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in Mundania. Already it seemed dreary.

Xanth 23 - Xone of Contention
    Chapter 2: COMPANION
    Pia had to admit that Edsel had come up with something interesting She had been finding him increasingly boring and marriage itself boring, but the magic Land of Xanth was interesting. She had privately envied Dug and Kim's ability to believe in it, and to submerge themselves in mutual fantasy. Maybe that was what made them get along so well there was magic in their relationship.
    Pia herself hardly believed in magic But that demonstration in the O-Xone had satisfied her that there was something there. Maybe not magic, but one hell of a good show, like the effects of a stage magician. You could enjoy it even when you knew it was all trickery.
    Best of all, if it turned out disappointing, it still committed Edsel to dissolving the marriage without a fight. That would make it much easier to recover her freedom. Edsel wasn't a bad sort really but if you took away that motorcycle, and his software, and his supposed humor very little was left. She wanted excitement, novelty, fresh romance and endless indulgence Dug had come to bore her, years ago. and Edsel had seemed to be an escape from that, but Edsel had turned out just about as boring While Dug ironically, had grown more interesting after he got together with Kim. Maybe he had been about to turn the corner and she had left him at just the wrong time.
    But she would give this fantasy adventure a fair trial She wasn’t sure why Edsel thought it might change her opinion of their marriage, but that was his problem. She preferred to get free of him without suffering an ugly scene, and this was the way. Share the adventure, return to their separate ways. It was a straightforward course, and a good one.
    Now if only she could be as readily free of her diabetes. She had long since learned to give herself insulin shots, they really didn't hurt any more, and twice a day was enough. The blood sugar level checks were mere pinpricks, a nuisance, but again, routine. So apart from a certain caution about her diet, she could mostly ignore it. But she would rather be free of it. For one thing, it was likely to complicate things if she ever decided to have children, not that she expected to. Children were such demanding nuisances.
    On the appointed day, their business in temporary remission, they sat at their computers again and connected via their modems to the Mode M Mesh. The three others were so enthusiastic that Pia found herself reluctantly carried along. Dug and Kim swore that there was no better land than Xanth, as long as a person was careful about dragons and such. Edsel—he seemed a bit much taken with that black girl, what's her-name, with her lustrous waist length black hair green eyes and pert figure. As if Pia herself didn’t have those same things, except that her hair was brown. Well Pia's figure had filled out some in the past few years She had to use a corset when wearing a show dress. She hated that, but she loved chocolate, and the two sort of went together. Her malady also tended to add to her weight, because she was constantly balancing sugar against insulin, and it was easier to eat a bit of sugar than to cancel a shot she had just taken. If she anticipated needing less insulin, then she could cut down, but life was full of ugly little surprises. So she was fighting a losing battle of bulge. Edsel hadn't commented but she could no longer bend him to her whim as readily as she once had, and she figured this was why. Of course there was an age difference between the black girl and Pia sixteen vs twenty two, and she remembered how well Edsel had liked that age. Wait till time had its way with the girl then see how pert she remained. But what was her concern? That girl was otherwise committed, and in a fantasy land, and if Edsel strayed—well that would make the divorce that much easier.
    They reached the O-Xone interface and Edsel whistled them in. Pia had to admit it was a nice