Her eye grew enormous.
The bleakness encroached further.
By the gods, he would miss her.
“I did not like it.It was grimy and loud.Everyone seems tobe in a hurry, like the place they’re going will vanish in but seconds, or whatthey’re doing is more important than the deeds of those around them.That lastreminds me of your father of this world, except it was most everyone whobehaved in this manner.People don’t meet each other’s eyes.They don’t nodhello.They are too busy rushing.They are too consumed with thinking ofthemselves.”
“That about describes it,” she said.
“And it looked likeKorwahk, butthere was all this false green that seemed out of place.Unnatural.When whatwas supposed to be there would have been so much better.”
“I live in Phoenix, it’s a desert.”
“It doesn’t look like a desert.”
“Man on my world fiddles.They want things as they want themand find ways, or invent them, to make that so.”
“I sense this is foolhardy.”
“It is,” she murmured.
“I saw the other me,” he announced.
Again with the big eyes, but accompanying them this time,her body started.
“And Marlow, Middy, Holt and Croft.When you return, I wouldask you not to seek him out.This other me.It would destroy me, knowing youare with him.But then, it would that if you were with anyone.And you willfind someone.And it is no longer my place to make demands.”
“Was it ever?”
“You’re right,” he conceded.“It was not.”
“I didn’t like lying to you,” she said.
“That was abundantly clear, though I didn’t understand untilrecently the true reasons behind your emotion.”
“I wouldn’t have…I mean, it was going to be a last resort,you know, playing you.Making you have feelings for me.Marrying you and havingyour child.I needed to get Mom safe, but I hoped to do that and not involveyou at all.”
“You are safe now and set finally to go home.”
“We’re not going home.”
Loren stilled in all manners that word could describe.Hisbody.His heart in his chest.His blood in his veins.His ability to think.
Except one thought.
They weren’t going home?
“It’s too different there.Maxine couldn’t hack it.She’shappy now.We don’t want to rock that boat,” she explained.
Loren had also lost the ability to speak, thus he remainedsilent.
“Mom likes being Lady Corliss too.We’re hoping the woman ingreen might take us back for a quick trip, so people we love don’t thinkanything bad happened to us.But then we want to come right back.Maxine wasokay with us being gone today, but I don’t think us being gone more than a dayor two would be good for her.Maybe a little later, when we’ve been around fora while.But not now.”
“You wish to remain?”he pushed out.
She shrugged.“However it came about, no matter how wild andterrifying, Mom and I talked about it a while ago.It might sound crazy, but wefigure we’re meant to be here.We’d decided to stay then.And obviously, therewas no way I was leaving you.”
He felt something weighing on his chest, the weight wasmighty, crushing him.
