"The standard colors are the same, and there will be only four until we have better statistics on which of the custom colors get ordered most frequently. Ekaterin had a suggestion that I'm working on - the projection range for pens is short, but they technically have enough hardware to notice if you move around and how, so if she takes hers out to her garden and draws something over the dahlias and then wanders to the runner beans, it ought to be able to remember where these things are relative to each other - and then resize to an arbitrarily scaled map of the garden for later investigation. There's a software update planned to let it handle that in the standard drawing program within the next few months. And the sales bump was significant but not enormous."

He kisses her on the cheek. "Good for Ekaterin, then. Are you getting along? Do you like her?"

"We are and I do. I think I could probably ask her to be involved in a groatful wedding now."

"All right." Nuzzle. "And there will be colorful groats and oaths and it will be very wedding-y."

"Yes. Wedding-y and groatful." He's not going to let that one go anytime soon.

"You are easily charmed by neologism."

This inspires her to get up off the sofa so she can twirl him around. "You are so cute."

Miles squawks and then clings to her, giggling. "I'm very pleased you think so!"

She flumphs down again and kisses him.

He snuggles into her lap and kisses back. "I love you. You're delightful. An absolute treasure. I'll even let you get away with picking me up and twirling me around. Because I love you so."

"Is it a matter of getting away with it?" she wonders. "I'm not certain I could kick the habit of scooping you up in the first place if I tried - well, I could, but it would be legitimately challenging - but if you do not care to be twirled I can do without."

"It's a matter of finding endearing from you what I would find inexcusable from anyone else."

"Aha. We shall have to make sure that no one infringes on my wifely entitlements. I might get jealous, on top of your own dismay."

"I am certainly not going to stand by and let myself be twirled by unauthorized persons."

"Well, no. If unauthorized persons are trying to twirl you, your feet will not be near enough the ground for standing."

"Metaphorical standing, Linya. Standing of the metaphorical kind."

"Aha. That you could surely do from arbitrarily compromising positions."

He cracks up.

And Linya grins and snuggles him.

Whether she had the idea independently or is picking up on some silent cue, Linya picks him up again and saunters upstairs.

Good. Miles has the best wife.

Why yes. Yes he does.