 Why doesn't Laura want to marry Ben?
They're going to bring us the metals and minerals that we desperately need. Just one, which I'd sent to Charlie Taggart. I remembered how, as a kid, I'd pestered him in the Long Island Spaceport, tagging after him like a puppy, and how he'd grown to like me until he became father, mother, and buddy all in one to me. The Universe was mighty big, but with two of us to face it together, it would be only half as big. And you, Laura, were with him. That's what most of you want, isn't it? You kept looking at me until I had to ask: "What are you thinking, Laura?"
 She does want to marry Ben. However, spacemen are gone all the time. She needs a partner who is going to be there for her.
 She does want to marry Ben. However, spacemen are gone all the time. She needs a partner who is going to be there for her.  She does want to marry Ben, but spacemen can't have children.  She doesn't want to marry Ben because they've only known each other for six weeks.  She doesn't want to marry Ben because of the possibility of birth defects caused by space travel.