Tangle in the Dark - Kassidor

"I loved her, I still do," Thom came close to sniffing andhad to dab at his eyes."I'm sorry it came to this," Pete said. "I knew it wouldhurt.""You saw it coming?""You were wrapped up in each other years ago, but sinceturn-over, you've talked a lot less about her, you've beenfurther apart at your parties. I can remember the ones whilewe were flying around the Cygni system she was practicallyon your lap the whole evening. This year I saw you speakingto each other once and it looked a little tense. I couldn't hearwhat it was about. You were never even at the table at thesame time.""That was a separate spat," he said. But was it really?That had been about his not taking the time to learnsomething about her work. She thought he was accusing herof abusing her power again. That had been a common themeever since the reunification."You were good together, once upon a time," Pete said."I know. I never knew what she saw in me.""Safety, companionship, understanding. Who knows whatany women sees in any of us," Pete said. "You wanna get outof here for awhile?" he asked."No, no I can't. Thanks for stopping by, thanks for the caland thanks for listening. Thanks for not talking too.""I understand."Thom let him out the back way, where his lab has its own202