Channing went back to the party and spent ten minutes telling his friends what had happened. Then he forgot about it and joined in the merrymaking, which was growing more boisterous and uninhibited by the moment. It was in the wee small hours of the clock—though not necessarily the night, for there is no such thing on Venus Equilateral—when the party broke up and people bundled up and braved the howling blizzard that raged up and down the halls.
Home to warmth and cheer—and bed.
Arden sat up in bed and looked sleepily around the dark bedroom. "Don," she asked with some concern, "you're not sick?"
"Nope," he replied.
Arden pursed her lips. She snapped the light on and saw that Don was half-dressed.
"What gives?" she demanded, slipping out of bed and reaching for a robe.
"Frankly—"
"You've been stewing over that blown-out fuse."
He nodded sheepishly.