R STORIES
THE EVENING AND THE MORNING AND THE NIGHT
the three
e had no
than you
most
Jork with
“Go home," she said. “Decide what to think. It's the
t important decision you'll ever make.”
He looked at me. I went to him, not sure how he'd react,
not sure he'd want me no matter what he decided.
“What are you going to do?” he asked.
The question startled me. “You have a choice," I said. “I
don't. If she's right ... how could I not wind up running a
retreat?"
ven that
der your
der my
on from
Cust her
"Do you want to?"
I swallowed. I hadn't really faced that question yet. Did
I want to spend my life in something that was basically a
refined DGD ward? “No!"
"But
you
will."
Yes." I thought for a moment, hunted for the right
words. “You'd do it."
Huality
- have
power
better
"What?"
"If the pheromone were something only men had, you
would do it."
That silence again. After a time he took my hand, and
we followed Beatrice out to the car. Before I could get in
with him and our guard-escort, she caught my arm. I jerked
away reflexively. By the time I caught myself, I had swung
around as though I meant to hit her. Hell, I did mean to hit
her, but I stopped myself in time. “Sorry," I said with no
attempt at sincerity.
She held out a card until I took it. "My private number,"
she said. “Before seven or after nine, usually
. You and I will
communicate best by phone."
I resisted the impulse to throw the card away. God, she
brought out the child in me.
but
vork
ffer
or-
ally
ER STORIES
n. Several
THE EVENING AND THE MORNING AND THE NIGHT
te distinct,
aled badly.
“Yes," Beatrice said. “She just wants to know that they
cared for you."
"They did," he said. “They kept their promise to you,
Mother."
vhen she
Sind any
condered
at them.
been an
before
Several seconds passed. Naomi made sounds that even
Alan took to be weeping, and he tried to comfort her.
“Who else is here?” she said finally.
This time Alan looked at me. I repeated what she had
said.
"Her name is Lynn Mortimer," he said. “I'm ..." He
paused awkwardly. “She and I are going to be married.”
After a time, she moved back from him and said my
name. My first impulse was to go to her. I wasn't afraid or
repelled by her now, but for no reason I could explain, I
looked at Beatrice.
“Go,” she said. “But
you
and I will have to talk later."
I went to Naomi, took her hand.
"Bea?” she said.
"I'm Lynn," I said softly.
She drew a quick breath. “No," she said. “No, you're ..."
"I'm Lynn. Do
you want Bea? She's here."
She said nothing. She put her hand to my face, explored
it slowly. I let her do it, confident that I could stop her if she
turned violent. But first one hand, then both, went over me
very gently.
"You'll
marry my son!” she said finally.
"Yes."
curned
nging
thing
own-
ght,
ords
u?”
of
"Good. You'll keep him safe.”
As much as possible, we'll keep each other safe. “Yes,"
I said.
59
Eve-
THE EVENING AND THE MORNING AND THE NIGHT
e Wantes
hook his
"No.
I blinked. The word was as cold and dead a sound as I'd
of us:
ever heard.
off in
celling
Lefen
with
n as
“I don't believe in anything," he said.
I took him to bed. He was the only other double DGD I
had ever met, and if nobody did anything for him, he would-
n't last much longer. I couldn't just let him slip away. For a
while, maybe we could be each other's reasons for staying alive.
He was a good student-for the same reason I was. And
he seemed to shed some of his bitterness as time passed. Being
around him helped me understand why, against all sanity, two
DGDs would lock in on each other and start talking about
marriage. Who else would have us?
We probably wouldn't last very long, anyway. These
days, most DGDs make it to forty, at least. But then, most of
them don't have two DGD parents. As bright as Alan was, he
might not get into medical school because of his double inher-
itance. No one would tell him his bad genes were keeping him
of
but we both knew what his chances were.
Better to train doctors who were likely to live long enough to
Alan's mother had been sent to Dilg. He hadn't seen her
or been able to get any information about her from his grand-
parents while he was at home. By the time he left for college,
hed stopped asking questions. Maybe it was hearing
about my
parents that made him start again. I was with him when he
called Dilg. Until that moment, he hadn't even known
whether his mother was still alive. Surprisingly
, she was.
"Dilg must be good," I said when he hung up. "People
don't usually ... I mean...
hat
ad
art
out,
course,
e.
put their training to use.
43
BLOODCHILD AND OTHER STORIES
The
"T
and perso
Inp
Inside the car, Alan said something to the guard. I could
n't hear what it was, but the sound of his voice reminded me
of him arguing with her—her logic and her scent. She had all
but won him for me, and I couldn't manage even token grati-
tude. I spoke to her, low voiced.
"He never really had a chance, did he?”
She looked surprised. “That's up to you. You can keep
him or drive him away. I assure you, you can drive him away.”
"How?”
“By imagining that he doesn't have a chance." She
smiled faintly. “Phone me from your territory. We have a great
deal to say to each other, and I'd rather we didn't say it as ene-
mies."
She had good control. I, on the other hand, was at the end of
She had lived with meeting people like me for decades
.
my control. All I could do was scramble into the car and floor
my own phantom accelerator as the guard drove us to the gate.
what we
by what v
tions, par
question.
has the bir
desirable,
undesirab
for the soc
years. Nas
And
grim as it
I couldn't look back at her. Until we were well away from the
house, until we'd left the guard at the
and
property, I couldn't make myself look back. For long, irra-
tional minutes, I was convinced that somehow if I turned, I
would see myself standing there, gray and old, growing small
in the distance, vanishing.
gate
gone
off the
in particu
I I bu
genetic di
dominant
And it is a
does not
PRU), a
impairm
BLOODCHILD AND OTHER STORIES
TH
B
N
N
0
d
SO
Si
b
h.
h
“Good. No one will close him away from himself. No
one will tie him or cage him.” Her hand wandered to her own
face again, nails biting in slightly.
"No," I said softly, catching the hand. “I want you to be
safe, too."
The mouth moved. I think it smiled. “Son?" she said.
He understood her, took her hand.
“Clay,” she said. Lynn and Alan in clay. “Bea?"
Of course,” Beatrice said. “Do you have an impression?"
"No!" It was the fastest that Naomi had answered any-
thing. Then, almost childlike, she whispered. “Yes.”
Beatrice laughed. “Touch them again if you like, Naomi.
They don't mind.”
We didn't. Alan closed his eyes, trusting her gentleness in
a way I could not. I had no trouble accepting her touch, even
so near my eyes, but I did not delude myself about her. Her
gentleness could turn in an instant. Naomi's fingers twitched
near Alan's eyes, and I spoke up at once, out of fear for him.
“Just touch him, Naomi. Only touch."
She froze, made an interrogative sound.
"She's all right,” Alan said.
“I know," I said, not believing it. He would be all right,
though, as long as someone watched her very carefully, nipped
any dangerous impulses in the bud.
"Son!” she said, happily possessive. When she let him go,
she demanded clay, wouldn't touch her old-woman sculpture
again. Beatrice got new clay for her, leaving us to soothe her
and ease her impatience. Alan began to recognize signs of
impending destructive behavior. Twice he caught her hands
and said no. She struggled against him until I spoke to her. As
d
SI
t
60
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