Of all the people Miles had been expecting to see on the other end of the door, Valdis hadn't been one of them. "Oh! Hey," he said, the words coming out awkwardly. Then, with a smile, "Did the invitation to my birthday party get lost in the mail? I'll hand-deliver it next time, I promise."

Granted, he'd been embarrassed as all hell after that whole Thing with the knot, but she'd also vanished right into thin air. Well - she had a job, and so did he, so it was ridiculous to think they'd always be able to intersect. Hadn't kept him from feeling ever-so-slighted, though.