“My gosh,” Richard said. “Mr. Straight Arrow is right where we left him.”
Michael proudly deposited his cache of golden goblets on the table with fanfare.
Richard lurched over to a position across the table from Donald. He dragged the three women with him like trophies. “Well, Admiral Fuller,” he said in a mocking tone while comically saluting. “I guess you can tell by our present company and booty that you really missed out.”
“I’m sure I did,” Donald said sarcastically.
“You can’t imagine how great it was, smart ass,” Richard said.
“You’re drunk, sailor,” Donald said scornfully. “Luckily, some of us have enough self-control to keep our wits about us.”
“Yeah, well, let me tell you what’s wrong with you,” Richard said, pointing a wavering finger at Donald’s face. “You still think you are in the goddamned Navy. Well, let me tell you something. You ain’t.”
“You’re not only stupid,” Donald hissed. “You’re disgusting.”
Something snapped in Richard’s brain. He shoved the women away and launched himself across the marble table, catching Donald by surprise. Despite his inebriation, he was able to straddle the man and land a few ineffectual punches on the side of his head.
Donald responded by enveloping Richard in a bear hug. Locked in a violent embrace, both men rolled off the chaise Donald had been sitting on. Neither man could do much damage to the other, but pummeled each other with short punches nonetheless. They did succeed in crashing into the table which caused Michael’s goblet collection to fall to the floor with a great clatter.
The Interterrans shrank back in dismay, while Suzanne and Perry intervened. It wasn’t easy, but they finally managed to separate the two men. This time it was Richard’s turn to have a bloody nose.
“You bastard,” Richard sputtered as he touched his nose and looked at the blood.
“You’re lucky your friends are here,” Donald told him. “I might have killed you.”
“That’s enough,” Perry said. “No more baiting and no more fighting. This is ridiculous. You’re both acting like children.”
“Idiot!” Donald added. He shook off Perry’s restraining arms and straightened his satin tunic.
“Jerk!” Richard retorted. He moved away from Suzanne and turned to his three women friends. “Come on, girls!” he said. “Let’s go to my room, where I won’t have to look at this guy’s ugly mug.”
Richard took a few unsteady steps toward the women, but they shrank back. Then, without another word, they fled out the open end of the room into the night. Richard hurried after them but stopped at the edge of the lawn. The women were already halfway back to the pavilion.
“Hey!” Richard yelled through cupped hands. “Come back! Meeta…”
“I think it’s time you went to bed,” Suzanne called after him. “You’ve caused enough trouble for one night.”
Richard turned back into the room, disappointed and angry. He slammed his open palm down on the tabletop hard enough to make everyone in the room jump. “Shit!” he shouted to no one in particular.
As Perry pushed open the door of his cottage with a trembling hand he did his best to hide and let Luna enter before him. It had been a long time since he’d been alone with a woman like this. He had no idea whether his anxiety was from marital guilt or from recognizing Luna’s inappropriate youth. On top of that he was tipsy with drink, but even more intoxicating than the crystal was the fact that an absolutely gorgeous young woman found him attractive.
As Perry struggled to conceal his nervousness he was sensitive enough to notice that Luna was agitated herself.
“Can I get you something?” Perry asked. “I’m supposed to have food and drink available.” He watched as the girl went over to the pool and bent down to test its temperature.
“No, thank you,” Luna said. She began to wander aimlessly around the room.
“You seem upset,” Perry said. For lack of anything better to do, he went over and sat on the bed.
“I am,” Luna admitted. “I’ve never seen a person act the way Richard did.”
“He’s not our best ambassador,” Perry said.
“Are there many people like him where you are from?” Luna asked.
“Unfortunately, his type is not uncommon,” Perry said. “Usually there’s a history of abuse that gets handed down from generation to generation.”
Luna shook her head. “Where does the stimulus for the abuse come from?”
Perry scratched the top of his head. He’d not meant to get into a sociological discussion nor did he feel capable at the moment. At the same time he felt he had to say something. Luna was looking at him intently. “Well, let’s see,” he said. “I haven’t really thought about this too much, but there’s a lot of discontentment in our society from heightened expectation and a sense of entitlement. Few people are ever really satisfied.”
“I don’t understand,” Luna said.
“Let me give you an example,” Perry said. “If somebody gets a Ford Explorer the next thing they see is an ad for a Lincoln Navigator, which makes the Explorer seem unappealing.”
“I don’t know what those are,” Luna said.
“It’s just stuff,” Perry said. “And we’re conditioned through relentless advertising to feel it’s never the right stuff.”
“I don’t understand that kind of covetousness,” Luna said. “We don’t have anything like that here in Interterra.”
“Well, then it’s hard to explain,” Perry said. “But anyway there’s a lot of discontentment that especially comes to a head in poor families which have even less stuff than everyone else, and within families people tend to take it out on each other.”
“It’s sad,” Luna said. “And frightening.”
“It can be,” Perry agreed. “But we’re kinda conditioned not to think about it since it all drives our economy.”
“It seems strange to have a society that encourages violence,” Luna said. “Violence is shocking for us since we have none in Interterra.”
“None?” Perry asked.
“No, never,” Luna said. “I’ve never seen a person hit another. It makes me feel weak.”
“Then why don’t you sit down?” Perry said. He patted the bed next to him, feeling self-consciously transparent. Nonetheless Luna came to the bed and sat down beside him.
“You don’t feel dizzy, do you?” Perry asked, struggling to make conversation now that she was so close. “I mean, you’re not going to faint or anything?”
“No, I’ll be all right.”
Perry looked into Luna’s pale blue eyes. For a moment he couldn’t speak. When he could he said, “You know, you are very young.”
“Young? What does that have to do with anything?”
“Well…” Perry said, searching for words. He wasn’t sure himself whether he was referring to her reaction to Richard’s behavior or his reaction to her. “When you’re young you haven’t had as much experience as when you are older. Maybe you haven’t had time to see violence.”
“Listen, there’s no violence here,” Luna said. “It’s been selected against. Besides, I’m not as young as you probably imagine. How old do you think I am?”
“I don’t know,” Perry stammered. “About twenty.”
“Now you seem to be upset.”
“I guess I am a little,” Perry admitted. “You could be my daughter.”
Luna smiled. “I can assure you I’m over twenty. Does that make you feel better?”
“Some,” Perry admitted. “Actually, I don’t know why I feel so nervous. Everything is so nice here, but it’s still quite unnerving.”
“I understand,” Luna said. She smiled again and raised her palms toward his.
Self-consciously Perry put his against hers. “What is this with our hands?” he asked.