10
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Martinus asked, as we sat on the sofa in the living room. Following Pops' instructions, the door was wide open, and we sat on opposite ends, with just our interlaced hands between us.
"Yllana," I said. "She wants to study, and her family wants to marry her off."
Marty sighed.
"Butting into another family's private affairs is a bad idea," he said. "It's bad enough that you're covering for her — and I'm helping you. You can't do anything to make her family change their mind."
"I thought," I said, turning to him, and collecting my legs on my side. "That maybe, if she already finds somebody she's compatible with, her family won't be able to object. And if the guy is open-minded, she can keep studying — openly this time."
"Ah," Marty said, a
