She looked at him coldly, turned to the bartender and murmured, "A Far Out Cooler, please, Fredric." Then deliberately added, "I thought the Kudos Room was supposed to be exclusive."
There was nothing the bartender could say to that, and he went about building the drink.
Si cleared his throat. "Hey," he said, "how about letting this one be on me?"
Her eyebrows, which had been plucked and penciled to carry out her Oriental motif, rose. "Really!" she said, drawing it out.
The bartender said hurriedly, "I beg your pardon, sir...."
The girl, her voice suddenly subtly changed, said, "Why, isn't that a space pin?"
Si, disconcerted by the sudden reversal, said, "Yeah ... sure."
"Good Heavens, you're a spaceman?"
"Sure." He pointed at the lapel pin. "You can't wear one unless you been on at least a Moon run."
She was obviously both taken back and impressed. "Why," she said, "you're Seymour Pond, the pilot. I tuned in on the banquet they gave you."