died yesterday.”
She kept on
watching him, and she didn’t stir at all ‘That’s because we speak about them at
home, nearly all the time,” she said. Mother doesn’t want me to forget my
Egyptian background.
She likes
America, but she doesn’t want me to forget.”
“And how about
you? Would you prefer to forget?”
“No,” she said,
almost inaudibly. “I cannot prefer to forget What my ancestors were, and are,
is unforgettable.”
He soothingly
stroked her neck and caressed her ears. Before, when he had touched her, she
had resented his touch, but she seemed to find this kind of idle finger play
soothing. As he ran his hands through her hair, he was conscious that her
muscular tightness was gradually easing, and that her eyes, so staring and
watchful a few moments ago, were now closing.
“You like
that?” he said. He didn’t even have to ask.
“That’s nice,”
she murmured, and she stretched herself until the last tensions had flowed from
her body and she was utterly relaxed.
“Lorie,” he
said, as he massaged her scalp, feeling the symmetrical shape of her head in
his hand.
Her eyes
remained closed. “Umh-humh?”
“Lorie, I’m
going to say something real serious.”
She was
enjoying his sensitive caress so much that she was purring with pleasure.
“Go on, then,”
she said.
He looked at
her distinctive, angular face for a while, and the way her long eyelashes
curved from her closed eyes. “I know this sounds kind of crazy. I didn’t think
it could happen myself. I’m in politics, you know? And that makes most people
cynical.
But I have to
face up to the fact that it’s true, and because it’s true I know that I’m going
to have to come out with it tonight, or tomorrow night, or some night, well, it
might just as well be tonight.”
She was purring
loudly now, rubbing her head back against his hand so that he could stroke her
ears.
“Lorie,” he
said softly. “I love you.”
There was a
pause. She stopped rubbing agates? him, and her slanting eyes gradually opened.
Re looked at her as sincerely and strongly as he could, because he wanted her
to see from his expression alone that he meant what he said.
“You... love
me?”
“Yes,” he
whispered.
Her eyes
flickered away from him. A slight worried crease marked her forehead.
“Gene,” she
said, “you mustn’t!”
He sat up.
“What do you mean, ‘mustn’t?’ It’s not a question of ‘mustn’t!’ I don’t have
any choice in the matter. I’ve fallen in love with you whether you Like it or
not!”
“Gene...”
“No,” he said
bluntly. “This time, I don’t want any excuses! We’ve been through all this
mysterious rigmarole of why I must never ask you to marry me, and why I
shouldn’t love you, and it’s wearing thin. If you’re afraid of something, why
don’t you come out straight and tell me?
I’m a grown
man, Lorie. I’m old enough to know what I want, and what I want is you, whether
you’ve been jailed or raped or treated for mental sickness or whatever it is.”
Her eyes opened
wide. “You think that I was raped? Or locked up in jail? Gene, I don’t
understand”
He stood up and
paced tautly across the carpet. “Lorie,” he said “I just didn’t know what to
think. All I knew was that I fancied you like crazy, and that you appeared to
fancy me, too, and yet whenever it looked like we might do something that
normal people do when they fancy each other, like kiss or go out for dinner,
you clammed up tight and told me to move along.”
He sat down
beside her again and held her hands. “I know that you’ve led a sheltered life,
and I know it’s difficult for you to form any kind of relationship. But you’re
twenty years old, and you’re beautiful, and you can’t stay in your ivory tower
forever. Someday, sooner or later, you’re going to want to form a permanent
lifetime association with somebody, whether it’s marriage or not, and you can’t
go on hiding behind these
She kept on
watching him, and she didn’t stir at all ‘That’s because we speak about them at
home, nearly all the time,” she said. Mother doesn’t want me to forget my
Egyptian background.
She likes
America, but she doesn’t want me to forget.”
“And how about
you? Would you prefer to forget?”
“No,” she said,
almost inaudibly. “I cannot prefer to forget What my ancestors were, and are,
is unforgettable.”
He soothingly
stroked her neck and caressed her ears. Before, when he had touched her, she
had resented his touch, but she seemed to find this kind of idle finger play
soothing. As he ran his hands through her hair, he was conscious that her
muscular tightness was gradually easing, and that her eyes, so staring and
watchful a few moments ago, were now closing.
“You like
that?” he said. He didn’t even have to ask.
“That’s nice,”
she murmured, and she stretched herself until the last tensions had flowed from
her body and she was utterly relaxed.
“Lorie,” he
said, as he massaged her scalp, feeling the symmetrical shape of her head in
his hand.
Her eyes
remained closed. “Umh-humh?”
“Lorie, I’m
going to say something real serious.”
She was
enjoying his sensitive caress so much that she was purring with pleasure.
“Go on, then,”
she said.
He looked at
her distinctive, angular face for a while, and the way her long eyelashes
curved from her closed eyes. “I know this sounds kind of crazy. I didn’t think
it could happen myself. I’m in politics, you know? And that makes most people
cynical.
But I have to
face up to the fact that it’s true, and because it’s true I know that I’m going
to have to come out with it tonight, or tomorrow night, or some night, well, it
might just as well be tonight.”
She was purring
loudly now, rubbing her head back against his hand so that he could stroke her
ears.
“Lorie,” he
said softly. “I love you.”
There was a
pause. She stopped rubbing agates? him, and her slanting eyes gradually opened.
Re looked at her as sincerely and strongly as he could, because he wanted her
to see from his expression alone that he meant what he said.
“You... love
me?”
“Yes,” he
whispered.
Her eyes
flickered away from him. A slight worried crease marked her forehead.
“Gene,” she
said, “you mustn’t!”
He sat up.
“What do you mean, ‘mustn’t?’ It’s not a question of ‘mustn’t!’ I don’t have
any choice in the matter. I’ve fallen in love with you whether you Like it or
not!”
“Gene...”
“No,” he said
bluntly. “This time, I don’t want any excuses! We’ve been through all this
mysterious rigmarole of why I must never ask you to marry me, and why I
shouldn’t love you, and it’s wearing thin. If you’re afraid of something, why
don’t you come out straight and tell me?
I’m a grown
man, Lorie. I’m old enough to know what I want, and what I want is you, whether
you’ve been jailed or raped or treated for mental sickness or whatever it is.”
Her eyes opened
wide. “You think that I was raped? Or locked up in jail? Gene, I don’t
understand”
He stood up and
paced tautly across the carpet. “Lorie,” he said “I just didn’t know what to
think. All I knew was that I fancied you like crazy, and that you appeared to
fancy me, too, and yet whenever it looked like we might do something that
normal people do when they fancy each other, like kiss or go out for dinner,
you clammed up tight and told me to move along.”
He sat down
beside her again and held her hands. “I know that you’ve led a sheltered life,
and I know it’s difficult for you to form any kind of relationship. But you’re
twenty years old, and you’re beautiful, and you can’t stay in your ivory tower
forever. Someday, sooner or later, you’re going to want to form a permanent
lifetime association with somebody, whether it’s marriage or not, and you can’t
go on hiding behind these
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