Конец вечности
Crime
Hemightaswellaskagirlofhisownhomewhenifshehadevereateninthepresenceofamanandhowdaredshe?
Insteadhesaidhumbly,"Andwhatdoyouthinkofmenow?"
"Thatyouareverynice,"shesaidsoftly,"andthatifyoueverrelaxed-Won’tyousmile?"
"There’snothingtosmileabout,Noys."
"Please.Iwanttoseeifyourcheekscancreaseright.Let’ssee."Sheputherfingerstothecornersofhismouthandpressedthembackward.Hejerkedhisheadbackinsurpriseandcouldn’tavoidsmiling.
"See.Yourcheeksdidn’tevencrack.You’realmosthandsome.Withenoughpractice-standinginfrontofamirrorandsmilingandgettingatwinkleinyoureye-I’llbetyoucouldbereallyhandsome."
Butthesmile,fragileenoughtobeginwith,vanished.
Noyssaid,"Weareintrouble,aren’twe?"
"Yes,weare,Noys.Greattrouble."
"Becauseofwhatwedid?YouandI?Thatevening?"
"Notreally."
"Thatwasmyfault,youknow.I’lltellthemso,ifyouwish."
"Never,",saidHarlanwithenergy."Don’ttakeonanyfaultinthis.You’vedonenothing,nothing,tobeguiltyfor.It’ssomethingelse."
Noyslookeduneasilyatthetemporometer."Wherearewe?Ican’tevenseethenumbers."
"Whenarewe?"Harlancorrectedherautomatically.HeslowedthevelocityandtheCenturiescameintoview.
Herbeautifuleyeswidenedandthelashesstoodoutagainstthewhitenessofherskin."Isthatright?"
Harlanlookedattheindicatorcasually.Itwasinthe72,000’s."I’msureitis."
"Butwherearewegoing?"
"Towhenarewegoing.
