She stroked his hair. She said, "Wanting me isn't enough, wasn't enough. Can't you see that, dearest? A woman must be needed, not wanted. Darling, everything's going to be all right, now."
"Ann, I haven't the right to ask. But—did I bring you back from—I mean, were you on Venus?"
She put a soft hand on his lips. "Sweetheart, what a horrible question. I'm your Ann, remember? I'm your darling. And nobody else is going to come between us. This will be our room, tonight, and all the nights."
The now embodied assembly met above the stream they could hear, in the glade they could see.
Ha said, "I've a request from Earthians, that Truesdale pair."
"Request?" Peak said.
"They'd like to spend the weekend, here, all their weekends. He works the rest of the week, but—"
"Earthians, here?" Peak interrupted. "I'll be darned if—"
Ha said, "Remember, if it wasn't for them, we'd still be disembodied. I think this is a voting matter, Peak."