 Which of the following best serves as a metaphor for Phil and Mary's relationship, by the end of the story?
Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Astounding Science Fiction December 1955. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. BREAKAWAY BY STANLEY GIMBLE Illustrated by Freas She surely got her wish ... but there was some question about getting what she wanted. Phil Conover pulled the zipper of his flight suit up the front of his long, thin body and came into the living room. And the faint lines around his dark, deep-set eyes were accentuated when he smiled at his wife. "All set, honey. His wife was sitting stiffly on the flowered couch that was still not theirs completely. Then she leaned forward and crushed the cigarette in the ash tray on the maple coffee table and took another from the pack. He came to her and touched his hands to her soft blond hair, raising her face until she was looking into his eyes. "Yes, I think so. Yes, I'm sure you did," she said, finishing the ritual; but her voice broke, and she turned her head away. Phil sat beside her and put his arm around her small shoulders. "It isn't going to be bad. We know exactly how it will be. If anything could go wrong, they wouldn't be sending me; you know that. I told you that we've sent five un-manned ships up and everyone came back without a hitch." "Mary, you know I can't back out now. You know how much I've wanted to be the first man to go. Nothing would ever be right with me again if I didn't go. "I've got to get started, Mary. "Phil, if you go, I won't be here when you get back—if you get back. I won't be here because I won't be the wife of a space pilot for the rest of my life. No matter how much I love you, I just couldn't take that, Phil. She finished and took another cigarette from the pack on the coffee table and put it to her lips. Phil stood watching her, the excitement completely gone from his eyes. "I wish you had told me this a long time ago, Mary," Phil said. "Yes, you did. I told you I could never be the wife of a space pilot. But I don't think I ever really believed it was possible—not until this morning when you said tonight was the take-off. "It isn't a dream.
 The new, government-built town
 Mary's cigarette burned down too far  The new, government-built town  The barbed wire fence  The broken zipper on Phil's space suit