"Quite. It wouldn't be fair of me to ask you to leave without an
explanation. I am perfectly willing to give one. I realize now that my
friendship with Miss Freeman and the work I did for her stemmed from,
let us say a certain vacancy in my life."
He looked at a picture on her desk of a bald, pleasant-faced fellow with
a pipe.
She followed his eyes and said with a sort of shy pride: "That is Dr.
Mordecai, of the University's Faculty of Dentistry. Like myself, a
long-time celibate. We plan to marry."
The Commander said: "Do you feel that Dr. Mordecai might like to meet my
daughter?"
"No. I do not. We expect to have very little time for outside
activities, between our professional careers and our personal lives.
Please don't misunderstand, Mr. Freeman. I am still your daughter's
friend. I always shall be. But somehow I no longer find in myself an
urgency to express the friendship. It seems like a beautiful dream--and
a quite futile one. I have come to realize that one can live a full life
without Miss Freeman. Now, it's getting quite late--"
He smiled ruefully and rose. "May I wish you every happiness, Professor
Speiser?" he said, extending his hand.