There was an awkward silence. Lee got up from his seat and walked around the desk. He pulled up another chair and sat beside Elaine. "Now, what's the trouble?"
"I've been thinking," she said slowly. "I ... I've decided to transfer off Titan."
"Leave? But why?"
"For us, Sid. For both of us. Before we get so wrapped up in each other that we won't be able to break it up without really getting hurt...."
"I don't understand," he said.
She spoke calmly and softly, no tears, no hysterics. She had thought it all out very carefully. "Sid, take a look around you. We're like two castaways on a desert world. We love each other—here and now. But we won't always be here. What happens when we leave Titan? What happens when we're not faced with the loneliness and that ... that thing out there? Suppose we find that we don't really need each other? What then?"
"But I do need you, Elaine. I love you."
"You do now," she answered. "But how long will it last? Sid, I have to get away, at least for a little while. I need a sense of perspective."
"I see," he said, shifting his gaze away from her. "That doesn't leave me much to say, does it? All right, Elaine. Make out a transfer request and I'll sign it."
"Thanks. I ... I hope you understand." She got up and started slowly toward the door.