The sun, invisible to them now behind the building, touched the horizon. The bleached earth turned brown, and its surface, apparently flat before, shaped itself into small, shadowed rises and ridges. The air was cooler.
"I saw you leave the Research Center this morning," Hendley said. "Where were you going?"
For an instant something like dismay was naked in her eyes. "You must have seen somebody else," she said quickly.
"Do you think I'd mistake anyone else for you?"
Her face was pink, and now she didn't meet his eyes. "Oh, I—I don't really work there." The words spilled out in a rush. "I was—afraid of you—and I didn't know what to think. So I said I worked there. I really work up the street—I'm a clerk in a dress shop." She looked up at him beseechingly. "I shouldn't have lied."
He was so relieved that he found it easy to forgive her. "You didn't have to be afraid."
"I know that now."
Smiling, he caressed the round curve of her shoulder. The fabric of her coverall, which was still open at the front, was smooth to his touch. Her red garment had been rougher, cheaper....
"Why did you wear blue?" he asked suddenly.