“You could ship the briefcase alone,” Nick suggested for probably the thirtieth time. He already knew the answer but he couldn’t help himself.
“No. I could not! It is my duty to see it safely back to Alta-Tyberia. All my life I have been trained for this one task. If I did not complete it properly, I would have no regard for myself. You could not love such a person.”
“Yes I could,’’ he said, even though he knew she was right.
The announcement of the shuttle boarding came over the loudspeaker. She stood up, straightening her dress.
“Goodbye,” she said, as formally as if they’d just met.
“Goodbye,” Nick said. “Maybe I’ll see you again some . . .” The words caught in his throat. No longer able to control the need welling within him, he kissed her and held her very tight.
She whispered in his ear, “I will never forget you, Nicholas Harmon.”
Then she was walking to the gate, and then she was passing through the boarding arch, stopping to wave, and then she was no more.
He could feel the shuttle lift off from where he stood—the floor literally shook—and the waterfall roar of the rockets penetrated even the soundproofed walls of the terminal. Finally he walked to the window and watched the shuttle, a blazing point, being swallowed up by the sky.