As I watched, gaps appeared in the bucket-brigade as castmembers slipped away, faces burning scarlet with shame. At the Hall of Presidents, Debra presided over an orderly relocation of her things, a cheerful cadre of her castmembers quickly moving it all offstage. I didn't have to look at my handheld to know what was happening to our Whuffie. # By evening, we were back on schedule. Suneep supervised the placement of his telepresence rigs and Lil went over every system in minute detail, bossing a crew of ad-hocs that trailed behind her, double- and triple- checking it all. Suneep smiled at me when he caught sight of me, hand-scattering dust in the parlor. "Congratulations, sir," he said, and shook my hand. "It was masterfully done." "Thanks, Suneep. I'm not sure how masterful it was, but we got the job done, and that's what counts." "Your partners, they're happier than I've seen them since this whole business started. I know how they feel!" My partners? Oh, yes, Dan and Lil. How happy were they, I wondered. Happy enough to get back together? My mood fell, even though a part of me said that Dan would never go back to her, not after all we'd been through together. "I'm glad you're glad. We couldn't have done it without you, and it looks like we'll be open for business in a week." "Oh, I should think so. Are you coming to the party tonight?" Party? Probably something the Liberty Square ad-hocs were putting on. I would almost certainly be persona non grata. "I don't think so," I said, carefully. "I'll probably work late here." He chided me for working too hard, but once he saw that I had no intention of being dragged to the party, he left off. And that's how I came to be in the Mansion at 2 a.m. the next morning, dozing in a backstage break room when I heard a commotion from the parlor. Festive voices, happy and loud, and I assumed it was Liberty Square ad-hocs coming back from their party. I roused myself and entered the parlor. Kim and her friends were there, pushing hand-trucks of Debra's gear. I got ready to shout something horrible at them, and that's when Debra came in. I moderated the shout to a snap, opened my mouth to speak, stopped. Behind Debra were Lil's parents, frozen these long years in their canopic jars in Kissimmee. ========= CHAPTER 9 ========= Lil's parents went into their jars with little ceremony. I saw them just before they went in, when they stopped in at Lil's and my place to kiss her goodbye and wish her well. Tom and I stood awkwardly to the side while Lil and her mother held an achingly chipper and polite farewell. "So," I said to Tom. "Deadheading." He cocked an eyebrow. "Yup. Took the backup this morning." Before coming to see their daughter, they'd taken their backups. When they woke, this event -- everything following the backup -- would never have happened for them. God, they were bastards. "When are you coming back?" I asked, keeping my castmember face on, carefully hiding away the disgust.