Kinsman shook his head and wished that he felt good enough to smile,
The corridor lights had just turned down to their evening level as Kinsman padded from his office toward his quarters. Got to talk to Leonov again, he was telling himself. Maybe he can get his kids to visit him here before—
"Chet! Chet, wait up, will you?" It was Jill Meyers 374 scampering after him. She had a child's wide grin on her face.
He smiled back at her as she ran up and said breathlessly, "He's proposed to me!"
"That dirty old man?"
"No, not Baliagorev," Jill replied, beaming. "Alexsei! We're going to get married!"
Something inside Kinsman went cold.
"You're invited to the party," Jill was saying. "It's already started, over at my quarters."
"Married," he repeated.
"Yes! 'Here Comes the Bride' and all that stuff! Isn't it wild?"
"Why?"
Her grin froze. "Why what?"
"Why does he want to marry you?"
She planted her hands on her hips. "I presume it's because he can't live without me, and wants to spend the rest of his life with me. A lifetime commitment—but you wouldn't understand that, would you?" Her eyes were snapping at him.
"Dammitall, Jill, you know what I mean. You two can live together without having a legal contract drawn up. Why talk about marriage? What's behind it?"
"Argh! Chet Kinsman, you stupid, insensitive . . ."
He reached out and put two fingertips over her mouth. "Jill, you and I have known each other too long to pull punches. He loves you, okay. I can believe that. You love him. Fine. But where does marriage come into it? Does he plan to try to become an American citizen?"
Jill pushed away his hand, but her tone was quieter, less angry. "I ... we haven't even discussed it, I thought I'd move into Lunagrad with him."
"Uh-huh, And suppose he figures out that he wants asylum, like Baliagorev ... or that he's scared the Russian security people will nail him for the old man's defection?"
"Chet, that's a shitty thing to say!"
