At intermission, Myles and Sue were standing near one of the refreshment tables the Kennedy Center provided for its "premium patrons." He'd gotten her a club soda, and one for himself as well. Sue was very surprised that he'd opted to leave the ear molds in.

He'd started to ask her a question when a flamboyant woman in red silk walked up to them and threw her arms around him. "Myles! Dah-ling! However are you doing?"

Sue's brows climb halfway to the ceiling as he extricated himself from his "attacker." "Mrs. Dolan," he smiled. "Always a pleasure to see you here."

"You simply must come over and see my prize orchids sometime," the woman was saying. "You always say you're going to, and then you never show up."

"I apologize," he replied smoothly. "Every time I decide to make the trip, there's an emergency somewhere in the free world."

How did he…

She shook a diamond-decked finger at him. "Well, you tell all those hooligans that you need some time off, too. The Annual Foster Flower show is in three months, and I need your help to make sure all my entries are at their peaks."

"Of course." He held out a hand toward Sue. "How rude of me. I'd like you to meet Sue Thomas, a co-worker who enjoys the symphony as much as I do."

"Lovely to meet you, dear, just lovely." Mrs. Dolan pumped Sue's hand energetically. "Don't you forget now, Myles."

As the woman hurried off to schmooze someone else, Sue pulled Myles out of the crowd and stared him down. She signed slowly so he'd be sure to get it all. HOW… YOU…KNOW WHAT SHE SAY? Her eyes felt like saucers. YOU DEAF!

Myles laughed. "Eileen Dolan gives me that exact same spiel every time she sees me here. It's become a little ritual, you might say. In a couple of weeks, I will go over to her greenhouse, reassure her that her gardener is doing an excellent job, and she'll start in again for next year. The only thing that changes is how long it is until the Foster Flower Show."

Sue laughed as well, and signed something. She pointed to him, then held her left "b" hand in front of her at chest level, facing right, and slid her right index finger forward under the left hand from her thumb to the heel of her hand.

His brows lowered. WHATQQ

YOU. She jabbed her finger at him again, grinning. S-N-E-A-K-Y.