"Oh."
It was nine o'clock at night. They had spent the day picnicking, and for supper he had prepared a filet mignon which she didn't like because it was too rare, so he broiled it some more and it was too much broiled or fried or something. He laughed and said, "We'll see a movie!" She said okay and put her chocolaty fingers on his elbow. But all she wanted to see was a fifty-year-old film of Clark Gable. "Doesn't he just kill you?" She giggled. "Doesn't he kill you, now?" The film ended. "Run it off again," she commanded. "Again?" he asked. "Again," she said. And when he returned she snuggled up and put her paws all over him. "You're not quite what I expected, but you're nice," she admitted. "Thanks," he said, swallowing. "Oh, that Gable," she said, and pinched his leg. "Ouch," he said.
After the film they went shopping down the silent streets. She broke a window and put on the brightest dress she could find. Dumping a perfume bottle on her hair, she resembled a drowned sheep dog. "How old are you?" he inquired. "Guess." Dripping, she led him down the street. "Oh, thirty," he said. "Well," she announced stiffly, "I'm only twenty-seven, so there!
"Here's another candy store!" she said. "Honest, I've led the life of Reilly since everything exploded. I never liked my folks, they were fools. They left for Earth two months ago. I was supposed to follow on the last rocket, but I stayed on; you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because everyone picked on me. So I stayed where I could throw perfume on myself all day and drink ten thousand malts and eat candy without people saying, 'Oh, that's full of calories!' So here I am!"
"Here you are." Walter shut his eyes.
"It's getting late," she said, looking at him.
"Yes."
"I'm tired," she said.
"Funny. I'm wide awake."
"Oh," she said.
"I feel like staying up all night," he said. "Say, there's a good record at Mike's. Come on, I'll play it for you."
"I'm tired." She glanced up at him with sly, bright eyes.
"I'm very alert," he said. "Strange."
"Come back to the beauty shop," she said. "I want to show you something."
She took him in through the glass door and walked him over to a large white box. "When I drove from Texas City," she said, "I brought this with me." She untied the pink ribbon. "I thought: Well, here I am, the only lady on Mars, and here is the only man, and, well ... " She lifted the lid and folded back crisp layers of whispery pink tissue paper. She gave it a pat. "There."
Walter Gripp stared.
"What is it?" he asked, beginning to tremble.
"Don't you know, silly? It's all lace and all white and all fine and everything."
"No, I don't know what it is."
"It's a wedding dress, silly!"
"Is it?" His voice cracked.
He shut his eyes. Her voice was still soft and cool and sweet, as it had been on the phone. But when he opened his eyes and looked at her ...
He backed up. "How nice," he said.
"Isn't it?"
"Genevieve." He glanced at the door.
"Yes?"
"Genevieve, I've something to tell you."
"Yes?" She drifted toward him, the perfume smell thick about her round white face.