Chapter 3: Homecoming
The voyage from Earth to Newforest took eight days by spaceliner. After being away for nearly three years, Pias had very ambivalent feelings about his return. On the one hand it would feel good to return to his old surroundings and to the bosom of his family once more. On the other, he was very aware of how drastically people and relationships could change during a three-year absence, and he was almost dreading the alterations he would find.
Eva tried gamely to ease him over the troubled moments by keeping his mind on other things—most particularly herself. The two lovers were in each other’s company almost constantly during the trip. They’d known each other for such a comparatively short time that they had two lifetimes of catching up to do. Eva told Pias about the
