Humans by Robert J. Sawyer Read Free Book Online Page B

constantly.”
    “They’re such wonderful girls, Jasmel and Mega,” said Daklar.
    “I thought you and Jasmel crossed spears while I was away,” said Ponter.
    Daklar laughed ruefully. “Oh, yes, indeed. She spoke on behalf of Adikor at the
dooslarm basadlarm,
and I was the one accusing him. But I’m no fool, Ponter. Obviously I was wrong, and she was right.”
    “So things are pleasant between the two of you now?”
    “It’ll take some time,” said Daklar. “You know how Jasmel is. Stubborn as a stalactite—hanging on despite everything trying to pull her down.”
    Ponter laughed. He did indeed know Jasmel—and, it seemed, Daklar knew her, too. “She
can
be difficult,” Ponter said.
    “She’s just turned 225 months old,” said Daklar. “Of course she’s difficult. So was I, at her age.” She paused. “There’s a lot of pressure on young ladies, you know. She’s expected to take two mates before winter. I know Tryon is likely to become her man-mate, but she’s still searching for a woman-mate.”
    “She’ll have no trouble,” said Ponter. “She’s quite a find.”
    Daklar smiled. “That she is. She’s got all of Klast’s best qualities and…” She paused again, perhaps wondering if she were being too forward. “And all of yours, as well.”
    But Ponter was pleased by the remark. “Thank you,” he said.
    Daklar looked down. “When Klast died, Jasmel and Mega were very sad. Megameg was too young to really understand, but Jasmel…It’s hard for a girl, not having a mother.” She fell silent, and Ponter wondered if she was gathering for him to volunteer that Jasmel had had an excellent substitute. Ponter was beginning to think that was probably true, but he didn’t know what to say. “I’ve tried to be a good
tabant,
” continued Daklar, “but it’s not the same as having their mother look after them.”
    Again, Ponter wasn’t sure what the politic answer was. “No,” he said at last. “I imagine it’s not.”
    “I know there was no way they could have gone to live with you and Adikor,” said Daklar. “Two girls, out at the Rim…”
    “No,” agreed Ponter. “That would have been impossible.”
    “Did you…” Daklar trailed off, looking again at the closely cropped grass covering the square. “Did you resent the fact that I ended up looking after them?”
    Ponter shrugged a little. “You were Klast’s woman-mate. You were the logical one for her to name as
tabant
.”
    Daklar tipped her head slightly. Her voice was soft. “That wasn’t what I asked.”
    Ponter closed his eyes and exhaled. “No, it wasn’t. Yes, I suppose I resented it—forgive me for saying so. I mean, I am their
father;
their genetic relative. You…”
    Daklar waited for him to go on, but when it became clear that he wasn’t inclined to, she finished his thought for him. “I wasn’t a blood relation,” she said. “They weren’t my children, and yet I ended up taking care of them.”
    Ponter said nothing; there was no polite response.
    “It’s all right,” said Daklar, touching Ponter’s arm for a beat. “It’s all right for you to feel that way. It’s natural.”
    Several geese flew by overhead, and some thrushes that had been sitting on the grass took wing as the two of them drew nearer. “I love my children very much,” Ponter said.
    “I love them, too,” said Daklar. “I know they’re not mine, but I’ve lived with them their whole lives, and, well, I love them as if they were.”
    Ponter stopped walking and looked at Daklar. He’d never really delved into this type of relationship before; he’d always sort of assumed that another person’s children were a bit of a nuisance—certainly Adikor’s Dab was a mischievous sort. In a normal family, Daklar would have had children of her own. A daughter or a son of generation 148 would still be living with her mother and her mother’s woman-mate, and a daughter of generation 147 would also still be at home, although she’d