He grinned. "Oh, we still have our uses. Time to go. Will you do it?"
She stood up. "I'll play it by ear. If the audience is the type you say they are, it will be a pleasure."
The parade was over. Now, as they waited for the banquet and the speeches to begin, John Harmon spoke to Turner.
"You're a lucky man, George."
"Why?"
"Spending so much time with Gloria. She had me laughing all the way up Wall Street with her remarks about the parade. If I didn't have to go back to the base tomorrow I'd steal her for a date." He turned to Gloria. "I mean it, honey. You really leave me weightless!"
Gloria smiled at him. "I'll take a recount, John. We can blast off some other time."
After the banquet the Mayor of New York made the major address of the evening. "And so, ladies and gentleman," he concluded, "you have seen today two people who represent the end of one era and the beginning of another. The lovely lady on my right is to be the first Mother America. For the first time in history, our nation is actively planning our future citizens. It is true that for years now, with the help of the Genetics Laboratories, represented so ably by Doctor Turner, individual citizens have planned their parenthood, but never before have a President and Congress given their approval, their official blessing, for such a purpose. This then is a milestone we have passed, a point in our history we will never forget."
"They'll never forget me either when I back out," Gloria whispered to George. "I'm getting worried. We're in too deep."