“Oh, sure! — not one he could _bank_. Well, Holly, seeing I was wrong, why don’t you give him a hand with her? She wants to learn to glide.”
Butting in on that pair was farthest from my mind. “If Mr. Hardesty wants my help, he will ask me. In the meantime I shall mind my own business . . . a practice I recommend to you!”
“Relax, shipmate,” she answered, unruffled. “I was doing you a favor.”
“Thank you, I don’t need one.”
“So I’ll be on my way — got to practice for the gymkhana.” She leaned forward and dropped off. But she didn’t practice aerobatics; she dived straight for the tourist slope.
I watched her out of sight, then sneaked my left hand out the hand slit and got at my hanky — awkward when you are wearing wings but the floodlights had made my eyes water. I wiped them and blew my nose and put my hanky away and wiggled my hand back into place, then checked everything thumbs, toes, and fingers, preparatory to dropping off.
But I didn’t. I just sat there, wings drooping, and thought. I had to admit that Mary was partly right; Jeff’s head was turned completely. . . over a _groundhog_. So sooner or later he would go Earthside and Jones & Hardesty was finished.
Then I reminded myself that I had been planning to be a spaceship designer like Daddy long before Jeff and I teamed up. I wasn’t dependent on anyone; I could stand alone, like Joan of Arc, or Lise Meitner.
I felt better. . . a cold, stern pride, like Lucifer in _Paradise Lost_.
I recognized the red and silver of Jeff’s wings while he was far off and I thought about slipping quietly away. But Jeff can overtake me if he tries, so I decided, “Holly, don’t be a fool! You’ve no reason to run. . . just be coolly polite.”
He landed by me but didn’t sidle up. “Hi, Decimal Point.”
“Hi, Zero. Uh, stolen much lately?”
“Just the City Bank but they made me put it back.” He frowned and added, “Holly, are you mad at me.”
“Why, Jeff, whatever gave you such a silly notion?”
“Uh. . . something Mary the Mouth said.”
“Her? Don’t pay any attention to what she says. Half of it’s always wrong and she doesn’t mean the rest.”
“Yeah, a short circuit between her ears. Then you aren’t mad?”
“Of _course_ not. Why should I be?”
“No reason I know of. I haven’t been around to work on the ship for a few days.. . but I’ve been awfully busy.”
“Think nothing of it. I’ve been terribly busy myself.”
“Uh, that’s fine. Look, Test Sample, do me a favor. Help me out with a friend — a client, that is — we’ll she’s a friend, too. She wants to learn to use glide wings.”
I pretended to consider it. “Anyone I know?”
“Oh, yes. Fact is, you introduced us. Ariel Brentwood.”
“‘Brentwood?’ Jeff, there are so many tourists. Let me think. Tall girl? Blonde? Extremely pretty?”
He grinned like a goof and I almost pushed him off. “That’s Ariel!”
“I recall her . . . she expected me to carry her bags. But you don’t need help, Jeff. She seemed very clever. Good sense of balance.”
“Oh, yes, sure, all of that. Well, the fact is, I want you two to know each other. She’s. . . well, she’s just wonderful, Holly. A real person all the way through. You’ll love her when you know her better. Uh… this seemed like a good chance.”
I felt dizzy. “Why, that’s very thoughtful, Jeff, but I doubt if she wants to know me better. I’m just a servant she hired — you know groundhogs.”
“But she’s not at all like the ordinary groundhog. And she does want to know you better — she _told_ me so!”
_After you told her to think so!_ I muttered. But I had talked myself into a corner. If I had not been hampered by polite upbringing I would have said, “On your way, vacuum skull! I’m not interested in your groundhog friends” — but what I did say was, “OK, Jeff,” then gathered the fox to my bosom and dropped off into a glide.