“You don’t think it affects us to have him moping around like some demented . . .” She flinched, and I lowered my voice. “He’s already wearing us down. Three more years?”

We’d had this argument before, from various angles. Her response surprised me. “It could be a long three years. Let’s see how he acts when we have gravity again. See whether this recovery lasts.”

“I’m glad you can see it that way.”

She smiled and touched my shoulder. “Don’t want two crazy men aboard.” She kicked off from the bookcase and floated toward the kitchen.

Chapter 6 - ADJUSTMENTS

6

ADJUSTMENTS

I was jangled but way behind on sleep, despite the sweet nap with Paul, so I took a half pill and went zombie for about eight hours. When I woke up, Paul was snoring upside down in a corner, naked. Zero gee can do funny things to a penis, but I decided his need for sleep trumped my curiosity. And he might be low on energy. I closed the door quietly and drifted toward the gym, where Moonboy was tumbling.

It may have been weightlessness as much as the appearance of Spy that had shaken Moonboy out of his sullen isolation, into impressive gymnastics. He’s Paul’s age, but was bouncing around like a kid.

Well, not exactly like a kid. There was an element of grim determination in his constant motion, getting a maximum of exercise while honing his zero-gee gymnastic skills. I had seen him studying Paul, then trying to duplicate the ways he got from place to place. He was never as graceful but became almost as fast and accurate.

Not a particularly useful life skill, unless he planned a midlife career as a laborer in orbit. But I was hoping all the jumping around was a kind of transition back to a normal life. Or “normal,” in quotation marks.

Meryl was watching him from a distance as he practiced floor-to-ceiling, ceiling-to-floor rolls. I floated over to join her.

“He’s getting good,” I said.

“That he is.” She didn’t look at me.

“Have you talked?”

“Said hello.” She took a breath and let it out. “What should I say to him? I mean really.”

“Welcome back?”

“I don’t know that he is back. I’m not sure where he’s been.” There were beads of tears on her eyelashes. She rubbed her eyes and left wet spots on her cheeks.

“Maybe you want to wait until the gravity comes back.”

“Maybe.” Our thighs touched, and she put a hand on my knee. “You’re so lucky with Paul.”

“Yes. But Elza will get him, too, sooner or later.” Why did I say that?

She smiled. “Probably. She’ll be fucking Spy before we get to the planet.”

“A milestone for Homo sapiens.”