i hear the mayor say as i stop right beside him- because it is ben , it is , i do n't know how , but it really is him- and he and todd turn to look , a dazed cloud of happy noise swirling round them , expanding over everything , including the spackle still up on the battlemore next to them and i move toward ben , my own heart surging- but i glance at the mayor 's face as i run past- and i see pain there , just for a second , fleeting across his gel-shiny features , and then it 's gone , replaced with the face we know so well , the face of the mayor , bemused and in charge- `` ben ! ''