Ben shifted his weight. "Not hiding. Just drinking," he said, but he wasn't sure it was entirely true. Maybe he was hiding a little bit, too, but he wasn't hiding here any more than he was hiding at home or out around town. There were certain things he just never got to talk about, no matter where he was or who he was with. Not even Art or Aldous knew the full story. If they ever sat down together and shared what they knew between them they would come close, but the chances of that happening were ridiculously slim. Ben would probably have to turn up murdered to get Aldous and Arthur working together on anything.

"Sometimes there's a lot to drink about," he admitted with a shrug.

---