"I didn't expect a brass band and a key to the city," Lee said. Then he added, "You're pretty gay for a female scientist," he said.
"I'm always gay when I meet old friends again."
He said nothing.
"I wish you'd cheer up," Elaine coaxed.
"I will; give me time."
They entered the parking building and got into a bubble-top car. Elaine gunned it to life, and they slid out of the near-empty parking area, through the pressure doors, and into Titan's unbreathable atmosphere.
"Have you been here straight through since I left?" he asked.
"No. I spent about eighteen months on Venus, slushing through the swamps in search of ruins that couldn't possibly have survived a century in that climate."
"And?"