"Theodore Sturgeon - The Girl Had Guts" - читать интересную книгу автора (Sturgeon Theodore)

The Girl Had Guts

by Theodore Sturgeon

The cabby wouldn't take the fare ("Me take a nickel from Captain Gargan? Not in this life!"), and the
doorman welcomed me so warmly I almost forgave Sue for moving into a place that had a doorman.
And then the elevator and then Sue. You have to be away a long time, a long way, to miss someone like
that, and me, I'd been farther away than anyone ought to be for too long plus six weeks. I kissed her and
squeezed her until she yelled for mercy, and when I got to where I realized she was yelling we were clear
back to the terrace, the whole length of the apartment away from the door. I guess I was sort of
enthusiastic, but as I said тАж oh, who can say a thing like that and make any sense? I was glad to see my
wife, and that was it.

She finally got me quieted down and my uniform jacket and shoes off and a dish of ale in my fist, and
there I lay in the relaxer looking at her just the way I used to when I could come home from the base
every night, just the way I'd dreamed every off-duty minute since we blasted off all those months ago.
Special message to anyone who's never been off Earth: Look around you. Take a good long look
around. You're in the best place there is. A fine place.

I said as much to Sue, and she laughed and said, "Even the last six weeks?" and I said, "I don't want to
insult you, baby, but yes: even those six weeks in lousy quarantine at the lousy base hospital were good,
compared to being anyplace else. But it was the longest six weeks I ever spent; I'll give you that." I pulled
her down on top of me and kissed her again. "It was longer than twice the rest of the trip."

She struggled loose and patted me on the head the way I don't like. "Was it so bad really?"

"It was bad. It was lonesome and dangerous andтАФand disgusting, I guess is the best word for it."

"You mean the plague."

I snorted. "It wasn't a plague."

"Well, I wouldn't know," she said. "Just rumors. That thing of you recalling the crew after twelve hours of
liberty, for six weeks of quarantine тАж"

"Yeah, I guess that would start rumors." I closed my eyes and laughed grimly. "Let 'em rumor. No one
could dream up anything uglier than the truth. Give me another bucket of suds."

She did, and I kissed her hand as she passed it over. She took the hand right away and I laughed at her.
"Scared of me or something?"

"Oh lord no. Just тАж wanting to catch up. So much you've done, millions of miles, months and months тАж
and all I know is you're back, and nothing else."

"I brought the Demon Lover back safe and sound," I kidded.

She colored up. "Don't talk like that." The Demon Lover was my Second, name of Purcell. Purcell was
one of those guys who just has to go around making like a bull moose in fly-time, bellowing at the moon
and banging his antlers against the rocks. He'd been to the house a couple or three times and said things
about Sue that were so appreciative that I had to tell him to knock it off or he'd collect a punch in the