"I know, aren't humans great like that? I have to admit, at first I was extremely dismayed to have been brought here, but ... the people I've left behind can handle themselves as long as my assistant, Janet, is with them. And she's not here! So if you all need my help instead, I'm happy to do what I can ... and learn about all of this."

He listened as Sylvando regailed him with the delicacies of Rocky Road, smiling exuberantly. "It's going right at the top of my list of things, then, because I've always wanted to try a marshmallow. Don't try saltines, by the way. They're just flat little squares of disappointment."

As the clerk was packing up his purchases, Michael's little pout at the memory of his first Saltine deepened. "They don't? Oh, but that's a shame. I love paperclips." He held out one arm, pushing up his sleeve just enough so that Sylvando could see that he was wearing a bracelet made from them. "One of my very best friends made this for me because she knew."