"Ah, I don't know, Dad—"
"Please, Roger, you've got to be honest with me. I want to know exactly how you feel about it. I know you've tried before, and I refused to take you seriously. I realize that. But now—now tell me the truth."
And the curious thing was, he realized, that he wanted to hear from his son what he feared most to hear.
"Well—sure, I wanted to go," his son said. "I kept telling you, didn't I? Of course, I wouldn't want to go unless some of the gang were going too."
"You really think that you'd be willing to leave Earth, your home, your family—"
Duran hesitated angrily, knowing it was the wrong approach. He waited a moment, then began again.
"I'm not condemning you for it, Roger. I just find it hard to believe. And I have to be sure you know what you'd be sacrificing."
"I think I do, Dad," Roger said. "But you've got to make a break sometime. I guess there'd be some girls going along, wouldn't there?"
Duran grinned numbly.
"I guess there would, son," he said.