Benjamin was two meters of frenetic fun, with a smile always beaming above his bearded chin. He unintentionally tickled Bob's tummy while fingering the tassels he was wearing.

"Oh yeah! Let me see!" Benjamin said, examining the glass inlays.

Bob squirmed and giggled. "Stop it!" he laughed, swatting at Benjamin's enormous hands.

Still smiling, Benjamin stopped fiddling and stared Bob in the face. "What? I wanna see!" He again poked at Bob's stomach, trying to see more of the objet d'art he was wearing.

"Stop!" Bob demanded. "Let me unbutton the coat!"

Benjamin had already undone the bottom few buttons of the waistcoat that lay over the stomacher. He examined the smaller beads that decorated the upper section.

"Nah. These guys are kind of tiny," he said, thumbing some of the beads. "I can't make stuff this size."

He stuck his two big mitts near Bob's beaming grin, comically displaying how his huge hands were too large to make such tiny beads.

He went back to examining the stomacher. "Oh! I think I made this one!" he said, poking at a big bead in the center.

It lay directly over Bob's navel. "Ah!" he squealed. "Just stop!"

Benjamin again stared at Bob's face, this time with a grin. "Is Scylla in there with you?" he asked quietly.

Tell him to not call me that, Cecilia thought into her husband.

"Please, Ben," Bob said. "Her name is Cecilia."

Benjamin stopped smiling. "Oh. Yeah. Sorry," he said.

No one should call me Scylla. Not after the whole 'Dean' thing.

"Scylla was Dean's nickname," Bob said to Benjamin. "So let's not use it now."

Benjamin became more apologetic. "Well, everyone called her Scylla. It's kind of a joke. But yeah. Dean wrecked the fun."

Bob buttoned up his waistcoat. "We went to look at his sculpture."

"You mean the bas relief? And by we, you mean you and Scyl… ah Cecilia?"

He can call me Seas.

"Call her Seas," Bob said at the same time. "It's all right to use my nickname for her. She is my wife, you know."

Benjamin put a kind hand on Bob's shoulder. "I know Bob. I'm really sorry. Tell Seas I'm sorry too."

Bob merely stared, unblinking. Tell him I'm with you, Cecilia thought. It's okay. He kind of knows.

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Bob disagreed. I don't think so.

Benjamin used the hand he had on Bob to guide his attention. He spoke in hushed tones.

"Ty uses all kinds of boarders as models in her shows. She loves the flair it adds. I know it's kind of secret, and you definitely ought not talk about it to anyone but me. Well, and her too of course, since she's the one who's doing it."

"What are you talking about?" Bob asked.

I told you, Cecilia thought. He knows.

"Look," Benjamin said, guiding Bob's gaze with his own. "Like, half the models here. They're probably all boarders. Especially the straight ones, like you and James and Marco."

"Marc?" Bob asked, stating the name of the model he saw Steph dressing when he went backstage.

"Yeah. Was Steph the guy who dressed you?"

Bob gave a slight nod.

"Ty has Steph dress the boarders."

"Does he know too?"

"Probably not explicitly. But yeah. I think he knows." Benjamin bent low, to whisper in Bob's ear. "Just don't tell anyone. It's not meant to be common knowledge."

Bob felt his wife huff. If Ben knows, it will be common knowledge soon enough. We don't call him big just because of his hands. Sensing Bob's confusion, Cecilia clarified. He has a big mouth too.

Bob stifled a giggle at the joke. Benjamin again stared at his face, grinning ear to ear.

"You sound like Seas when you do that," Benjamin said.

"Do what?"

"When you laugh. Your giggle sounds like her!"

Benjamin also giggled, and used the hand he had on Bob to steer him onto a portico spanning the back half of the manor. Several wooden tables and benches graced an area where eight people were seated, engaged in meditation.

"You see them?" Benjamin asked. "They're boarders, just like you."

"They're brainboarding with each other?"

"No. Their partners aren't here. They were boarding, but now they're gone."

"Where did they go?"

"Well," Benjamin asked in kind. "Where's Cecilia? How come she's not with you?"

"She was at the fashion show with Tylene, but then she had to leave. She's manning a flight to Spain."

"So there you go. Pretty soon you won't be boarding with her anymore either. It kind of hurts this way, you see—leaving your mate without saying goodbye. It's hard enough to do when you're face to face. When boarding apart, it packs a wallop."

I miss you already, Seas.

Me too, Love! I have to leave! I'm running late!

Benjamin gestured at a scattering of yunomi teacups, along with a half dozen Japanese kyusu pots. A chawan bowl sat at the center of each table.

"Look here," Benjamin explained. He showed Bob what was in one of the bowls. "This is ground hazelnut shell and skin. You make a tea with it and you drink it, and it takes off the edge a bit of not boarding with your mate."

Benjamin took a yumoni and spooned in some of the powder. He then poured light green tea atop it from one of the kyusu. After stirring it, he handed the cup to Bob.

"You'll need this when Cecilia leaves."

Bob took the cup and sniffed it. Ty gave me tea as a going away present! She said I'd need it when I left.

"Tylene gave Cecilia some tea to take with her on her flight," Bob said to Benjamin.

"That's right," Tylene said, walking up on he two men as they talked. Bob's therapist was with her. "Sit down," she instructed Bob.

She took a seat herself at one of the tables and waited for Bob to comply. After doing so, she handed him a leather fob strung with beads, one of several laying around. As he examined it, he noticed most of the other people sitting at the tables on the portico either had a fob of their own in their hands, or were in the process of making one from materials in supply.

"These are nice to have," Tylene explained. "They're like worry beads. You rub them when you're anxious to make yourself feel better. Making one of your own is relaxing too. It gives your hands something to do."

"We have to break the link," Bob's therapist said with slight urgency. "Cecilia's therapist has informed me that we must do it soon."

Right now! Cecilia thought. I have to go!

"She has to go," Bob said of his wife. "She's running late."

The therapist concurred. "Please say goodbye," she instructed.

Goodbye Monkeypants! Cecilia thought into her husband, knowing the nickname made him laugh.

Goodbye! Bob thought while smiling.

With that, the link was gone. And as Cecilia left, so did Bob's smile.