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smooches from Freyda, all the while thinking,
I’m drinking buddies with
Freyda Mar!
How cool is that!
We clasped arms briefly and exchanged looks. Hers said,
Don’t tell anyone how pathetic I am
, and mine said,
Hang in there, you’re not pathetic, you’ll be fine
.
    The three Sadiri men, Lanuri, Dllenahkh, and Joral, stood slightly apart, making their
     somber farewells, far more absorbed in the meaning of the mission and their hopes
     for its success than in any trivial sadness over the temporary absence of a colleague.
     I felt a little jolt when I looked at them, a sudden awareness of the insane reality
     that had brought them here, a flash of insight into how death and devastation had
     completely reshaped their lives and destinies. Like Freyda, I suddenly felt foolish
     for being annoyed at them over a small matter of unrequited love.
    We boarded and found our seats. I leaned my head against the window by my seat, looking
     at Freyda as she lingered to give us a final wave and blinking back tears. Silly matchmaking—and
     now she would have a year to suffer through, pretending her feelings didn’t exist.
     I was vexed with Dllenahkh. Dangling an emotionally unavailable Sadiri male in front
     of her—hah; that was a tautology if there ever was one—was more than cruel, it was
     irresponsible. I thought of the messed-up attempts at courting that had left tangles
     even the ministry wouldn’t be able to unsnarl. Would any of them be capable of forming
     normal unions, unions based on more than a desperate need to keep their culturaland genetic heritage alive? Did the Sadiri
ever
admit to needing therapy?
    My struggle with my emotions did not go unnoticed.
    “You will miss Dr. Freyda Mar very much,” said Joral, examining my face curiously.
    “Yes,” I said, my tone firm, calm, and neutral. “I wish I could have had more time
     to work with her.”
    Joral nodded in understanding. “Dr. Lanuri speaks of her often. I believe he finds
     her to be almost Sadiri in her clarity and depth of thought. Furthermore, he says
     that her appearance is very pleasing and in many aspects reminiscent of his late wife—”
    “Joral,” Dllenahkh chided.
    “But it is true. I am only repeating what Dr. Lanuri has said on several—”
    I stared at him as suddenly all the fragments that I knew came together in a gestalt
     that looked
nothing
like what I had at first assumed.
    “Joral,” said Dllenahkh sternly. “It is not appropriate to discuss—”
    “Joral, you’ve got more sense than any of us!” I cried. I jumped up and ran to the
     door, paused with a skid, went back to grab the startled youngster around the face
     and plant a kiss on his forehead, then took off again. Freyda was just turning to
     leave the platform. I thundered toward her, and she looked back at me in shock.
    “He loves you, you
remind
him of his wife, he’ll never admit it, it’s a stupid Sadiri thing, it’s up to you—go,
go
, GO!”
    She gaped at me, her eyes gradually widening during my whispered babble and ending
     up filling with tears, the jaw drop becoming a wide grin. I squeezed a quick hug around
     her shoulders and ran back to slither through the carriage doors before they slid
     shut.
    I returned to my seat with a small smile of bittersweet triumph. Dllenahkh looked
     at me with a strange expression that I couldn’t quite read, but I didn’t care. I was
     thinking about the year ahead and hoping for at least one happy ending for a friend.
    Joral leaned forward and said earnestly, “You seem to be very sad about leaving. It
     is all right if you wish to cry, First Officer Delarua. We will not think badly of
     you. We understand that this is common behavior for many Terran females.”
    “Well, I’m Cygnian,” I snapped. “And I wasn’t going to cry.” I swear, nothing irritates
     me more than being overemotional in front of a Sadiri. They make you feel so silly.
    Dllenahkh coughed almost apologetically. “First Officer