She put both hands on her forehead and rubbed them back over her fuzzy scalp, grinning wider as he got closer.
"Am I like you remember me?" she said. "Even better." He splashed through the last few steps between them. He put his arms around her and they kissed. She did not cry, did not feel the need to though she was brimming over with happiness.
Bill and August had done wonders in only six days, working with just the sharp edges of their suit rings. They had built two shacks; a third had two sides and half a roof. They were made from branches tied together and caked with mud. The roofs were slanted and thatched.
"The best we could do," Bill said, as he showed them around. "I was thinking in terms of adobe, but the sun won't dry the mud fast enough. They keep out the wind, and most of the rain."
inside, the huts were two by two meters, covered with a thick layer of dry straw. Cirocco could not stand erect, but didn't think of objecting. Being able to sleep inside was nothing to laugh at.
"We didn't have time to finish the other one before you got here," he went on. "One more day, with the three of you helping. Gaby, this one is for you and Calvin. Me and Cirocco will move into the one over there that August used to have. She says she wants the new one." Neither Calvin nor Gaby said anything, but Gaby was sticking close to Cirocco.
August looked like hell. She had aged five years since Cirocco last saw her. She was a thin, hollow-eyed ghost with hands that shook constantly. She looked incomplete, as if half of her had been hacked away.
"We didn't have time to make a fresh kill today," Bill was say- ing. "We were too busy on the new house. August, is there enough left over from yesterday?"
"I think so," she said. "Wouldyougetit?"
She turned away. Bill caught Cirocco's eye, pursed his lips, and shook his head slowly.
"Nothing at all from April, huh? " he said, softly. "Not a word. Gene, either."
"I don't know wh;at's going to happen to her."
After the meal Bill put them to work fiffishing the third hut. With two for practice, he had it down to a routine. It was tedi- ous, but not physically difficult; they could move large logs easily, but had a terrible time cutting even the smallest ones. As a result, the fruit of their labors was not pretty to look at.
When it was done, Calvin went into the hut he had been as- signed while August moved into another. Gaby seemed at a loss, but finally managed to stammer that she was going to look around the area, and would not be back for several hours. She wandered off, looking forlorn.
Bill and Cirocco looked at each other. Bill shrugged, and gestured toward the remaining hut.
Cirocco sat awkwardly. There were many things she wanted to ask, but she was hesitant to start.
"How was it for you?" she asked, finally.
"If you mean the time between the collision and waking up in here, I'm going to have to disappoint you. I don't remember any of it."
She reached over and probed gently at his forehead.
"No headaches? Dizziness? Calvin should take a look at you."
He frowned. "Was I hurt? "
"Pretty bad. Your face was bloody and you were out cold. That's all I could see in the few seconds I had. But I thought your skull might be broken."
He felt his forehead, ran his fingers around to the sides and back of his head.
"I can't find any tender places. There weren't any bruises, either. Cirocco, I-"
She put her hand on his knee. "Call me Rocky, Bill. You know you're the only one I didn't mind it from."
He scowled, and looked away from her.
"All right, Rocky. That's what I need to talk to you about. It isn't just the... the dark period, August called it. It isn't just that I can't remember. I'm pretty hazy about a lot of things."
"Just how many things?"
"Like where I was born, how old I am, or where I grew up or went to school. I can see my mother's face, but I can't remember her name, or if she's dead or alive." He rubbed his forehead.
"She's alive and very well in Denver, where you grew up," Cirocco said, quietly. "Or she was when she called us on your fortieth birthday. Her name's Betty. We all liked her."
He seemed relieved, then downcast again.
" I'guess that means something ," he said. "I did remember her because she's important to me. I remembered you, too."
sirocco looked into his eyes. "But not my name. is that what you're having trouble telling me? "
"Yeah. " He looked miserable. 'isn't that a hell of a thing? August told me your name, but she didn't tell me I called you Rocky. That's kind of cute, by the way. I like that."
Cirocco laughed. "I've been trying to kill that name most of my adult life, but I always weaken when somebody whispers it in my ear." She took his hand. "What else do you remember about me? You recall I was the Captain?"
"Oh, sure. I remember you were the first female Captain I'd ever served under."
"Bill, in free-fall, it doesn't matter who's on top."
"That's not what I--" He smiled when he realized he was being kidded -"I wasn't sure about that, either. Did we ... I mean were we... ? "
"Did we fuck?" She shook her head, not in negation, but in wonder. "Every chance we got, as soon as I stopped chasing Gene and Calvin and noticed that the most man on board was my chief engineer. Bill, I hope I don't hurt your feelings, but I kind of like you like this."
"Like what?"
"You couldn't bring yourself to ask if we'd ... been intimate." She made the pause as dramatic as she could, lowering her eyes shyly, and he laughed. "You were like that before we got to know each other. Shy. I think this is going to be like the first time all over again, and the first time is always special, don't you agree?" She blinked at him and waited what she felt was a reasonable time, but he made no move, so she went to him and pressed close. it had not surprised heri she had needed to make her feelings quite clear the other first time, too.
When they broke the kiss he looked up at her and smiled.
" I wanted to tell you that I love you. You didn't give me any time."
"You never said that before. Maybe you shouldn't commit yourself until you get your memory back."
"I think I might not have known I loved you before. Then ... all I was left with was your face and a feeling. "" trust that. And I meant what I said."
"Mmm. You're nice. Do you remember what to do with that?"
"I'm sure it'll come back to me with practice."
"Then I think it's time for you to start serving under me again. "
It was as joyous as a first time, but without the awkwardness that usually goes along with it. Cirocco forgot everything else. There was just enough light to see his face, just enough gravity to make the heaps of straw softer than the finest silk.
The timeless quality of that long afternoon had little to do with the unchanging light of Themis. She didn't have any place she needed to be; there was no need to go anywhere, ever, for anything.
"Now's the time for a cigarette," he said. "I wish I had one."
"And drop your ashes down on me," she teased. "Filthy habit.
I wish I had some cocaine. It all went down with the ship."
"You can go straight. "
He had not withdrawn from her. She remembered how much she had liked that in Ringmaster, waiting to see if things would get going again. With Bill, they usually did.
This time was a little different.
"Bill, I'm afraid I'm getting a little irritated like this."
He eased his weight onto his hands. "The straw hurting your back? I can take a turn underneath if you want."
"It's not the straw, honey, and it ain't my back. It's a little more personal than that. I'm afraid you feel like sandpaper."