"For a moment," he said softly, "I felt as I did when I walked on the bridge of stars."
She thought of asking him whether it made him so happy that he would stay with her now instead of going to the country of the pale eyes with his father. But she knew what his answer would be, and that his saying it would only hurt him and her.
She said, "It was Sun Woman, your mother, who told me about this—about what men and women do together."
He laughed. "It was also she who told me." His face reddened. "I feel as if my mother were here watching us."
It was Redbird's turn to laugh. "What would she see that she did not know about already?"
He shook his head. "I would not want anybody to see us doing that."
"The spirits watch us."
"That is not the same. They watch everything, so it is not special to them."
"Is it special to you?" she asked.
"Oh, yes. Something has passed between us. I have given a part of myself to you. And I have a part of you too. Now, even if I must leave you, we will still be with each other."