“You’re young,” he said. “You could still have a family, a whole lifetime.” He frowned. She wanted to tell him that she no longer saw anything down that avenue. Couldn’t imagine herself loving someone as dearly as Hagen had loved Alicia, or touching hand to belly in anticipation of a flutter kick from a growing fetus, or even silver haired and lined, spraying orchids to keep their leaves moist in some distant greenhouse. “A lifetime on a ship,” she said finally. “Sounds like a pale version of life to me.”
