Glancing at Linda, then meeting Vickie's eyes, I asked, "Do either of you still have any doubts about Sue's qualifications to coach softball?"
Freezing in mid-bite, Wallace asked, "Softball?"
Linda gave me a quick fisheye look, then said, "No," as Vickie chuckled and began, "Oh, no, not..."
"Go ahead," said Linda.
Vickie nodded and said, "Not at all, Ed. After today, though, I can't understand why you'd part with her at all."
"She needs interactive experience with people, Vickie. Time with all ages and types, not just with me."
With a glance at Linda, Vickie said, "Well, she'd get it with us, that's for sure. If Linda has no objections, we'd be pleased to have her in Volunteer Services."
"No," said Linda. "No objections."
"Done, then," I said, "If she doesn't show up before the end of lunch, I'll send her by Vickie's office later."
Sue didn't show up. Wallace and Vickie headed for their offices and Linda and I lingered over coffee. A period of silence elapsed before she spoke.
"You really pulled a rabbit out of your hat out there, Ed."
"You mean the transmutation thing? Steph would have mentioned it to you if I hadn't thought of it."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yup. She was about to step into things when I called her about my problem with Sue."
"Regarding closing the connection to me, you mean?"
I grinned. "Yeah. That problem, too, milady. On a couple of occasions Sue's been balky or snotty at the wrong times and she seemed a little confused about who was in charge of the immediate situation at the truck."
Nodding, Linda said, "I heard that part. Is that what this volunteerism is really about? Getting rid of her?"
"It's exactly what I said it is; a way to let her get the people experience she needs to graduate."
Giving me a peering look, Linda asked, "Then what?"
"Then I'll ask for a standard flitter core."
More silent time passed, then she said, "I see. You and Steph had some tense moments, too, as I recall."
"That's no reason to set the stage for more of the same from someone else, is it? Volunteer Services will get a ton of work out of Sue and she'll get to work with lots of people. She'll follow orders and have to give them at times, and nothing beats being in the middle if you want to learn to understand the needs of both ends of the chain at once."
Linda regarded me thoughtfully for a time, then said, "I think I see some kind of a pattern, but I'm not sure what it means, Ed. You're farming Sue out to VS. Selena graduates this year and she'll be moving to Tallahassee with her job."
She sipped coffee, then continued, "While Stephanie will undoubtedly visit, she won't be with you all the time as she was before. Have you been deliberately cutting back your... uhm, circles of involvement?"
"No. Selena's on schedule with her prearranged course of action. Steph was ready for her independence and Sue needs a hitch with an outfit like VS."
After a sip of coffee, I said, "Also, Toni doesn't graduate for another year and she'll be living in Sel's condo until it's sold, so I don't expect to suffer greatly. If Toni drifts away, I could probably hook up with Myra for a while. She's got a life of her own, so I don't think she'd try to be a constant companion."
"Uh, huh. So that's what this is about? Not having someone else around all the time?"
"Partly. The other reasons, mostly. I just noticed that things were culminating in that direction and the idea of having the house to myself again sounds good, so I'm going with it."
"You never felt that way with Steph, did you?"
Shaking my head, I said, "Nope. Never did and still don't. It'd be fine with me if she'd make my house her home base."
"But then you wouldn't be alone."
"No, but I wouldn't feel the need to be alone, either."
Biting her lip and sitting back to give me an arched eyebrow, Linda quietly asked, "You love her, don't you?"
Shrugging, I said, "Yes, I do, Linda. I feel a bit incomplete without her immediate presence, even though we're still connected." I tapped my comm implant for emphasis.
"Well, damn, Ed! Have you ever told her?"
I thought about it and shook my head.
"No, I don't think so. Not in so many words. Not until you brought the subject up just now, anyway."
Linda's eyes widened a bit and she whispered, "You mean she's been listening to us?"
"Probably so. She keeps a tab on me. Steph? You busy?"
Steph smilingly appeared in the seat beside me and put her hand on mine. Linda seemed frozen for some moments.
Gazing first at Steph, then at me, then returning her gaze to Steph, Linda muttered, "Oh, my God," then asked, "Then you were aware of his feelings for you?"
"Yes. He hasn't tried to conceal them from me."
"Do you, uh, do you share his feelings? Can you?"
Nodding, Steph said, "Yes, of course. I can and I do."
"Then... what... uh... what are you going to do?"
"Do?" I asked, "About what?"
Smiling at me, Steph turned to meet Linda's gaze and asked, "Yes, Linda; about what?"
Looking a bit confused, Linda said nothing for some moments, then she took a deep breath and sighingly nodded.
"I see." She cleared her throat again and said, "I think." She then again sipped her coffee and muttered, "My God."
"Let's change the subject," I said, "How's your thing with Wallace going?"
Linda sat upright and asked, "What?"
"Well, hey, ol' friend, ol' buddy, ol' pal; since you're so concerned about my love life, I figured it was only fair..."
"Oh, I'm sure you did." She paused a moment, then seemed almost grudgingly to admit, "As a matter of fact, Emory recently brought up the subject of marriage. Not as an immediate option, of course, but... well, we've discussed it."
"Oh, lordy," I said softly, shaking my head.
Steph glanced at me, then rolled her eyes at my comment.
Stiffening, Linda asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Raising both hands in protest, I said, "Now, don't get all fuzzed up, Fearless Leader. I'm just trying to envision you as a housewife." Pretending to strain a bit with the effort, I then added, "Nope. Just can't make that picture come up. Maybe if I try envisioning him as the housewife..?"
With a narrow gaze, Linda said, "Very funny. Why not try envisioning me giving you the finger?"
Again glancing at me, Steph snickered.
Nodding, I said, "Yup. That picture comes up just fine. Tell ya what, ma'am, I'll sing at your wedding. I think I can still remember all the words to 'I Knew the Bride When She Used to Rock and Roll'. I'll just leave out the lines that mention commanding intelligence operations."
Tightly smiling, she said, "Oh, I'm sure you would."
"Sure. No problem. Here, I'll show you which ones."
As she stared at me, I softly sang a few improvised lines:
"I can still see her, giving orders to her guys,
Callin' all the shots was her favorite high,
I can still remember when she gave us fancy toys,
And set up covert ops with the a-gen-cy boys,
She used to party hearty and she used to run the showww...,
I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll..."
Steph and Linda were both staring at me.
Raising a hand, Linda said, "Enough. Stop the music. Jesus. How the hell did you come up with that on the fly?"
Shrugging, I said, "My deranged muse. The other one's visiting her mother in Boston, I think. Have you set a date?"
Again raising her hand, Linda emphatically said, "No, and I'm not ready to do so at this time."
With a 'gotcha' grin, I said, "Ah-hah! But you didn't come right out and tell him 'no', did you?"
After studying me for a moment, Linda said, "No, I didn't. Can we drop the funnies for the time being? What do you really think, Ed?"
Sitting back
and sipping coffee again, I considered that for some moments, rooting around in my mind and psyche. They'd been practically living together for close to a year, so they ought to know each other fairly well and be over the initial burst of new-relationship passion. Still... marriage?
"What's the purpose of marriage, Linda?"
"What? What do you mean, Ed?"
"You, me, Wallace. We aren't starry-eyed, lust-blinded kids just starting our lives; we're all over fifty. What would any of us get out of marriage? Symbolism and maybe the illusion of security. Not a decent tax break, certainly. What else? Any plans to adopt? Unlikely; you'd be the only sixty-somethings at the PTA meetings. Pooling resources? Unnecessary and unwise. Both of you will have hefty retirement checks and bonuses in the not too distant future, and then there's Social Security. Unless they fix the system, marriage will be a severe disadvantage where SS benefits are concerned."
I shrugged and sipped my coffee, then said, "Before you hitch up with Wallace or anyone else, I'd suggest long sessions with an accountant and a lawyer. You already have each other and you seem to be getting along pretty well. Marriage might only screw things up."
There was silence as she sipped her coffee, then Linda leaned her elbows on the table asked, "You wouldn't happen to have any other reasons for thinking I ought to stay single? Personal ones, maybe?"
"Considered that. None that can count."
Her gaze met mine for a time, then shifted to Steph.
"Well?" asked Linda.
"Ed was telling the truth," said Steph.
Linda blinked, sat up straight, and laughed shortly.
"I wasn't asking for verification, Steph. I thought you might have an opinion on the subject of marriage."
Steph didn't answer immediately and I recognized the slight, thoughtful tilt of her head as being something she'd picked up from Selena.
She said, "Ed made some valid points, Linda. Other than social and official approvals, what true benefits would you derive from marriage?"
"Something else," I said. "You and Emory are both control freaks. You run different branches of this operation and you're almost equal in power. Take that away and what'll happen? Better to find out before you get married."
"You mean wait until after we're retired? Ed, that would be more than four years from now. At a minimum."
Sighing, I sat back again and looked at her.
"Linda, what's time?"
"Oh, hell. More guessing games. First it's 'what's marriage', and now it's 'what's time'." Her voice turned slightly mocking as she said, "Well, gee, I don't know, Ed. What's time?"
"It's something we fill, Linda. Hours, days, years. They add up and we get older, but if we look back, we can see that all we really did was fill time one way or another. Has being unmarried kept you from getting in his pants, ma'am? No, it hasn't. Has it kept you from vacationing in London together or getting along with his family? Again, no. You've got it all now. You see where I'm going with this?"
I took a breath and said, "No offense, please -- and I mean that sincerely -- but I'd like to pose another question, Linda. I know you love each other and I'm not trying to be the snake in the garden, here, but why is ol' Emory so keen on the idea of getting married? What will that get him or mean to him? In his eyes, how will that change your status? Would it finally make you one of the people he can control? Could that be the true core of his urge to marry you?"
Pausing, I added, "And wouldn't you ask a good friend the same questions if she was looking at marrying a honcho-type like Navy Captain Emory Wallace?"
Linda's brows knitted and her eyes acquired a glowering quality that was just short of an actual glare. She slid her chair back, stood up, and started to say something, then didn't.
Also standing up, I began gathering our dishes and trays and didn't look up until I had everything in a carryable pile.
A freshly-composed Linda met my gaze and said coolly, "I'll give your comments some consideration, Ed. Do you have anything to add before I get back to work?"
Shrugging, I said, "Yeah, just one thing, I guess. Whether you're married or not won't mean a damned thing to me, Linda. You'll still be my Fearless Leader and my best -- human -- friend in the world. Do you think you can live with that?"
Her lips tightened. Linda took a breath, then let it out with a sigh as she pushed her chair back under the table.
"Yes," she said softly. "I think I can live with that. I'll see you two later. It's time I was back at my desk."
As she turned to go, Steph said, "Linda."
When Linda faced her, Steph gave her a little smile and said, "He was telling the truth about that, too."
Linda returned her smile with a small, wry one, and said, "I know, Steph." Chuckling softly, she added, "But thanks."
I watched Linda walk away until she rounded the hallway corner, then took the trays to the bus bins. Steph accompanied me and seemed to be quietly studying me.
Dumping the trays, I asked, "Yes, ma'am?"
"You hate the idea that she may marry Emory, don't you?"
It was a statement, not a question.
Nodding, I said, "Yup. Sure do."
"Why?"
Facing her, I said, "She's my friend and my boss, Steph. He's the embodiment of every brasshole who ever quoted regulations at me and he wants to put a collar and leash on Linda. Remember our first meeting with him? Whatta putz. He looked like an ice cream vendor and he rather accusingly questioned my knowledge of flitters when he didn't know batshit about them. He barked at me before he knew a damned thing about me, too. Want to hear more?"
"Would it make you feel better?"
Sighing, I said, "Nope. Flattening the sumbitch would, though."
"Linda would undoubtedly disapprove."
"Yeah, probably so." Putting a hand on her arm, I asked, "Do you have to be anywhere else today, milady?"
"No."
"Great. I'd appreciate it if you'd stick around for a while, Steph. Just having you near feels good, and being able to see you is like icing on a cake." In a confidential tone, I added, "I think you're kind of cute, y'know."
In the same tone, she said, "Yes, I know. Thank you."
"Where's Sue?"
"She's having a talk with Elkor."
"A reprogramming session?"
"No, just a discussion."
"Well, when she's finished, she can head straight for Vickie Chang's office unless there's a reason she shouldn't."
Shaking her head, Steph said, "No, there's no such reason, but I'd still like her to spend some time with you, Ed."
I met her gaze for a moment. "Yeah. Okay. Later, though."
As we entered the main corridor, Angela Horn waved and changed direction to intercept us.
"Hi, Steph, hi, Ed," she said, "Great job out there. Have you been debriefed yet?"
"I just had lunch with Wallace and Linda."
"My flitter two won't tell me anything about what happened. It says it doesn't remember. What did you do to it?"
I said, "Nothing. Ask Linda about it."
"I'm asking you, Ed."
"And I'm telling you to ask Linda."
Stepping ahead and stopping our procession, Angela said, "In Atlanta, you cut your comm links and left without even a goodbye. Is there something about me you don't like, Ed?"
Looking her over, I said, "I like you fine, Angela. The other girl" -- I groped for her name -- "Whosis. Miz Tightass. Alexis? Yeah. Her I didn't like much, and I cut my comm links to duck the after-game chatter and the high-five crap."
She regarded me for a time, then said, "TJ said you called somebody about getting your car fixed in the middle of things."
"If TJ was in the command center, then TJ talks too much, doesn't he?"
"She. It's common knowledge, though."
"Whatever. I had some time to kill, so I used it. Tell me, Angela, how do you feel about older men?"
Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open.
"What?"
"My
girlfriend is graduating soon. She'll be moving to another town with her company. I know a flitter ride probably wouldn't turn your head much, but how about dinner?"
After a blank moment, she asked, "Your girlfriend's in school?"
"Yup. She's about your age. She had to part-time it for a while or she'd have graduated a couple of years ago."
Angela seemed more than a little flustered, then she said, "Uh, Ed, I have a boyfriend. Mark Tanner."
"He's a bio-tech, isn't he?"
She nodded.
I shrugged and said, "Well, the offer's open and I'd do my best to tickle your fancy, y'know. Anything else?"
"Else? Oh. Uh, no. I guess not."
"Okay, then. See you next trip."
"Uh, yeah. See you next time. Bye."
As Steph and I headed toward the doors, Steph said, "You knew she has a boyfriend, Ed. Why did you ask her out?"
"Think she's worried about me not liking her now?"
"No, probably not."
"She'll talk, Steph; about poor little me losing my girlfriend when she graduates, in particular. If any woman here has any interest in me, she'll know about that the next time I visit."
With a chuckling sidelong glance at me, Steph said, "I see. Do you think they'll draw lots for you or politely take turns?"
"Beats me, flitter goddess. Oh, hey, I can't call you that anymore, can I? This presents a problem, Steph. People aren't easy to reprogram. I might slip now and then. Will you mind?"
"Oh, I won't be too offended, I guess."
I held the door for her as I said, "Great. Sometimes I wish you could eat, ma'am. I'd take you to dinner instead of some lady flitter pilot."
On the trip back to Spring Hill, I made arrangements to have my car picked up for repair. No sooner than I'd hung up from that call, Sue spoke through my implant.
"May I join you, Ed?"
"Sure, Sue. How'd it go with Vickie?"
She appeared by the console and said, "I start tomorrow. I'm now a softball coach, among other things. Elkor suggested that I ask for a full standard workday and a variety of tasks. People can be so appreciative of small things, Ed. I repaired a simple photocopier malfunction in the sports office and they acted as if I'd accomplished the impossible."
"What was the problem?"
3rd World Products, Inc., Book 4 Page 58