Azazel - By Isaac Asimov Page 0,82

It's hard to judge these things exactly."

"Surely a goddess ought to be on time," said Elderberry. "Otherwise, what's the good of being a goddess?"

I call that true faith, and she was justified, for on the second of noon, a tremor seemed to course through the statue. Slowly, his color changed from a dead marble white to a warm flesh pink. Slowly, motion animated his frame, his arms lowered to his side, his eyes gained a blue and glistening life, the hair on his head darkened to a light brown and appeared wherever appropriate elsewhere on his body. His head bent and he looked at Elderberry, who was hyperventilating madly.

Slowly, creakily, he stepped down from the pedestal, and walked toward Elderberry, arms outstretched.

"You Elderberry. Me Hank," he said.

"Oh, Hank," said Elderberry, as she melted into his arms.

For a long time they stood frozen in the embrace and then she looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes shining with ecstasy, and said, "Hank and I will remain in the house for a few days as a sort of honeymoon, and then, Uncle George, I will see you," and she twiddled her fingers as though she were counting money.

At that my eyes shone in ecstasy, too, and I tiptoed out of the house. Frankly, I thought it rather incongruous for a fully dressed young woman to be so warmly embraced by a naked young man, but I was sure that almost immediately upon my leaving, Elderberry would manage to correct the incongruity.

I waited ten days for Elderberry to phone me, but she never did. I was not entirely surprised, for I imagined she was otherwise occupied. Still, after ten days I did think there would be a pause for breath, and I further began to think it only fair that since her ecstasy had been fulfilled, entirely through my efforts - and Azazel's - it was only fair that my ecstasy be fulfilled, too.

I went to her place of abode, where I had left the happy couple, and rang the bell. It was quite a while before there was an answer, and I was having an unpleasant picture of two young people having ecstasied each other to death when finally the door opened a crack.

It was Elderberry, looking perfectly normal, if you count an angry look as perfectly normal. She said, "Oh, it's you."

"Why, yes," I said. "I was afraid you had left town to continue and extend your honeymoon." I didn't say anything about honeymooning themselves to death. I felt it would not be diplomatic.

She said, "And what do you want?"

It was not terribly friendly. I could understand that she might not like to be interrupted at her activities, but after ten days surely a small interruption was not the end of the world.

I said, "There's a little matter of a million dollars, my child." I pushed the door open and walked in.

She looked at me with a cold sneer and said, "What you get is bubkes, fella."

I don't know what "bubkes" are, but I instantly deduced it was a good deal less than a million dollars.

I said, puzzled and more than a little hurt, "Why? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" she said. "What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong. When I said I wanted Hank soft, I didn't mean soft all over, permanently."

With her sculptor's strength, she pushed me out the door and slammed it shut. Then, as I stood there nonplussed, she opened it again, "And if you ever come back, I'll have Hank tear you to pieces. He's strong as a bull in every other way."

So I left. What could I do? And how do you like that for a critique of my artistic efforts? So don't come to me with your petty complaints.

George shook his head when he completed his story and looked so despondent that it really touched me.

I said, "George, I know you blame Azazel for this, but really it's not the little guy's fault. You emphasized the bit about softness - "

"So did she," George said indignantly.

"Yes, but you told Azazel to use you as a model for designing the statue, and surely that would account for the inability - "

George lifted his hand in a stop gesture and glared at me. "That," he said, "hurts me even more than the loss of the money I had earned. I'll have you know that, despite the fact that I'm some years beyond my prime - "

"Yes,