The Complete Stories_ Volume 1 - Isaac Asimov [232]
"Quite. And a fascinating and profitable one as well, I think."
"Have you had a chance to eat?" Though Rose had not herself eaten, she was anything but hungry.
"Yes, indeed."
Drake interrupted, "We had lunch and supper sent up to us. Sandwiches." He sounded tired. Rose said, "Hello, Drake." It was the first time she had addressed him.
Drake scarcely looked at her. "Hello."
The Hawkinsite said, "Your tomatoes are remarkable vegetables. We have nothing to compare with them in taste on our own planet. I believe I ate two dozen, as well as an entire bottle of tomato derivative."
"Ketchup," explained Drake, briefly.
Rose said, "And your visit at the Missing Persons Bureau, Dr. Tholan? You say you found it profitable?"
"I should say so. Yes."
Rose kept her back to him. She plumped up sofa cushions as she said, "In what way?"
"I find it most interesting that the large majority of missing persons are males. Wives frequently report missing husbands, while the reverse is practically never the case."
Rose said, "Oh, that's not mysterious, Dr. Tholan. You simply don't realize the economic setup we have on Earth. On this planet, you see, it is the male who is usually the member of the family that maintains it as an economic unit. He is the one whose labor is repaid in units of currency. The wife's function is generally that of taking care of home and children."
"Surely this is not universal!"
Drake put in, "More or less. If you are thinking of my wife, she is an example of the minority of women who are capable of making their own way in the world."
Rose looked at him swiftly. Was he being sarcastic?
The Hawkinsite said, "Your implication, Mrs. Smollett, is that women, being economically dependent upon their male companions, find it less feasible to disappear?"
"That's a gentle way of putting it," said Rose, "but that's about it."
"And would you call the Missing Persons Bureau of New York a fair sampling of such cases in the planet at large?"
"Why, I should think so."
The Hawkinsite said, abruptly, "And is there, then, an economic explanation for the fact that since interstellar travel has been developed, the percentage of young males among the missing is more pronounced than ever?" It was Drake who answered, with a verbal snap. "Good lord, that's even less of a mystery than the other. Nowadays, the runaway has all space to disappear into. Anyone who wants to get away from trouble need only hop the nearest space freighter. They're always looking for crewmen, no questions asked, and it would be almost impossible to locate the runaway after that, if he really wanted to stay out of circulation."
"And almost always young men in their first year of marriage."
Rose laughed suddenly. She said, "Why, that's just the time a man's troubles seem the greatest. If he survives the first year, there is usually no need to disappear at all."
Drake was obviously not amused. Rose thought again that he looked tired and unhappy. Why did he insist on bearing the load alone? And then she thought that perhaps he had to.
The Hawkinsite said, suddenly, "Would it offend you if I disconnected for a period of time?" Rose said, "Not at all. I hope you haven't had too exhausting a day. Since you come from a planet whose gravity is greater than that of Earth's, I'm afraid we too easily presume that you would show greater endurance than we do."
"Oh, I am not tired in a physical sense." He looked for a moment at her legs and blinked very rapidly, indicating amusement. "You know, I keep expecting Earthmen to fall either forward or backward in view of their meager equipment of standing limbs. You must pardon me if my comment is overfamiliar, but your mention of the lesser gravity of Earth brought it to my mind. On my planet, two legs would simply not be enough. But this is all beside the point at the moment. It is just that I have been