At Ithaka, the Greek restaurant that River's family ran, on the wall, was a mural of fishing boats in a Greek Island harbor; in the air was the sound of Greek music. The last time Griff had been there was with Sharon. When the Raiders let him go, Sharon left him for a just-out-of-college, recently drafted Quarterback. Things worked out pretty well, he thought to himself. "If I have the Moussaka, and you have the Lamb Souvlaki, we can share," he said to Caydance.

The waitress who approached their table had served Griff and Sharon the last time he had been there. She smiled at him, looked across the table to Caydance. "My wife, Caydance," he said.

Suddenly, there was noisy commotion in the area of the kitchen, the sound of an argument in progress, the clattering of dishes thrown or dropped. Soon, all was quiet, and River's Mother and Father appeared at the table where Griff and Caydance were sitting. "On Saturday, your son is leading the battle against the Southern California Swifts," Griff said politely. "I hope to see you there."

As if an opera was in progress in a Greek Restaurant in Contra Costa County, many waiters, waitresses, and members of the kitchen staff appeared at the table where Griff and Caydance were seated. "We'll be there," they said. Simultaneously.

"Your brother informs me that Yuri is considering not returning to Leningrad. He told me that you probably know something about this," Griff said to Caydance, while they waited for Greek wine and an opening dish of Skordalia and zucchini chips, for which the restaurant named Ithaka was famous.

"Her name is Natasha," Caydance reminded him. "Yuri's change of plans might be because her parents are exiles."