"Yeah," she said. She too sounded punchy, like they'd been having a fit of the giggles just before calling. "Kettlewell's family have taken me in, wayward wanderer that I am." "You two sound pretty, um, happy." "We've been having an amazing time," Kettlewell said. His speakerphone made him sound like he was at the bottom of a well. "Mostly reminiscing about you guys. What the hell are you up to? We tried to follow it on the net, but it's all jumbled. What's this about a *story*?" "Story?" "I keep reading about this ride of yours and its story. I couldn't make any sense of it." "I haven't read any of this, but Lester and I were talking about some stuff to do with stories tonight. I didn't know anyone else was talking about this, though. Where'd you see it?" "I'll email it to you," Suzanne said. "I was going to blog it tonight anyway." "So you two are just hanging around San Francisco giggling and walking down memory lane?" "Well, yeah! It's about time, too. We've all been separated for too long. We want a reunion, Perry." "A reunion?" "We want to come down for a visit and see what you're doing and hang out. You wouldn't believe how much fun we've been having, Perry, seriously." Kettlewell sounded like he'd been huffing nitrous or something. "Have *you* been having fun?" He thought about the question. "Um, kind of?" He told them about his travels, a quick thumbnail sketch, struggling to remember which city he'd been to when, leaving out the crazy sex -- which came back to him in a rush, that night with Hilda in the coffin, like a warm hallucination. "On balance, yes. It's been fun." "Right, so we want to come down and have fun with you and Lester. He's still hanging around, right?" Lester had told him about the history he had with Suzanne, and there was something in the way she asked after Lester that suggested to Perry that there was still something there. "You kidding? You'd have to pry us apart with a crowbar." "See, I told you so," Suzanne said. "This guy thought that Lester might have gotten bored and wandered off." "Never! Plus anyone who follows his message board traffic and blogs would know that he was right here, minding the shop." And you're reading his blog, aren't you, Suzanne? He didn't need to say it. He could almost hear her blush over the line. "So how about tomorrow?" "For what?" "For us coming to town. I'll bring the wife and kids. We'll rent out a couple hotel rooms and spend a week there. It'll be a blast." "Tomorrow?" "We could get the morning flight and be there for breakfast. You got a good hotel? Not a coffin hotel, not with the kids." Perry's heart beat faster. He did miss these two, and they were so punchy, so gleeful. He'd love to see them. He muted his phone. "Hey, Francis? That guesthouse down the road, is it still running?" "Lulu's? Sure. They just built another storey and took over the top floor of the place next door."