Yeah, he supposed he should have expected that. Ben shifted his weight uncomfortably and reached up to rub the back of his neck with one hand. He didn't want to leave, obviously; he'd been spending all morning waiting to talk to Melody again, and there was still a lot of unresolved... everything to work through before he would feel confident that they could move forward together.

"I can't just leave her here," Ben protested, but even as he said it he knew Aldous was hardly going to care. He'd made his feelings on the matter abundantly clear, and nothing Ben said was going to change his mind.

Reluctantly, he asked, "For how long?"