Chapter 17

“Yeah,” Dani said, “the world isn’t ready to hear about this, and probably never will be.”

“There is a downside as well,” Father said, “one that the two of you will have to face together one day.”

“And that is?” I said.

“I’ve had many love affairs over the centuries, but I’ve been married only a few times. Consider what it is like to live with someone you love, watching them slowly age over the years while you never change. It was hard on me and harder still on my wives; they saw themselves growing continually older, yet I failed to do so. Among them, only two were able to stand it. The rest died hating me because I still appeared to be young.”

I looked at Dani and said, “Shit, I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Let me hold out a very tiny ray of hope,” Father said. “Neither of you have decided where you will go to work, nor for whom, yes?”

“That’s true,” I said. “We decided to put that off until we return to the States.”