Jewel referred to her notebook. “Finished this afternoon, Bennie. Leonard says he’ll bring them up as soon as they’re printed. Preliminary indications were, glusi population requiring assistance was down maybe three percent.”
“Three percent down,” she breathed. “That’s a first! That’s wonderful. We started with four percent of the total population as glusi, and Chiddy said the total shouldn’t exceed one percent of the population, so we’re on our way down. Great!”
“Let’s hope Chiddy was right. Can I get you some coffee, Bennie?”
“I’m fine, thanks. Have we had any more media fallout from the lawsuits those pregnant guys brought?”
“Not particularly. There was some case law involving rapists who’d been sued, but the courts just won’t call what the Inkleozese did rape. There’ve been a few columns advocating recompense for their time and trouble, or in the case of the guys who didn’t make it, payment to families. All the survivors are back now, all in good health, all returned to their homes. Of course, a number of their wives went elsewhere during their absence.”
“The wives surely didn’t blame their husbands.”
“As a matter of fact, some of them did. In the morning paper, Mrs. Morse was quoted as saying her husband asked for it, talking the way he did. If he didn’t want to be raped, he should have been more careful what he said.”
“Which Mrs. Morse was that?” Benita asked.
“The first one. The second one was nicer. She seemed to be really fond of him.”
“Lupe?”
“Right.”
“Well, Lupe has always been said to be fond of a lot of people. She’s a very . . . gregarious person. Anything else?”
“Your daughter called. She says she hasn’t seen her brother in weeks, and have you heard from him?”
“Oh, my goodness, yes. Jewel, I’m such an idiot. I should have let her know. He called me three months ago to ask if I’d recommend him for the patterner’s job. He got through the interviews, last time I talked to him, and then Vess called me to say he’d been selected! I’ll call Angelica the minute I get home. Is that it?”
“That’s it. No reason you can’t take off for the weekend with a clear conscience.”
Benita nodded, tucked some of the paperwork on her desk into the top drawer, put on her jacket, and left, turning in the doorway to admire the office. It was a splendid office. The furniture was elegant, all in Pchar wood, from the planet of the Vixbot. The rug was soft and beautifully colored, woven from the wooly integument of Oumfuzzian swamp plants. The plants in the window were from half a dozen different planets, all of them in gorgeous bloom, and the Confederation changed them for new ones, every few days.
Being Confederation Link wasn’t abig job yet. Important, but notbig. Once Earth was a full member of the Confederation, which seemed certain now, so much progress had been made, the Link liaison job would be a big, big job concerned with making import-export regulations, interspecies employment agreements, passport restrictions, all kinds of things. She was working closely with the new president, and she still saw the old president and First Lady every now and then. He was writing a book, and she was running for office. They both kept very busy and, like Benita, looked forward to the future with great anticipation. As for Benita’s future, since shed been appointed as Link by Confederation ET’s on terms no other person was able (or maybe willing) to meet, it wasn’t a political thing and she could look forward to being Link for life, if she liked.
Home was still the apartment above the bookstore. It was convenient and efficient, though it wouldn’t be long before they’d need a larger place. She really wanted more country around her. Entertaining was part of the job, and having a buffet for fifty, mixed human and alien, wasn’t something easily done in an apartment on the third floor with a wheezy elevator. They needed a place with a yard, with a big patio, maybe even a swimming pool.
When she parked behind the bookstore and opened the back door, the stockroom door was open. Hearing Simon’s voice, she leaned in and cried, “Hi, Simon. See you later?”