He stood up and Lyman stood up and Lyman's posse stood up and they converged on the doorway in an orgy of handshaking and grinning. The graybeard handed over the access point, and the East Indian woman ran off to get the other two, and before they knew it, they were out on the street. "I liked him," Kurt said. "I could tell," Alan said. "Remember you said something about an advisory board? How about if we ask him to join?" "That is a *tremendous* and deeply weird idea, partner. I'll send out the invite when we get home." # Kurt said that the anarchist bookstore would be a slam dunk, but it turned out to be the hardest sell of all. "I spoke to them last month, they said they were going to run it down in their weekly general meeting. They love it. It's anarcho-radio. Plus, they all want high-speed connectivity in the store so they can webcast their poetry slams. Just go on by and introduce yourself, tell 'em I sent you." Ambrose nodded and skewered up a hunk of omelet and swirled it in the live yogurt the Greek served, and chewed. "All right," he said, "I'll do it this afternoon. You look exhausted, by the way. Hard night in the salt mines?" Kurt looked at his watch. "I got about an hour's worth of diving in. I spent the rest of the night breaking up with Monica." "Monica?" "The girlfriend." "Already? I thought you two just got together last month." Kurt shrugged. "Longest fucking month of my life. All she wanted to do was go clubbing all night. She hated staying over at my place because of the kids coming by in the morning to work on the access points." "I'm sorry, pal," Andy said. He never knew what to do about failed romance. He'd had no experience in that department since the seventh grade, after all. "You'll find someone else soon enough." "Too soon!" Kurt said. "We screamed at each other for five hours before I finally got gone. It was probably my fault. I lose my temper too easy. I should be more like you." "You're a good man, Kurt. Don't forget it." Kurt ground his fists into his eyes and groaned. "I'm such a fuck-up," he said. Alan tugged Kurt's hand away from his face. "Stop that. You're an extraordinary person. I've never met anyone who has the gifts you possess, and I've met some gifted people. You should be very proud of the work you're doing, and you should be with someone who's equally proud of you." Kurt visibly inflated. "Thanks, man." They gripped one another's hands for a moment. Kurt swiped at his moist eyes with the sleeve of his colorless grey sweatshirt. "Okay, it's way past my bedtime," he said. "You gonna go to the bookstore today?" "Absolutely. Thanks for setting them up." "It was about time I did some of the work, after you got the nut-shop and the cheese place and the Salvadoran pupusa place." "Kurt, I'm just doing the work that you set in motion. It's all you, this project. I'm just your helper. Sleep well."