He tried to smile, and his face felt old and tired. "We were overdue anyway," he said. "Way overdue. I guess it's against the rules to beat the odds forever."
"I just ... just dropped it...."
"Don't, don't my darling. It wasn't you, don't you understand? It wasn't you, or me—the little fight we made just prolonged things for awhile. Sort of like living itself, I guess. The big system. You can let it sweep you along as it will or you can fight it if you're fool enough...."
"Doug! Doug, you don't believe those things!"
He felt the muscles of his face tighten, and he said nothing. No, no he did not believe them, but what difference did that make? It was the ways things were that mattered!
He picked up the broadsword Terry had let fall.
"How long—how long will it be, Doug?"
Her voice was calm; there was even a faint flush of color in her face again.
"I don't know," he said. "For awhile at least, this might seem the least logical place."
"Dad, what's in this big box? Hey, Dad!"