Foster, Alan Dean Quozl

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papers that could not hope to compete with the giant syndicates or the networks. They hoped for an
exclusive detail or over-looked item that might be worthy of a story later.
One was aimlessly interviewing Cindy Greenley for lack of anything better to do, even though he knew
the real news of the day was already burning modems from L.A. to Tokyo. Still, there might be
something. Occasionally patience was rewarded, even though the young woman seemed more inclined to
talk about her family and the berries and fruits she d canned for the upcoming winter than about her
newsworthy friends, the Quozl.
She was combing the long blonde hair of a stolid little boy of six while keeping an eye on the rest of her
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brood. Off to their left the two youngest Quozl danced and wrestled with the two elder Greenley
grandchildren. The Quozl were much faster, but the human kids were stronger.
Searching for an angle, the reporter asked whatitwas like before she married her husband, before he
came to live on the land with her mother and
the Quozl. He expected a simple, bucolic response because that was the only kind he d received thus
far.
Quiet, mostly. Cindy Greenley brushed at a persjstent cowlick. I liked Cody right away, though. He
was just like me and Mom; country but liberal, ready to try anything once. She added offhandedly, as
though she was still talking about her canning, Mom was right about it being lonely up on the farm, but it
got better after High and Thinks showed up. High s a very good lover. Made the winters pass a lot
easier.
Chad had been listening indifferently. Now he turned sharply. Mindy had retired to the women s lounge.
Arlo was outside, entertaining lawyers, offers, and reporters. The older Quozl chatted seriously with
Cody James while the children of both races played off in a corner. There was just Cindy Greenley, her
little boy, and the reporter, with himself standing nearby.
Why had the woman kept her maiden name?
The reporter s expression was unreadable. Excuse me, ma m. I don t think I caught that last part.
You mean, about the winters passing easier?
No, no. Before that.
Oh, You mean about High being a good lover.
Yes. The reporter was very, very alert now. You mean that in the platonic sense, of course. Because
the Quozl were good with the children, and helpful in times of difficulty. -
No, that s not what I meant. There was a time when I would ve found something like this hard to talk
about, but living with Quozl for a while you just naturally come to understand certain things. Suddenly
what used to confuse and trouble you doesn t anymore.
When I said that High was a good lover I meant exactly that. It was before Cody and I tied the knot.
She smiled beatifically. Far as that goes, ask Cody what he thinks of Thinks. She can play more than
that funny flute of theirs. A frown creased her face and she looked meaningfully around the room. You
mean what with all that s come out, nobody s realized that hu-mans and Quozl are sexually compatible?
The reporter smiled. No. Somehow that little item has managed to be overlooked. Mrs. Greenley, are
you sure about this? You re not making some-thing up just to tease me?
I don t tease, mister. Her smile changed. If you ain t sure, go have a little private chat with
Thinks-of-Grim or Seams-with-Metal.
Thanks, not right now, the man replied, though a stunned Chad saw him glance involuntarily in
Seams s direction.
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Chad remembered the time when the Quozl biologist had chased Mindy, remembered the looks he d
received from female Quozl study team mem-bers. He d put it all down to normal scientific curiosity, and
perhaps a great
deal of that had been involved. But if Mrs. Greenley was telling the truth, there was much more to it than
that. Much more.
Perfectly safe, of course,if you follow my meaning, the young wife was saying, as though it were the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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