peak -used?"_ - -_"Marriage. We'll make it work. This isn't Earth."_ - - * * * * * - -Ted took a warm shower and a cool one. He toweled himself vigorously, -and put on shorts and a tee shirt. After breakfast, he would cut the -lawn and clean out the garage and dig up the tulip bulbs. He'd had -enough of sitting. - -He cut the lawn and cleaned out the garage and dug up the tulip beds. -He worked with a devout if subdued fury and was conscious of Ann's -occasional wondering glance from the windows. He finished it all by -ten-thirty. - -He put the spade and lawn mower away, and donned a pair of sneakers. -Then he went out into the backyard and looked up into the branches of -the nutmeg tree. - -He could see the nest, and it was attainable. He stood staring at it, -trying to summon enough moral decision to take the first step. It would -probably mean no more blonde. It.... - -Hamilton peered over the edge of his nest and it seemed to Ted he could -almost see the apprehension in those black eyes. Hamilton scrambled out -and came hurrying down, head first. - -"Now what?" - -"You're evil." - -"_I'm_ evil. Projection, huh? You're kind of mixed up, Truesdale. _I_ -wasn't with the blonde, last night." - -"I'm not ready to believe I was either. But this--this evil can be -mental." - -"Your wife's been talking to you. What about her? What about this -Henri?" - -"What about him? You're treading on dangerous ground, you bushy-tailed -rat." - -"Am I? Henri likes the place. I've been showing it to him. And pointing -out its advantages. No husbands to come home, unexpectedly." Hamilton -paused. "He'll be up there, again. And with _whom_, Truesdale?" - -"Not Ann. She's incorruptible, you devil." - -"Sure, she is. So what are you worried about?" - -From the back porch, Ann said, "Ted, what are you doing?" - -He turned to face her, as did Hamilton. Ted said, "I was going to climb -up and knock down that nest." - -"Oh, forget it. It was a silly whim of mine, anyway. Look at him, Ted. -He seems to be begging you." - -"You don't know him," Ted said. "He fools us all." - -"Oh, Ted, you've had too much sun this morning. Look at those bright, -black eyes. He wants to be friends." - -Hamilton sat up on his haunches, his front paws curled, looking from -one to the other beseechingly. - -Ted saw the quick moisture in Ann's eyes and said, "Well, it's your -decision, then. It's your responsibility." He walked past her and into -the house. - - * * * * * - -He went up to his room. Projection.... The little devil had hit him -with that one. Don't blame yourself, Ted Truesdale. Ann has too many -unimportant interests; Ann's cold. How many lines of communication did -he have to her, other than the physical? Had he tried to find enough -points of intellectual contact? - -When they were first married it was all art with Ann. Because he was an -artist. When she'd discovered he was an artist who knew nothing of art, -that had died. The home, then, and she'd made him a home to be proud -of. Wasn't it the place he spent most of his time, sitting around? But, -with these interests, Ann had grown. While he sat, she'd grown. - -She'd grown beyond bars and dancing and small talk. She didn't realize -it, herself, but she'd grown beyond him. The two bedrooms had been -originally his idea, so he wouldn't waken her if he read late at night. - -And when that wasn't sufficient to kill his yawning hours, he'd tried -to come back along the single, physical line of communication. What -else did he have to offer her? - -He took another shower. He shaved and annointed his hair with perfumed -oil. He wore his newest, trickiest slacks and an open-necked sport -shirt. He'd been told he had an attractive neck. - -Then he went down to lunch. - -In the living room, in Ted's favorite chair near the fireplace, Henri -sat, a drink in his hand. - -Henri rose, a dark, dynamic figure. He said genially, "Well, Ted, old -man, it's been some time." - -"Not long enough for me to be an old man," Ted said. "How goes the -newest campaign, Henri?" - -Henri's smile was bland, his hand-clasp firm. "Slowly. No ill will, I -hope, Ted?" Poise, assurance, the light touch. - -"I'm not as modern as I should be, probably," Ted answered. "Been to -Venus, lately?" - -The drink wobbled in Henri's left hand. The poise, for a moment, was -shattered. "Ven--Venice? In Italy, you mean?" - -"In California. You're trembling, Henri. Your heart?" - -"Heart--?" Blank, oafish stare, the poise scrambling to get back. - -"At our age, we have to watch the ticker," Ted warned him. "What are -you drinking?" - -Henri stared at his nearly-empty glass. "Scotch--I--ah--" - -"Sure thing. I'll have one with you." Ted went over to the liquor -cabinet. - -When he returned, with the pair of drinks, Ann was in the room. Ann -said, "I could use one, myself." - -Some of Henri's poise was back and all of his smile. "Mix her a strong -one, Teddy boy. Build up her resistance." - -Hamburger, Ann had called it, but it was like ambrosia. The talk flowed -around Ted; food, fashion, furniture, flowers. - -Henri was witty and articulate. Ann appreciative and responsive. Ted -present. - -All the things he'd read, and nothing to say. Mann he'd read, and -Joyce. Shakespeare and Spinoza, Emerson, Shelley and.... - -And there was a lull momentarily in the conversation. - -Ted said quickly, "I batted .314 at Houston. That's in the Texas -League." - -Ann stared at him, smiling. Henri stared at him, smirking. They went -back to their discussion. - -What weapons did he have? He sat there while the talk poured over him, -turning into a wrathful midget, hating them both. - -At two, he rose, from the table, "I ... have a golf date. Hate to leave -you two alone." - -"We'll try to get along, old boy," Henri said smilingly. "Keep your eye -on the ball." - -Ann said, "Easy at the nineteenth hole, honey." She lifted her lips for -his kiss. - -They were soft and cool. - -He didn't have a golf date. He didn't want to leave them. But he -couldn't sit there, growing smaller and duller by the minute. He was an -artist and an athlete, not a worm. - - * * * * * - -He drove to the country club, and sat at the bar. Pete Orcutt and -Johnny Devlin came in about three-thirty, and they settled down in the -card room to some canasta. - -Pete said, "Henri's in town. Done the Blair's place for them." - -"I know," Johnny said. "Thank heavens my mate's at the lake. How about -yours, Pete?" - -"In Denver, visiting her mother." - -Ted said evenly, "Henri's sitting at my house, boring my wife to death, -right now. I don't worry about Henri." - -Pete coughed. Johnny studied his hand intently. Neither of them said a -word. - -The game went on. Ted had too many wild cards, or not enough. Nothing -worked. He fed Johnny and got garbage from Pete. He drank and simmered -and watched their scores pile up. - -At five-thirty, he rose and said, "I don't mind losing to you guys, but -you can't expect me to support you." He wrote out two checks. - -"Bad loser," Pete said, winking at Johnny. - -Johnny said, "We'll have to get some golf in, Ted. Give me a ring, any -time. I'm a free man, for two weeks." - -Ted nodded, and left. - -It was six when he got home. There was another note: - - _Irma needed a fourth in a hurry and she sounded so desperate, and - I knew you wouldn't mind. I might be late._ - - _XXX_ - _A_ - -He looked at the x's doubtfully. It wasn't like Ann to add symbolic -kisses. He had enough whiskey in him so that it didn't seem improper to -phone. - -Irma answered. - -"Hello, Irma. Is Ann there?" - -"She is. Checking, Ted?" - -"Of course not," he said stiffly. "May I speak with her, please?" - -Ann's voice. "Nothing wrong, I hope?" - -"Well, is Henri with you?" - -"No. Why--?" - -"Something kind of important's come up, and it's down his alley. Do you -know where he is? What time did he leave here?" - -"He left at two-thirty. Said he had to see the Blairs. Maybe you can -get him there." - -"Thanks, I'll try. Honey--I--ah, have a good game." He hung up. - -Two-thirty. Well, that was all right. Half an hour after Ted had left. -Half an hour, half an hour, half an hour.... He poured a drink. - - * * * * * - -Half an hour, half an hour, half an hour.... He went out onto the -porch. The blonde was on her patio, all dressed up in filmy green. -Another blonde sat in the chair near her, male, with sport jacket and -tanned face, with a drink in his hand. - -Hamilton's work? - -Hamilton came scrambling down the nutmeg tree. "Still hot?" - -"Go away." - -Hamilton looked down at the patio and back at Ted. "Her cousin from -Milwaukee. Henri's making the trip, tonight." - -"For the blonde?" - -"Don't be naive." - -"If you're inferring that my wife, my Ann is going--" - -"I only said Henri's making the trip. Maybe, just in hope. But how in -hell will you ever know? Unless you're there, yourself?" - -"I'm not going anywhere," Ted said. "You can look for another stooge, -Lucifer. I love my wife...." - -For seconds, Hamilton stared at Ted with those beady, black eyes. Then, -"You're serious, aren't you. You're leveling?" - -"I'm serious." - -Hamilton looked at the nutmeg tree. "Oh, Truesdale, if you knew the -story. If you knew what this meant." He started up the tree, and -paused. "Well, there are others, plenty of them." He went quickly up -the rest of the way. - -Ted didn't even glance at the blonde, again, before going back into -the house. He put some Cole Porter on the record player and sat by the -fireplace. - -Honolulu and Houston and _Sweeney's_ and the country club merged in -his mind as the whiskey drowsiness started to creep through him. He -couldn't go to sleep, not before Ann came home. He had some things to -tell her. - -Before _she_ went to sleep. - -Ann, Ann, thirty minutes, Ann, oh beloved darling.... - -The last record finished and shut off the machine. Ted dreamed of -homering in the ninth, against Louisville, with the bases loaded. - -He woke to a black room. Had Ann come in, not seen him in the living -room, and gone to bed? Ann, no. Ann, be awake. Ann, you wouldn't like -Venus--without me. I hope. Ann.... - -He stumbled out into the hall, and looked up the steps. No lights -there, either. He ran up the stairs, whimpering, and through the -dressing room into her room. He snapped on the big overhead light. - -She was asleep. Asleep--and smiling. - -He was shaking her. He was sobbing, burying his wet face in her -shoulder, trembling and incoherent. - -"Ted, baby, what is the matter? What's happened, darling?" - -He told her. Incoherently, but swiftly, holding her tightly all the -while. From the first of Hamilton's words to the last. And finished -with, "I've wanted you so badly, and you seemed so distant. I know -there's no excusing me, but I want you to understand, to know how much -I--" - -He was silent, spent, weak as water. - -She stroked his hair. She said, "Wanting me isn't enough, wasn't -enough. Can't you see that, dearest? A woman must be needed, not -wanted. Darling, everything's going to be all right, now." - -"Ann, I haven't the right to ask. But--did I bring you back from--I -mean, were you on Venus?" - -She put a soft hand on his lips. "Sweetheart, what a horrible question. -I'm your Ann, remember? I'm your darling. And nobody else is going to -come between us. This will be our room, tonight, and all the nights." - - * * * * * - -_The now embodied assembly met above the stream they could hear, in the -glade they could see._ - -_Ha said, "I've a request from Earthians, that Truesdale pair."_ - -_"Request?" Peak said._ - -_"They'd like to spend the weekend, here, all their weekends. He works -the rest of the week, but--"_ - -_"Earthians, here?" Peak interrupted. "I'll be darned if--"_ - -_Ha said, "Remember, if it wasn't for them, we'd still be disembodied. -I think this is a voting matter, Peak."_ - -_"Them? Him, you mean."_ - -_"Oh, no," Ha corrected. "She was here, too, that final night. Twice, -as a matter of fact. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: I'll See You In My Dreams</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: William Campbell Gault</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: May 15, 2021 [eBook #65347]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS ***</div> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS</h1> - -<h2>By William Campbell Gault</h2> - -<p>Ted really loved his wife, but somehow<br /> -the blonde next door kept popping into his<br /> -dreams—and making them a vivid reality....</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy<br /> -September 1951<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><i>El outer-thought, "I've had all I want of it, haven't you?"</i></p> - -<p><i>Nothing from Bee for seconds, and then: "I—don't know. I suppose. -You've been inner-thinking, El. You've been brooding?"</i></p> - -<p><i>"I've been brooding. When did our bodies go, Bee?"</i></p> - -<p><i>"When Lust was killed. I think we made a mistake, El. I think, at the -time, we were bemused. He wasn't the best of the gods, but he had his -points. We've been inner-thinking alike, dear. This plane isn't enough. -But what—" Silence.</i></p> - -<p><i>She thought, "Over the hills? This isn't all of our land. There are -people in Valdora."</i></p> - -<p><i>"Not—the kind of people I want to be. And how about the others, how -about the Assembly? Will they feel as we do?"</i></p> - -<p><i>"Why not? Don't they miss the colors they can't see, the grass they -can't smell, the streams they can't hear? Weren't they human, too, -once?"</i></p> - -<p><i>"They were. And perhaps they think as we do. But they won't project -anyone to Valdora. We don't want any part of that town. However, dear, -I'll bring it up. If I had a belly, I'd have a bellyful of this."</i></p> - -<p><i>In the glade they couldn't see, above the stream they couldn't hear, -the Assembly met.</i></p> - -<p><i>"New business?" the Peak thought.</i></p> - -<p><i>"I've some," Bee thought. "It's—it may be mutiny."</i></p> - -<p><i>"We'll listen," Peak answered. "Speaking for myself, and myself alone, -I'm ready to listen to mutiny. So long as it doesn't involve Valdora. -I wouldn't be surprised if the others agree. Could it concern the -resurrection of a minor god who grew major?"</i></p> - -<p><i>"Lust," Bee agreed. "I want a body."</i></p> - -<p><i>Peak was silent as the affirmative thoughts poured in from the entire -assembly. Then Peak thought, "I'm sure we won't need a vote on that. -And</i> how <i>would we resurrect Lust?"</i></p> - -<p><i>"Not by importing Valdorans," Bee answered.</i></p> - -<p><i>"Nor Velugians," someone thought.</i></p> - -<p><i>"Nor any of the others," Peak summed up for them. "So—...."</i></p> - -<p><i>The scientist Lern thought, "Is this the only planet in the galaxy? -Why confine our thinking?"</i></p> - -<p><i>"Not that bloody Mars," Peak thought. "I'll veto that, every time."</i></p> - -<p><i>"Earth?" Bee suggested. "What's wrong with Earth?"</i></p> - -<p><i>Ha thought, "It would take too long to answer that one. From what I've -heard of it, they're less ardent than arduous. How many lovers have -they developed? Major league lovers, that is."</i></p> - -<p><i>Bee protested, "One could be developed. The material's there, and the -planet's attainable. I say let's project one of us in some innocent -guise, some animal who talks the language."</i></p> - -<p><i>"But who'd volunteer?" Lern wanted to know.</i></p> - -<p><i>"No volunteers," Peak decided. "Ha will go, to improve his education. -What he doesn't know about Earth needs knowing."</i></p> - -<p><i>Lern thought, "How can we keep him minor, if we resurrect him? This -Lust has a terrible appetite."</i></p> - -<p><i>"That," answered Peak, "will be your job. You'll have to think of -something that will keep his weight and power constant."</i></p> - -<p><i>Ha was doing no outer-thinking; Ha was inner-thinking about Earth, and -bodies.</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Ted Truesdale was sitting on the back porch, supposedly enjoying the -sun. He was, in reality, enjoying the view. The blonde who'd bought the -house directly behind them, and considerably below them, was out on her -patio.</p> - -<p>She <i>was</i> enjoying the sun. She wore a skimpy halter and a pair of -shorts that were. She was well oiled and lying on her stomach. The tan -of her shoulders and along the back of her legs was a fine wheat brown -and she was due to turn over.</p> - -<p>Ted was not lascivious, though Ann Truesdale had frequently stated he -almost was. Ted, to put it honestly, was thirty-nine and worrying about -the forties. It didn't seem logical that he would feel any different -at forty than he had at thirty-nine. He'd noticed no change between -thirty-nine and sixteen; he was a healthy man.</p> - -<p>But there were so many stories about the forties—and the fifties -followed them so closely.</p> - -<p>Now, the blonde was about to turn over. She had one hand, palm -downward, on the blanket beneath her and—</p> - -<p>And from the doorway, Ann Truesdale said, "Theodore Truesdale, you -licentious old man. I never realized why you sat out—"</p> - -<p>He turned to face his wife. His voice was a model of outraged -innocence. "For heaven's sake, Ann—"</p> - -<p>She sighed, staring at him. She was small and dark and well put -together, and didn't look at all like a woman who could devote every -conscious hour to the house. But she was.</p> - -<p>"Ogling," she said.</p> - -<p>"Oh, Ann—you'd think I was—" He shook his head.</p> - -<p>"You are. Infidelity can be mental, I read somewhere."</p> - -<p>"You <i>read</i>?"</p> - -<p>"Don't be superior. I was looking up a recipe in Maitland's magazine, -I think, and I saw the picture of this man staring, as you just were, -and—"</p> - -<p>"You've answered my question," he interrupted. "Ann, I love <i>you</i>."</p> - -<p>"Well, that's a strange way to show it, I must say, just eating that -divorcee with your eyes. You should have a job, something to do. You've -too much energy to just sit around like this, Ted."</p> - -<p>Ted sighed. At thirty-nine, he had retired. At sixteen, he'd thought he -was the new Bellows, having facility with a brush and being no slouch -with the horsehide. The St. Paul Saints had shattered the baseball -dream, and Ted's own objective self appraisal had killed the Bellows -hope.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He had turned to commercial art and had done extremely well from the -start. At thirty-nine, he'd retired.</p> - -<p>Now, he said, "I've been thinking of going to work."</p> - -<p>"Painting again? Ted, really?"</p> - -<p>"Not painting. I loathe painting. That's one reason I retired. Maybe -I'll buy a cheap ball club."</p> - -<p>"Ted," she said despairingly, "what's wrong with <i>work</i>?" She came over -to take the deck chair next to his.</p> - -<p>"Nothing," he said. "Unless it gets to be a disease. From the time I -was sixteen until I was thirty-eight, I worked like three men. That's -twenty-two years a man, and I've forty-four years of rest due me. If -I'm alive, at eighty-three, I'll go back to work."</p> - -<p>"Nobody," she said wearily, "can ever get any sense out of you." She -looked down at the patio below. "Do you really think she's pretty, Ted?"</p> - -<p>The blonde was now on her back.</p> - -<p>"She has a fair figure. I haven't seen much of her face."</p> - -<p>"I suppose," Ann said hesitantly, "I've failed you, somewhere."</p> - -<p>"Well," Ted began.</p> - -<p>But Ann rose hastily. "Heavens, I forgot I had soup on the stove." The -screen door slammed behind her.</p> - -<p>His eyes went to the blonde, moved away, came back.</p> - -<p>"Dreams, that's all you've got!"</p> - -<p>Ted looked at the doorway, but it was vacant. He looked down at the -patio below, but the blonde was quiescent. Besides, the voice had been -closer.</p> - -<p>And there was <i>nobody</i> in view. There was one small, scrubby squirrel -looking at him from the base of the nutmeg tree. Squirrels don't talk.</p> - -<p>Through the screen, Ted heard dimly the movements of Ann in the -kitchen, and below, the blonde had her eyes closed. Nobody, nobody, -nobody....</p> - -<p>He said, "What do you mean, dreams?" and watched the squirrel closely.</p> - -<p>"Don't be stupid," the voice said. The squirrel hadn't opened its mouth.</p> - -<p>Ted rose, and looked through the screen door, but Ann was still in the -kitchen, her back to him. Down on her patio, the blonde didn't stir.</p> - -<p>Ted said, "I'll be damned."</p> - -<p>"You're all damned," the voice said, "damned by your loyalties. Clean -living is killing you. But you can dream."</p> - -<p>Ted looked at the squirrel, who was looking at him. Ted sat down again -in the deck chair. He asked, "What good's a dream?"</p> - -<p>"What good's reality?" No movement of the squirrel's mouth, but a -certain intentness in its gaze. "And how can you tell which is the -dream? How will you ever know? How much do you know, anyway?"</p> - -<p>"More than a squirrel. You don't even know how far it is from home -plate to first base."</p> - -<p>"Ninety feet. How far is it to Mars, Brain?"</p> - -<p>"Thirty-five million miles—and more."</p> - -<p>A silence. The squirrel walked around the base of the tree and came -into view on the other side. It moved cautiously toward the porch, its -bushy tail alert as a guidon. About halfway between the porch and the -tree, it paused, sitting up on its haunches.</p> - -<p>"Thirty-five million miles to Mars. Close your eyes, Truesdale!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Ted obediently closed his eyes and saw a film of red. It could have -been the sun through his eye-lids! Then the redness faded and against a -pink background a figure appeared.</p> - -<p>It was the figure of a bearded, three-armed man, nailing some boards on -what appeared to be a sluice. Beyond and above the bent figure, a green -mountain towered, its peak topped with a polar cap. At the horizon end -of the sluice, water was visible, flowing this way.</p> - -<p>The man was big, with an enormous chest. Ted's own chest gasped for -oxygen, and he had a sense of lightness, physical lightness.</p> - -<p>The man drove in the last nail, and sat on a hummock, above the -sluice, watching the water slowly work his way. Then he reached into a -container at his side and pulled out—</p> - -<p>Pulled out what could be nothing other than a skinned rat. Ted gagged, -and the man looked up. He had a knife in one of his other hands now.</p> - -<p>"Lunch?"</p> - -<p>"Not a rat. I'll be hanged if I'll eat a rat."</p> - -<p>"Who in the world asked you to eat a rat?"</p> - -<p>Ted opened his eyes to see his wife standing in the doorway. He smiled -at her, and turned to look at the squirrel. The squirrel was just -disappearing up the nutmeg tree.</p> - -<p>"I was dreaming," Ted said to his wife.</p> - -<p>"And talking in your sleep."</p> - -<p>"Was I?" He rose.</p> - -<p>They went in to lunch.</p> - -<p>It was probably an excellent meal; all of Ann's were. Ted didn't -remember eating it; he kept seeing that pink background and the man -with the rat. Mars? Undoubtedly. A dream? Well....</p> - -<p>"That squirrel—" Mrs. Truesdale said.</p> - -<p>"Squirrel?" Ted looked up hastily.</p> - -<p>"He watches me dress. I've seen him, at the window. The one in the back -yard, this morning."</p> - -<p>"Pull the shade," Ted suggested.</p> - -<p>"For a squirrel? Wouldn't I feel silly? It's so—so old maidish."</p> - -<p>"That it is," Ted agreed. "I'll give it some thought this afternoon. -Maybe something will come to me."</p> - -<p>"Don't strain yourself dear," Ann said. "Didn't you get enough rest -this morning?"</p> - -<p>"I wasn't resting," Ted told her. "I was considering various -investments in my mind. There are a lot of arguments against buying a -ball club, all right. It's a headache."</p> - -<p>Ann shook her head. Then, "The Garden Club meets this afternoon. You -won't be needing the car?"</p> - -<p>"Not today. Do you remember our honeymoon, Ann? Remember Honolulu?"</p> - -<p>"How could I ever forget it, Ted?" Her eyes were reminiscent. "Those -flowers, those beautiful hibiscus and—"</p> - -<p>Ted poured another cup of coffee.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>When Ann had left, and he went back to the porch, the blonde was just -coming through the sliding glass door that led from her living room to -the patio. The squirrel wasn't in sight.</p> - -<p>The blonde looked up his way, and Ted smiled. He doubted if she could -see a smile, at this distance, but it seemed presumptuous to wave.</p> - -<p>Did she smile in return? He thought she did.</p> - -<p>He sat down in the deck chair, and gave two minutes of thought to -possible investments entailing a daily job. None appeared desirable.</p> - -<p>At the age of twenty-two, before he became inured to them, Ted had been -in love with a model. It had been a warm, bright, ecstatic affair, -though it had ended with mutual relief. Since that time, there had been -only Ann. And she'd been enough, at first. Before the home and garden -obsession had engulfed her.</p> - -<p>Now, Ted told himself, <i>I'm not an unreasonable man. I am a romantic, -admittedly, and full of latent energy, but I have no natural Tom-cat -inclinations.</i></p> - -<p>The blonde was reading. Looked like a novel, though it could have been -a cook book or a text on hooked rugs. Probably a novel of romance. -Her shoulders were bare and finely moulded, her chin line clean. He -wondered about the color of her eyes.</p> - -<p>From the other side of the nutmeg tree, the scrubby squirrel again came -into view. At the base of the tree, it stood for a moment with its back -to Ted, looking down at the blonde.</p> - -<p>Then it turned and came over to inspect a weather-beaten golf ball near -the sprinkler. Ted watched it closely.</p> - -<p>"Well, traveler, what did you think of Mars?"</p> - -<p>"Didn't see much of it," Ted answered.</p> - -<p>"There's not much to see. Was that a dream?"</p> - -<p>"Wasn't it?"</p> - -<p>"Couldn't get your breath, could you? You <i>know</i> you were there, don't -you?"</p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>The squirrel sat down. "Difficult, aren't you? Why should I bother?"</p> - -<p>Ted said nothing.</p> - -<p>"She's a beautiful girl. Can't see why her husband would leave her."</p> - -<p>Ted asked, "Who's a beautiful girl?"</p> - -<p>The squirrel went over to nose the golf ball, again.</p> - -<p>"I asked a question," Ted said.</p> - -<p>The squirrel sat up, looking at the nutmeg tree. "Look, Mr. Truesdale, -we've got to have a meeting of minds. You know who's a beautiful girl, -and so do I. Good gosh, you've been sitting there, drooling, all -morning. And now you're back for more." The bright black eyes turned -Ted's way. "Don't be so conventional. That's what kept you from being a -first rate artist."</p> - -<p>Ted was silent.</p> - -<p>"Do we do business? Or don't we?"</p> - -<p>Ted said, "How can you talk without opening your mouth?"</p> - -<p>"Talk? Squirrels can't talk, you fool."</p> - -<p>"Well, how can you make yourself heard, then?"</p> - -<p>"Do you have to pry, Truesdale? You're getting a break, as it is. Do -you have to know <i>everything</i>?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Ted looked at his hands, and at the nutmeg tree. And back at the -squirrel. A thirty-nine year old retired artist, sitting in the sun and -talking to himself. What a jerk he was getting to be.</p> - -<p>"Okay, I've been wrong before." The squirrel started for the tree.</p> - -<p>"Wait!" Ted almost shouted.</p> - -<p>From below, the blonde glanced his way, and he realized his voice had -carried that far.</p> - -<p>The squirrel waited; the blonde went back to her book.</p> - -<p>"What," Ted asked hesitantly, "did you mean about doing business?"</p> - -<p>"You and the blonde. Don't tell me you wouldn't like to get to know -her."</p> - -<p>Ted squirmed in his chair. "I—well, she's certainly lovely."</p> - -<p>"Sure. I'll go down and sound her out. I'll keep in touch, Truesdale."</p> - -<p>The squirrel went down the hill and hopped on the low, red brick wall -that bordered the patio. The blonde looked up from her reading.</p> - -<p>Was <i>she</i> talking to the squirrel? Her lips were moving.</p> - -<p>Then she rose, and went into the house. When she came out again, she -put some nuts on the low brick wall. And went back to her reading.</p> - -<p>Ted watched for signs of further dialogue, but there were none. The -squirrel came up the hill, the nuts bulging its cheeks. It didn't even -glance at Ted as it went up the trunk of the tree.</p> - -<p>The sun moved behind a cloud and a faint breeze came up from the -west. Ted felt drowsy, but he kept his eyes open, waiting for the -reappearance of the squirrel.</p> - -<p>Nothing happened. Occasionally, the blonde would turn a page, but -that was all. Ted went in and mixed himself a drink. Then he put some -records on the record player and sat near the huge empty fireplace in -the living room.</p> - -<p>Why wasn't he happy? Fine home, fine view, money in the bank, neat, -pretty wife, no job to fret about, nothing to do but improve his mind.</p> - -<p><i>Nuts</i>, he told himself. <i>Nothing to do but covet blondes, you mean. -Don't give me that malarkey about improving your mind.</i></p> - -<p>He rose, in protest, and picked out a volume of Spinoza from the -shelves flanking the fireplace. He stayed with it for seven full -minutes, and then mixed another drink.</p> - -<p>At four-thirty, he was dozing in the leather chair in his study when -Ann came in.</p> - -<p>"You should see Dora's delphiniums," Ann said.</p> - -<p>"Should I? How do you know I haven't?"</p> - -<p>"Ted, you've been drinking." Her voice was not sharp, but soft, her -attitude maternal.</p> - -<p>"A little. I'd like some more. Why don't we go out to dinner, some -place where we can dance?"</p> - -<p>"Tonight? Have you forgotten the Drews are coming over?"</p> - -<p>"I've been trying to. Couldn't you phone them?"</p> - -<p>"Ted." She made two syllables out of it. She looked at him quietly. "Do -they bore you terribly?"</p> - -<p>"They do."</p> - -<p>"And do I?"</p> - -<p>"No. You should, but you don't. You've still a potential. Well, if the -Drews are coming, I'd better shave."</p> - -<p>She was looking at him thoughtfully as he left the room.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><i>Peak outer-thought, "Well, Ha, what do you think of Earthians?"</i></p> - -<p><i>"They're like us," Ha thought wonderingly, "except for that stuff -growing on them."</i></p> - -<p><i>"Hair," Peak explained. "They haven't our cloud blanket, and their -climate is ridiculous. You've—been gone some time."</i></p> - -<p><i>"Had to case a lot of spots. I guess I've a fine prospect. I'm working -on him. Having eyes was—wonderful again. But I had that—that hair on -me, too."</i></p> - -<p><i>"You'll get used to it. Ha, no mix-ups, now. We're all counting on -you."</i></p> - -<p><i>"It's a cinch."</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>For a certain class of people, Eben Drews would undoubtedly make -a fascinating conversationalist. For that class of people who are -engrossed in the elimination of aphids or the control of slugs. It was -a class that lived without Ted.</p> - -<p>Ted kept his eyes on Eben's face and managed a "What do you know about -that?" at the proper intervals, but his mind was on the squirrel and -the blonde. And the dream. Which was the dream? Here, listening to the -Drews monologue or this morning, on Mars?</p> - -<p>He had a strange feeling, as the monotone droned on and on, as the -background of Ann and Mrs. Drews' voice seemed to swell and dim, that -this was the dream.</p> - -<p>As they were undressing, in the room between their bedrooms, later that -evening, Ann said, "It won't happen again, honey. I see what you mean."</p> - -<p>"Don't tell me they bored you, too?"</p> - -<p>"A little. And <i>I'm</i> interested in gardening. Ted—" She seemed to be -blushing.</p> - -<p>"Yes?" In wonder and hope, he gazed at her.</p> - -<p>"Ted, I'll try to read—and—widen my interests. I'll be better."</p> - -<p>Something warm grew in him.</p> - -<p>"If you'll get a job."</p> - -<p>The warmth receded. "Blackmail. Ann, you're incurable." He turned, and -stalked off to his own bedroom. There, he sat on the bed and stared -moodily at the wall, wondering about marriage.</p> - -<p>When the light was out, he stood by his window a few seconds, looking -down at the house below. All the windows were dark.</p> - -<p>He was annoyed and frustrated and not a bit tired. But he was asleep -five minutes after he hit the pillow. Just before he fell off, he -thought he heard a scratching at the window.</p> - -<p>There was an opalescent glow which seemed to come from the solid cloud -barrier above. There was grass and a slope leading down to the stream. -There was no sense of wonder in Ted.</p> - -<p>Beyond the hills to his left, there seemed to be a darker area, as -though there were cities there, and their resultant smog. But this -was—pastoral, peaceful and still invigorating.</p> - -<p>Willows bordered the stream and along the bend there were trees which -resembled cottonwoods, though the bark was darker. Ted breathed easily, -and there was no change in his weight he could notice.</p> - -<p>Then, in a glade, surrounded by the willows, he saw the blonde. The sun -was not visible; there was just the pearly glow. But she was sunning -herself.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>If it was a dream, his senses were with him. He could feel the strong -grass underfoot, smell the rich growth, hear the blood pounding in his -temples. He walked down the hill toward the blonde.</p> - -<p>He pushed through the willows and came into the glade, and saw her -quick smile of recognition.</p> - -<p>He smiled in return. "I won't believe it in the morning." He sat on the -grass beside her. "Is it Venus?"</p> - -<p>"Where else?" Her face was finely modeled with faintly discernible -cheek bones and a smooth jaw line. "The lover's planet, hidden from the -universe by its atmosphere. Hamilton's work, I'll wager."</p> - -<p>"Hamilton?"</p> - -<p>"You know him, our friend from the nutmeg tree. He arranged it, didn't -he?"</p> - -<p>"I suppose. He—or destiny. I shouldn't be here, really. Because I do -love my wife, in a lot of ways, but—"</p> - -<p>"<i>Please</i> don't say she doesn't understand you. She probably does. Most -wives do."</p> - -<p>"Well, yes. What I was going to say is that she isn't in sympathy with -certain views I hold, and—"</p> - -<p>"Do we have to rationalize? You wanted to be with me, and you are. -You're with me, and we're alone. Unless you've brought your conscience?"</p> - -<p>"Darling," he said "I'm an artist."</p> - -<p>Her face was close now, her lips slightly parted. Her arms trembled -around his neck. Her lips were warm and soft and seeking....</p> - -<p>The opalescence grew to a soft brilliance, growing and ebbing, ebbing -finally to a languid dusk. The smell of grass was like a violet mist -and the willows sighed in envy.</p> - -<p>"Aren't you ever going to get up, Ted?"</p> - -<p>He looked up sleepily to see his wife standing in the doorway. Her dark -hair was high off her neck and her pert face was freshly scrubbed. She -wore a red, tailored dressing robe.</p> - -<p>He said, "Red brings you to life, Ann. You should wear it oftener."</p> - -<p>"Thank you. Buckwheat cakes and Canadian bacon, sleepy head." She came -over to sit on the edge of his bed. "Ted—I probably worded that badly -last night about the job, but—"</p> - -<p>"But let's not talk about it before breakfast," he said quickly. "I'll -be down in a few minutes."</p> - -<p>"All right." She rose, and her voice changed. "All <i>right</i>." Her back -was stiff, as she marched out.</p> - -<p>In his bathroom, Ted studied himself in the mirror. His eyes were -shadowed, his face wan. "You dog," he told his image, and smiled.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><i>El thought, "I wonder if Ha's had any success. I don't trust him, for -some reason, dear."</i></p> - -<p><i>"Ha's all right," Bee thought. "Inclined to whimsey, but generally -sound. And he wants a body as badly as we do. But only Lust can give -us one."</i></p> - -<p><i>"We gave Ha a body. We projected him successfully."</i></p> - -<p><i>"On Earth, Darling, you don't want to live on Earth."</i></p> - -<p><i>"Why?"</i></p> - -<p><i>"It's all city, like Valdora and Velugia. They have no lover's county, -like this. Would you like that, dearest?"</i></p> - -<p><i>"No, no, no. We'll have to rely on Ha. I wonder what he's done."</i></p> - -<p><i>"Working. And another thing, dearest, I wouldn't want you in any body -but the one I loved."</i></p> - -<p><i>"Sweet."</i></p> - -<p><i>"Beloved."</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Across the breakfast table, Ann's level scrutiny was annoying. Ted -concentrated on the cakes and bacon.</p> - -<p>He was just lighting a cigarette to go with his second cup of coffee, -when he said, "What's the matter with you, this morning?"</p> - -<p>The cigarette trembled very little. "Matter?"</p> - -<p>"You seem so—oh, it would sound silly."</p> - -<p>"Let's have it, anyway."</p> - -<p>"So—sort of—<i>guilty</i>."</p> - -<p>He picked up the cigarette before it burned the cloth. "What kind -of—Well, I like that. Of all the silly observations!" He shook his -head vexedly.</p> - -<p>"Ted, why don't you look at me? Ted, you <i>did</i> go right to bed, last -night?"</p> - -<p>He looked at her, his chin tilted pugnaciously. "No, I went to Venus -and met a blonde. Of course I went to bed."</p> - -<p>"Well, what are you so nervous about? Heavens, it wasn't that little -spat we had, or <i>you</i> had, rather, about your going to work?"</p> - -<p>"No, no, no. You're imagining things, Ann."</p> - -<p>"Look at your hand. Look how it's trembling. Ted—what is the matter?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing. I had a dream. Ann, I don't want to talk about it."</p> - -<p>"Drinking," she said. "It's those drinks you had, yesterday, I'll bet. -You're just not a drinking man, Theodore Truesdale, and you're too old -to begin."</p> - -<p>"I'm <i>not</i> old. You know I'm not old. You wish I were, but I'm not. Do -we always have to quarrel?"</p> - -<p>She didn't answer. Her lips quavered, but she didn't cry. She rose and -carried a few dishes to the sink.</p> - -<p>Ted went out to the porch with his coffee and cigarette. The view was -unpopulated. Conscience, he told himself. My annoyance is an indication -of it. Why should my conscience bother me because of a dream? Who can -stop a dream?</p> - -<p>There was a scratching sound from the other side of the nutmeg tree and -the inverted head of Hamilton appeared about ten feet above the tree's -base.</p> - -<p>"You don't look happy."</p> - -<p>Ted didn't answer.</p> - -<p>Hamilton came down the remaining ten feet and went over to look at the -geraniums. "Fine gardener, your wife."</p> - -<p>Ted ignored him.</p> - -<p>"Good looking, too. Maybe she could dye her hair."</p> - -<p>No words from Ted.</p> - -<p>Hamilton looked down at the house below, and back at Ted. "Don't blame -me for that Venus trip, Truesdale. You wanted it, but bad."</p> - -<p>"I'm not blaming anybody for anything," Ted said. "Just because I had a -dream."</p> - -<p>"Dream? Why don't you go down and ask her if she had the same dream? -What a man won't say to clear his conscience! Let go, Truesdale, enjoy -yourself."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Below, the blonde came out onto her patio. She was wearing white shorts -and halter today. She looked Ted's way for seconds—and then waved.</p> - -<p>Ted waved back.</p> - -<p>"Beautiful morning," she called, and Ted answered, "It certainly is."</p> - -<p>She picked up a book from the low table near her chaise lounge and -settled.</p> - -<p>Hamilton was sniffing the ice plant on the slope. "If the neighbors -only knew—"</p> - -<p>"There's nothing to know. She'd be less than human if she didn't say -'hello' after seeing me day after day."</p> - -<p>"Not to mention one night."</p> - -<p>"Oh, cut it out, drop it."</p> - -<p>His wife appeared in the doorway. "Who in the world are you talking to?"</p> - -<p>"Myself." He looked at her bleakly. "More quarreling about a job?"</p> - -<p>"No." She came out onto the porch and settled in the chair beside him. -"Ted, there's the squirrel. That's the one who's afflicted with—with -voyeurism."</p> - -<p>"Oh, Ann, for goodness sake."</p> - -<p>"His nest is right up there, in the nutmeg tree. Ted, I want you to -destroy it."</p> - -<p>"Don't be childish."</p> - -<p>"I'm not being childish. They eat young bark and buds and birds' eggs. -They're evil things, Ted."</p> - -<p>"I think they're cute."</p> - -<p>"Cute. Without the tail, they're just another rat. How some people can -eat them is beyond me."</p> - -<p>The pinkness and the sluice and the three-armed man with the enormous -chest seemed to swim, for a moment, in Ted's memory. Hamilton went -scurrying up the nutmeg tree.</p> - -<p>"The little devil," Ann said.</p> - -<p>Little devil? The devil, maybe? No, not Hamilton. Ted said, "No club -meeting today? No garden, home, cooking, household management or -knitting circle shindigs?"</p> - -<p>"Not a one."</p> - -<p>"Why don't we drive up the coast and eat out, tonight?"</p> - -<p>"I'd love to, Ted. But I really have to finish that petit point for -Dora's anniversary. I shouldn't be sitting here now, without it."</p> - -<p>"You look very good without it. We could stop at <i>Sweeney's</i>."</p> - -<p><i>Sweeney's</i> had the finest sea food west of New Orleans. And the -immortal Sweeney, himself, behind the bar.</p> - -<p>"Don't tempt me," Ann said, and rose. "Why don't you drive up the -coast? You're restless."</p> - -<p>"Maybe I will," he said. He tried to make it sound like an accusation, -but it came out a flat, dull statement.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>After she'd gone into the house, he sat for a while, considering the -blonde. He didn't even know her name, and still he.... Well, why should -he know her name? There wasn't much of her visible now; she had the -raised section of the chaise lounge turned his way.</p> - -<p>Hamilton was nowhere in sight.</p> - -<p>He rose, after awhile, and went along the walk to the garage. He -climbed into the convertible, started the motor, and unhooked the top, -pressing the button to lower it.</p> - -<p>Driving out into the sunlight, he reflected this was just pique; he -wasn't going to enjoy it, alone. A man, he ruminated, might as well be -single.</p> - -<p>He drove along the winding coast road above Ynez Junction and parked -there, with the whole, curving, hilly coast line spread out below him. -The water was blue and calm with just a fringe of white where it lapped -the beach.</p> - -<p>It was a clear day, and he could see Venus plainly. He thought of last -night and tried to make it a dream, a product of his wishful thinking, -as were the dialogues with Hamilton.</p> - -<p>Sitting around, going simple, that's what he'd been doing. Talking -squirrels and trysts on Venus and a quick trip to Mars. Punchy, that's -all. The devil finds things for idle hands to....</p> - -<p>No, it wasn't that; it was just day-dreaming. The devil had no part of -this business. Nor had his idleness. A peeping-Tom, Hamilton might be, -but no devil.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><i>"I think I can see," Peak thought! "Not much, but a dim mist. Lern, -are you listening?"</i></p> - -<p><i>"I'm listening. I guess Ha is working, all right. He's going to work -on some others, too."</i></p> - -<p><i>Peak outer-thought, "Have you considered our big problem, to keep Lust -minor?"</i></p> - -<p><i>"I believe I have it licked. It's an Earthian custom I've been -studying, and it surely keeps its adherents in line. Lust wouldn't grow -much under it."</i></p> - -<p><i>"A custom?"</i></p> - -<p><i>"Marriage of course. How do you feel about it?"</i></p> - -<p><i>"It's—a desperate measure. It's a—"</i></p> - -<p><i>"A desperate problem," Lern interposed. "True love can survive it, I'm -sure. We don't want a repetition of the situation that forced us to -kill Lust—and lose our bodies. Of course, yours is the final word."</i></p> - -<p><i>"It—well, we'll try it. I just hope Ha keeps working. It would be -just like that whimsical imp to get us half materialized and then leave -us."</i></p> - -<p><i>"Or what if something should happen to him, his spirit killed in some -way?"</i></p> - -<p><i>"We won't even inner-think that."</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Ted drove down the curving, back rocky road to <i>Sweeney's</i>. It was a -low-roofed building of cedar shakes, with an open air dining room on -piles above the water of the cove.</p> - -<p>Ted stayed in the bar. He had French-fried shrimp and garlic bread and -beer. And after that, some whiskey. And after that, some dialogue with -Sweeney regarding the respective merits of Shahn and Albright. Ted knew -very little about either of them, but Sweeney knew less so it was a -satisfying discussion.</p> - -<p>He drove home in a mood. He was remembering the Honolulu days with -Ann, and the days and nights before that. What they'd had, they'd find -again. There was a solution to it all, and not on Venus.</p> - -<p>He came home to find a note on the kitchen table:</p> - -<p><i>Henri's in town and he insisted I visit the Blairs with him. He's just -done over their place. Don't wait up.</i></p> - -<p>Henri was elegantly thin and fairly tall. An interior decorator with a -modern bent. He'd done the Truesdale place three times.</p> - -<p>If it were anyone but Ann, I'd be jealous, Ted thought. As it was, he -felt only a grating annoyance. He poured a king-sized jolt of bourbon, -added a trace of water and went into the study.</p> - -<p>He didn't turn on the light. He sat in the dark and sipped the -bourbon—and fell asleep....</p> - -<p>The blonde had her hair up and was wearing a red jacket above a white -flannel skirt. Her smile was the same as last night's, and possibly a -shade warmer.</p> - -<p>"How did you know I'd come?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"I didn't, but a girl can hope. Bad day?"</p> - -<p>"Oh—unsatisfactory. And yours?"</p> - -<p>"Barren. Your wife's out to get Hamilton, isn't she?"</p> - -<p>"I guess."</p> - -<p>"Does she—suspect about us?"</p> - -<p>"No." A pause, and, "Why did your husband leave you?"</p> - -<p>"He didn't. I left him. Engineer, lived by the slide rule. Are you -going to leave your wife?"</p> - -<p>He didn't answer that. He pulled her close and buried his face in the -bright hair. The violet mists and the smell of grass and the envious -sigh of the willows. Why couldn't all life be like this?...</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>When he woke, again, dawn was coming through the study window. He rose -wearily and stood near the glass door that led to the rear yard. On -the wet grass, the morning quietness lay like a blanket. In the house -below, he saw the shadowed, stretching figure of a woman behind a drawn -shade. She, too, was awake.</p> - -<p>Coincidence? And the rest an illusion? He'd always been more or less -conventional; it was difficult to accept the super-conventional without -reserve or rationalization.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He climbed the stairs quietly, avoiding the fifth, which squeaked. -In the bathroom, he studied his stubbled face as though it were the -face of a stranger. Then he went into the bedroom and rumpled the bed -clothes.</p> - -<p>She'd never believe he slept in the study; she'd never believe he'd -been to Venus. For a moment he stood there, looking at the rumpled bed.</p> - -<p>Then he went quietly through the dressing room and into her room.</p> - -<p>She lay partially on her back, partially on her left side, her dark -hair like ink against the clean white pillow, one slender tanned arm -flung along the pillow's upper edge, her other arm bent, her cheek -resting against the back of that hand.</p> - -<p>There was just the breath of a smile on her full lips. What did -she dream of, his Ann? Of porridge and pottery and poinsettias? Of -schedules, menus, rotary floor waxers and blight elimination? Or didn't -she dream, at all?</p> - -<p>Wasn't there, somewhere, a dream they could share?</p> - -<p>Her eyes opened, and she said, "Good morning. Just getting in?"</p> - -<p>He shook his head. "I slept in the study. I rumpled the bed clothes in -my room, but I really slept in the study."</p> - -<p>"And why did you rumple the bed clothes?" She was awake and aware; it -was one of her many attributes that she was bright from the opening of -her eyes in the morning.</p> - -<p>He said carefully, "I rumpled the bed clothes because I didn't think -you'd believe I slept in the study. I thought you'd think I was out -chasing blondes, or something."</p> - -<p>She smiled, studying him, saying nothing.</p> - -<p>"How were the Blairs? And how was Henri?"</p> - -<p>"The Blairs are more fun when you're along. Henri tried to kiss me." -Her eyes awaited a reaction to that last.</p> - -<p>"I'd try to kiss you, too, if I were Henri. Didn't you want him to?"</p> - -<p>She frowned. "I—didn't. I don't—think I did. We have so many common -interests and he <i>is</i> handsome. I must be sub-human."</p> - -<p>"Maybe you're in love with me. The common interests would be flowers, -food and interior decoration. If I were a girl, I wouldn't want to be -kissed by a man who gave his life to that."</p> - -<p>"Don't be superior. Henri's a man of many conquests, as any of my -friends will admit when they're drunk. Ted, I don't usually like this -kind of talk. Why am I talking like this?"</p> - -<p>"Maybe you dreamed of Henri."</p> - -<p>"Oh, Ted—" She slid her feet out, and sat up on the edge of the bed. -"Do you think—with us, it was just—animal attraction?"</p> - -<p>"It could have been. You were, and are, an attractive animal. It's -nothing to be ashamed of. Some of the soundest marriages are founded on -it."</p> - -<p>"And maintained?"</p> - -<p>"Founded and maintained. With a minor compromise, here and there. But -no major ones. When are you going to see Henri again?"</p> - -<p>"For lunch, here. And you'd better be home, Theodore Truesdale. I don't -want to be one of those—those, well, one of them."</p> - -<p>"I'll be here, glowering. I suppose, with the super gourmet as guest, -you'll be working on the lunch all morning."</p> - -<p>She shook her head. "I'm giving him hamburgers. It's a sort of test."</p> - -<p>What was the change in her, this morning? Ted sensed it, but couldn't -isolate it. And what had motivated it? Being with Henri?</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><i>Peak thought, "I can smell, too, now. Ha, you've brought another -subject up?"</i></p> - -<p><i>"I'm going to have to. That Truesdale is getting conscience attacks. -It seems to be an Earth trait. I've got an awful hot wire on the line, -though. He could materialize us fast."</i></p> - -<p><i>"Well, get him, get him. Or stir up Truesdale. Maybe you could -alienate him from his wife and he'd spend more time here."</i></p> - -<p><i>"I'm doing my best, sir. The situation is—muddled. The wife doesn't -favor me at all."</i></p> - -<p><i>"Watch yourself. Be careful."</i></p> - -<p><i>"That I will."</i></p> - -<p><i>In their glade, Bee outer-thought, "Darling, I can see! Ha didn't -desert us. Sweetheart, Lust is wakening."</i></p> - -<p><i>"I can't see, dearest. Are you going to materialize and not I? -Beloved, if—"</i></p> - -<p><i>"Calm yourself, darling. You</i> ARE <i>materializing. Not the -senses, yet, perhaps, but I can see one leg of yours, one long, slim, -lovely leg. Oh, beloved one—"</i></p> - -<p><i>"This time, we'll be careful. Even if we—what is that word Peak -used?"</i></p> - -<p><i>"Marriage. We'll make it work. This isn't Earth."</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Ted took a warm shower and a cool one. He toweled himself vigorously, -and put on shorts and a tee shirt. After breakfast, he would cut the -lawn and clean out the garage and dig up the tulip bulbs. He'd had -enough of sitting.</p> - -<p>He cut the lawn and cleaned out the garage and dug up the tulip beds. -He worked with a devout if subdued fury and was conscious of Ann's -occasional wondering glance from the windows. He finished it all by -ten-thirty.</p> - -<p>He put the spade and lawn mower away, and donned a pair of sneakers. -Then he went out into the backyard and looked up into the branches of -the nutmeg tree.</p> - -<p>He could see the nest, and it was attainable. He stood staring at it, -trying to summon enough moral decision to take the first step. It would -probably mean no more blonde. It....</p> - -<p>Hamilton peered over the edge of his nest and it seemed to Ted he could -almost see the apprehension in those black eyes. Hamilton scrambled out -and came hurrying down, head first.</p> - -<p>"Now what?"</p> - -<p>"You're evil."</p> - -<p>"<i>I'm</i> evil. Projection, huh? You're kind of mixed up, Truesdale. <i>I</i> -wasn't with the blonde, last night."</p> - -<p>"I'm not ready to believe I was either. But this—this evil can be -mental."</p> - -<p>"Your wife's been talking to you. What about her? What about this -Henri?"</p> - -<p>"What about him? You're treading on dangerous ground, you bushy-tailed -rat."</p> - -<p>"Am I? Henri likes the place. I've been showing it to him. And pointing -out its advantages. No husbands to come home, unexpectedly." Hamilton -paused. "He'll be up there, again. And with <i>whom</i>, Truesdale?"</p> - -<p>"Not Ann. She's incorruptible, you devil."</p> - -<p>"Sure, she is. So what are you worried about?"</p> - -<p>From the back porch, Ann said, "Ted, what are you doing?"</p> - -<p>He turned to face her, as did Hamilton. Ted said, "I was going to climb -up and knock down that nest."</p> - -<p>"Oh, forget it. It was a silly whim of mine, anyway. Look at him, Ted. -He seems to be begging you."</p> - -<p>"You don't know him," Ted said. "He fools us all."</p> - -<p>"Oh, Ted, you've had too much sun this morning. Look at those bright, -black eyes. He wants to be friends."</p> - -<p>Hamilton sat up on his haunches, his front paws curled, looking from -one to the other beseechingly.</p> - -<p>Ted saw the quick moisture in Ann's eyes and said, "Well, it's your -decision, then. It's your responsibility." He walked past her and into -the house.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He went up to his room. Projection.... The little devil had hit him -with that one. Don't blame yourself, Ted Truesdale. Ann has too many -unimportant interests; Ann's cold. How many lines of communication did -he have to her, other than the physical? Had he tried to find enough -points of intellectual contact?</p> - -<p>When they were first married it was all art with Ann. Because he was an -artist. When she'd discovered he was an artist who knew nothing of art, -that had died. The home, then, and she'd made him a home to be proud -of. Wasn't it the place he spent most of his time, sitting around? But, -with these interests, Ann had grown. While he sat, she'd grown.</p> - -<p>She'd grown beyond bars and dancing and small talk. She didn't realize -it, herself, but she'd grown beyond him. The two bedrooms had been -originally his idea, so he wouldn't waken her if he read late at night.</p> - -<p>And when that wasn't sufficient to kill his yawning hours, he'd tried -to come back along the single, physical line of communication. What -else did he have to offer her?</p> - -<p>He took another shower. He shaved and annointed his hair with perfumed -oil. He wore his newest, trickiest slacks and an open-necked sport -shirt. He'd been told he had an attractive neck.</p> - -<p>Then he went down to lunch.</p> - -<p>In the living room, in Ted's favorite chair near the fireplace, Henri -sat, a drink in his hand.</p> - -<p>Henri rose, a dark, dynamic figure. He said genially, "Well, Ted, old -man, it's been some time."</p> - -<p>"Not long enough for me to be an old man," Ted said. "How goes the -newest campaign, Henri?"</p> - -<p>Henri's smile was bland, his hand-clasp firm. "Slowly. No ill will, I -hope, Ted?" Poise, assurance, the light touch.</p> - -<p>"I'm not as modern as I should be, probably," Ted answered. "Been to -Venus, lately?"</p> - -<p>The drink wobbled in Henri's left hand. The poise, for a moment, was -shattered. "Ven—Venice? In Italy, you mean?"</p> - -<p>"In California. You're trembling, Henri. Your heart?"</p> - -<p>"Heart—?" Blank, oafish stare, the poise scrambling to get back.</p> - -<p>"At our age, we have to watch the ticker," Ted warned him. "What are -you drinking?"</p> - -<p>Henri stared at his nearly-empty glass. "Scotch—I—ah—"</p> - -<p>"Sure thing. I'll have one with you." Ted went over to the liquor -cabinet.</p> - -<p>When he returned, with the pair of drinks, Ann was in the room. Ann -said, "I could use one, myself."</p> - -<p>Some of Henri's poise was back and all of his smile. "Mix her a strong -one, Teddy boy. Build up her resistance."</p> - -<p>Hamburger, Ann had called it, but it was like ambrosia. The talk flowed -around Ted; food, fashion, furniture, flowers.</p> - -<p>Henri was witty and articulate. Ann appreciative and responsive. Ted -present.</p> - -<p>All the things he'd read, and nothing to say. Mann he'd read, and -Joyce. Shakespeare and Spinoza, Emerson, Shelley and....</p> - -<p>And there was a lull momentarily in the conversation.</p> - -<p>Ted said quickly, "I batted .314 at Houston. That's in the Texas -League."</p> - -<p>Ann stared at him, smiling. Henri stared at him, smirking. They went -back to their discussion.</p> - -<p>What weapons did he have? He sat there while the talk poured over him, -turning into a wrathful midget, hating them both.</p> - -<p>At two, he rose, from the table, "I ... have a golf date. Hate to leave -you two alone."</p> - -<p>"We'll try to get along, old boy," Henri said smilingly. "Keep your eye -on the ball."</p> - -<p>Ann said, "Easy at the nineteenth hole, honey." She lifted her lips for -his kiss.</p> - -<p>They were soft and cool.</p> - -<p>He didn't have a golf date. He didn't want to leave them. But he -couldn't sit there, growing smaller and duller by the minute. He was an -artist and an athlete, not a worm.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He drove to the country club, and sat at the bar. Pete Orcutt and -Johnny Devlin came in about three-thirty, and they settled down in the -card room to some canasta.</p> - -<p>Pete said, "Henri's in town. Done the Blair's place for them."</p> - -<p>"I know," Johnny said. "Thank heavens my mate's at the lake. How about -yours, Pete?"</p> - -<p>"In Denver, visiting her mother."</p> - -<p>Ted said evenly, "Henri's sitting at my house, boring my wife to death, -right now. I don't worry about Henri."</p> - -<p>Pete coughed. Johnny studied his hand intently. Neither of them said a -word.</p> - -<p>The game went on. Ted had too many wild cards, or not enough. Nothing -worked. He fed Johnny and got garbage from Pete. He drank and simmered -and watched their scores pile up.</p> - -<p>At five-thirty, he rose and said, "I don't mind losing to you guys, but -you can't expect me to support you." He wrote out two checks.</p> - -<p>"Bad loser," Pete said, winking at Johnny.</p> - -<p>Johnny said, "We'll have to get some golf in, Ted. Give me a ring, any -time. I'm a free man, for two weeks."</p> - -<p>Ted nodded, and left.</p> - -<p>It was six when he got home. There was another note:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Irma needed a fourth in a hurry and she sounded so desperate, and I -knew you wouldn't mind. I might be late.</i></p> - -<p class="ph1"><i>XXX<br /> -A</i></p></div> - -<p>He looked at the x's doubtfully. It wasn't like Ann to add symbolic -kisses. He had enough whiskey in him so that it didn't seem improper to -phone.</p> - -<p>Irma answered.</p> - -<p>"Hello, Irma. Is Ann there?"</p> - -<p>"She is. Checking, Ted?"</p> - -<p>"Of course not," he said stiffly. "May I speak with her, please?"</p> - -<p>Ann's voice. "Nothing wrong, I hope?"</p> - -<p>"Well, is Henri with you?"</p> - -<p>"No. Why—?"</p> - -<p>"Something kind of important's come up, and it's down his alley. Do you -know where he is? What time did he leave here?"</p> - -<p>"He left at two-thirty. Said he had to see the Blairs. Maybe you can -get him there."</p> - -<p>"Thanks, I'll try. Honey—I—ah, have a good game." He hung up.</p> - -<p>Two-thirty. Well, that was all right. Half an hour after Ted had left. -Half an hour, half an hour, half an hour.... He poured a drink.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Half an hour, half an hour, half an hour.... He went out onto the -porch. The blonde was on her patio, all dressed up in filmy green. -Another blonde sat in the chair near her, male, with sport jacket and -tanned face, with a drink in his hand.</p> - -<p>Hamilton's work?</p> - -<p>Hamilton came scrambling down the nutmeg tree. "Still hot?"</p> - -<p>"Go away."</p> - -<p>Hamilton looked down at the patio and back at Ted. "Her cousin from -Milwaukee. Henri's making the trip, tonight."</p> - -<p>"For the blonde?"</p> - -<p>"Don't be naive."</p> - -<p>"If you're inferring that my wife, my Ann is going—"</p> - -<p>"I only said Henri's making the trip. Maybe, just in hope. But how in -hell will you ever know? Unless you're there, yourself?"</p> - -<p>"I'm not going anywhere," Ted said. "You can look for another stooge, -Lucifer. I love my wife...."</p> - -<p>For seconds, Hamilton stared at Ted with those beady, black eyes. Then, -"You're serious, aren't you. You're leveling?"</p> - -<p>"I'm serious."</p> - -<p>Hamilton looked at the nutmeg tree. "Oh, Truesdale, if you knew the -story. If you knew what this meant." He started up the tree, and -paused. "Well, there are others, plenty of them." He went quickly up -the rest of the way.</p> - -<p>Ted didn't even glance at the blonde, again, before going back into -the house. He put some Cole Porter on the record player and sat by the -fireplace.</p> - -<p>Honolulu and Houston and <i>Sweeney's</i> and the country club merged in -his mind as the whiskey drowsiness started to creep through him. He -couldn't go to sleep, not before Ann came home. He had some things to -tell her.</p> - -<p>Before <i>she</i> went to sleep.</p> - -<p>Ann, Ann, thirty minutes, Ann, oh beloved darling....</p> - -<p>The last record finished and shut off the machine. Ted dreamed of -homering in the ninth, against Louisville, with the bases loaded.</p> - -<p>He woke to a black room. Had Ann come in, not seen him in the living -room, and gone to bed? Ann, no. Ann, be awake. Ann, you wouldn't like -Venus—without me. I hope. Ann....</p> - -<p>He stumbled out into the hall, and looked up the steps. No lights -there, either. He ran up the stairs, whimpering, and through the -dressing room into her room. He snapped on the big overhead light.</p> - -<p>She was asleep. Asleep—and smiling.</p> - -<p>He was shaking her. He was sobbing, burying his wet face in her -shoulder, trembling and incoherent.</p> - -<p>"Ted, baby, what is the matter? What's happened, darling?"</p> - -<p>He told her. Incoherently, but swiftly, holding her tightly all the -while. From the first of Hamilton's words to the last. And finished -with, "I've wanted you so badly, and you seemed so distant. I know -there's no excusing me, but I want you to understand, to know how much -I—"</p> - -<p>He was silent, spent, weak as water.</p> - -<p>She stroked his hair. She said, "Wanting me isn't enough, wasn't -enough. Can't you see that, dearest? A woman must be needed, not -wanted. Darling, everything's going to be all right, now."</p> - -<p>"Ann, I haven't the right to ask. But—did I bring you back from—I -mean, were you on Venus?"</p> - -<p>She put a soft hand on his lips. "Sweetheart, what a horrible question. -I'm your Ann, remember? I'm your darling. And nobody else is going to -come between us. This will be our room, tonight, and all the nights."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><i>The now embodied assembly met above the stream they could hear, in the -glade they could see.</i></p> - -<p><i>Ha said, "I've a request from Earthians, that Truesdale pair."</i></p> - -<p><i>"Request?" Peak said.</i></p> - -<p><i>"They'd like to spend the weekend, here, all their weekends. He works -the rest of the week, but—"</i></p> - -<p><i>"Earthians, here?" Peak interrupted. "I'll be darned if—"</i></p> - -<p><i>Ha said, "Remember, if it wasn't for them, we'd still be disembodied. -I think this is a voting matter, Peak."</i></p> - -<p><i>"Them? Him, you mean."</i></p> - -<p><i>"Oh, no," Ha corrected. "She was here, too, that final night. Twice, -as a matter of fact. The last time with her husband. I say they're fine -people, and I'd be proud to welcome them."</i></p> - -<p><i>And it was so voted.</i></p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. 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