In Tristan's closet there was a beautiful blue silk shirt. He'd noticed it a day or two after he arrived, and always hoped he'd get the chance to wear it before something inevitably happened to him. He was still alive, and it seemed appropriate for a luncheon; but in the back of his head, the voices started.

You want to wear that, Tris..? Do you really think you can pull it off? I'm not sure it's 'you'. Maybe if you were a little taller it wouldn't look so bad...

Before he had the chance to take it off again, Caleb came into the bedroom.

"I'm probably going to wear something else" he said defensively, "I know this isn't quite right..."

It was a shirt that Tristan would have chosen for himself. Before he met Jed, before his life was led by the opinions of others. But now he lacked the confidence of his conviction.

Caleb had picked it out, knowing how well it would suit him.

"There isn't time to change" he lied, "We need to head out now in case we hit traffic."

Before they got into the elevator, Caleb called out to his brother.

"Fraser! We're going now, don't forget your meeting with Bruce later!"

Fraser came out from the guest bedroom in his robe, his wet hair neatly combed, and a pair of reading glasses perched delicately on the end of his nose. Tristan marveled at his effortless elegance.

 "Haven't forgotten" he assured. "Brother-in-law! That shirt is very much your color. Be wary of being too handsome though, or someone might get jealous..."

Tristan didn't believe his words. But he didn't hate to hear them either. 

It was only a short drive to the yacht club. The stark white restaurant stood proudly across from the various embassy buildings that lined the sea-front road. Diplomats were often granted membership, and the famed eatery was always booked up well in advance with distinguished diners.

Tristan started to panic. He should have worn something different, he should have thought of what to say. Fraser would have fit here perfectly. He was an imposter.

Caleb took Tristan's hand firmly in his, leading him inside before he had a chance to worry further.

"There you are!" cried Dr Terice, quickly coming to their side with a glass of white wine in her hand, "I was scared you weren't going to come."

"Tristan, do you remember Dr Terice?" asked Caleb, "We visited her clinic. The doctor's husband is on the board, but he insists on dragging her to these things, even though she's not a fan of people."

Dr Terice laughed. "What kind of doctor doesn't like people?" she asked, leaning him in to scold him for outing her, "You're one to talk! The only person you like is your husband..!"

She wasn't wrong.

Beautifully dressed people were standing in little groups around the brightly lit room, and Caleb had no desire to speak to any of them. He looked to Tristan instead, and tried to make out whatever barely perceptible indicator he could as to whether something might have piqued his interest.

A glance at the marina through the large picture windows was enough.

"Do you want to take a closer look at the boats?" Caleb asked him.

He led Tristan to the rear of the restaurant, the glittering sea was shimmering in the sunlight, and the graceful sloops were standing proudly on its surface; their sails fluttering like butterflies' wings.

Caleb pushed up his glasses, and was happily watching Tristan when the first of the day's opportunists sought to impose on him. 

"Well this is an unexpected surprise! You left the meeting so quickly yesterday, I thought we wouldn't have the chance to talk."

Caleb didn't even bother to smile.

"I'd heard you were recently married. Is this the er... person? How do you do? I'm Adam Porter."

Adam stuck out his right hand to shake Tristan's. He'd evidently failed to notice the cast on his arm.

"My husband, Tristan" Caleb introduced succinctly, "He's injured."

The warning look made Adam withdraw his hand.

"And have you been in Modesh long?"

"He's injured" Caleb repeated, "It's affected his memory."

Adam was struggling to keep the obsequious smile on his face.

"Well... I wish you a speedy recovery!" he said, awkwardly backing away from them.

The switch was instantaneous. As soon as Tristan's eyes were on him, Caleb's intimidating aura subsided, and his eyes were filled with sincere affection.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" he asked him gently.

Despite his protective glare directed at the board members and executives, Adam was not the last to approach them. Each time, Caleb would go out of his way to introduce Tristan as his husband, but the pleasantries stopped there. It was almost as if he'd forgotten about the social aspect of this expedition.

"Shouldn't we take a seat with the others?" Tristan asked him, "Don't you need to network..?"

Caleb took it to mean that Tristan's legs were tired from standing. He chided himself for not finding a chair for him sooner. 

Dr Terice's table was the logical choice. In a similar vein to Caleb, she was quite adept at keeping others away when she wasn't in the mood to speak with them. Only a couple of resilient proponents of her husband were still trying to engage her in conversation.

"Tristan! Have you been back to work since your setback?" she asked, thankful that she could escape the boring finance talk.

"Not yet..." he said, "I thought I was supposed to be resting?"

Her eyes widened. Avoiding Caleb's panicked prompting, she decided to cover for him. 

"Oh... well yes, I just wondered if you'd stopped by for a visit." 

"Does Mr Black's husband also work in finance..?" asked one of the other guests.

Tristan felt the words catching in his throat as he tried to answer him.

"Fortunately not," said Dr Terice, "or I'd have to sit and suffer through even more talk about public securities or quaint brokers."

"It's um... 'quant' brokers, actually" he corrected.

"Exactly like that" she said, "Tristan's similar to myself, in that he chose something a little more interesting to do with his time."

Tristan leaned towards her and whispered. "I work in a supermarket..."

"I know" she said, "And I'm sure it's a darn sight more interesting than sitting and staring at a computer screen all day watching numbers go up and down." 

Tristan had certainly thought so. He wasn't sure many others would agree.

"There's a lot more to working in finance than that, Mrs Terice!" said the mistaken guest.

"Doctor Terice" said her husband, arriving to join them at the table; "I'm sorry, were you waiting long?"

Steven Terice had been forced to take a last minute phone call at work. As a result, he'd left his wife at the mercy of his colleagues before he could rush to join her. He knew she wouldn't be happy about.

"I'm leaving in forty minutes regardless" she said, "I've already put in twenty minutes of the agreed-upon hour."

With both of them often working overtime, their social calendar amounted to a scattering of events over the course of the year that they negotiated between them. Just as Dr Terice had made an appearance today, Steven would be attending her alumni meeting the following month.

While often perceived from outsiders as cold and business-like in their relationship, Steven and Angela Terice were actually very much in love. They worked hard to balance their professional and private lives, and had the utmost respect for one another and their careers. Steven had even taken his wife's name when they married.

"Then I'll hold off the business talk for the time being" said Steven, pointedly addressing the two hovering networkers and waiting for them to leave. "Is this the husband I've heard so much about?"

"Tristan" said Caleb.

"Angie told me about the accident. Any concerns about your recovery, and my brilliant wife is the one to see. Just last February, The Terice Clinic won an 'Excellence in business' award."

"Excellence in business doesn't equate to excellence in medicine" she opined, "Oh! But rest assured Tristan, we offer the best care available. It shouldn't be long now until we call you in to have your cast removed. Any plans for when it's off?"

Tristan looked to Caleb for an answer.

"Go take a walk and get your husband another drink" she ordered, sending Caleb reluctantly away from the table. If he wasn't relying on her discretion, he might not have so easily complied.

"You can tell me if he's bullying you, you know. As your healthcare provider I can pull rank and tell him you need a week-long retreat at a private resort. Without him, of course."

Sitting alongside the married couple, he couldn't help but draw comparisons. Shouldn't they be telling him how lucky he is..? How he ought to think more about Caleb and less about himself?

"He's not bullying me..." said Tristan, "Once I've recovered I'd like to see the temples in the north with my friends. But other than that, I can't say I've given it much thought."

"The temples are worth visiting" said Steven, "Angie took me there when we started dating. It's a beautiful place to see the stars when it gets dark."

Dr Terice couldn't help but laugh.

"He likes to romanticize" she told Tristan, "We laid down to stargaze and a lizard ran over his hand. He ran away screaming and left me behind."

"I came back..." said Steven, smiling at his wife and remembering those early days together.

They didn't allow themselves to reminisce for too long before returning their attention to Tristan. When it came to their time, they were nothing if not efficient.

"After your trip you should take a longer vacation" Angela suggested, "People seem to forget that taking time off to recover is not the same as taking time off to enjoy yourself. It can often be quite draining. I'm sure the office in Cabi is waiting for Caleb to come and pay them a visit - maybe you could kill two birds with one stone?" 

"There's an office in Cabi..?" Tristan asked.

"That's right, and a third in the States" Steven added.

"Forgive me if this sounds a little strange" said Tristan, "but what's the name of your company?"

Dr Terice had almost forgotten that Tristan had been facing issues with his recall.

"Caffray" she told him.

Tristan felt his head start to spin. That was his company. The one where he'd never been good enough... where they didn't want him for the job in Modesh. The company that Jed and Carl still worked for.

"Caleb and Fraser... those little egotists. Ca-Fray... they should have just called it 'Black', but of course they didn't listen to me when they registered the name."

"Angie and Caleb were at college together, maybe he told you?" asked Steven.

Caleb returned to the table with a glass of sparkling white wine for Tristan.

"Told him what?" he asked accusatorily.

"That we went to college together" said Dr Terice, "Tristan, if you ever want to see embarrassing photos of your husband, just ask. He looked even more miserable then if you can picture it."

Tristan was having trouble focusing. Caleb had been their boss... it didn't make sense. He'd never heard his name before that day in the hospital.

"Fraser was my husband's junior. He's how we met, actually."

The conversation continued but the words seemed clouded.

"He's visiting for a few days, though I'm not sure what his schedule's like."

A sentence cut through like a knife;

"Ray's here? We should try and organize something then since we're all together..."

Tristan remembered that name at least. Ray. Though he'd never had the chance to meet him, he knew that Ray was Carl's superior. The driving force behind their deadlines, the name thrown around when Carl was dissatisfied with his performance. 'I've had Ray's people on the phone asking why this isn't finished, Tris...' Ray... was Fraser.

"Baby, are you feeling alright?"

Everything was spinning. He reached for his glass and it spilled onto the sleeve of his shirt.

"I think I should take him home" said Caleb, helping Tristan to his feet.

Dr Terice tried to examine him, but Caleb told her not to worry. He was scared. Scared that Tristan's memory had returned... scared that he would ask her for help to run away. The longer he could keep him to himself the better.

"He's always like this when he drinks white wine" he lied, "He just needs to sleep it off."

Caleb ignored the guests offering their assistance, and hurried straight out the door with his arm around his husband's shoulders. He bundled Tristan into the car and headed for home, his pulse rising as he started to panic.

"It's okay Baby, it's not far. You'll feel better once you lie down."

Tristan turned to him, his face pale and his mouth dry.

"Your company's name is Caffray..?" he asked his former employer.

Caleb almost ran the red light. He'd only left the table for a minute.