Bennett’s den contains a collection of other unusual beings — he recently ordered a Mickey Mouse toy wearing a gas mask — and he says that the often macabre film director Tim Burton is “one of my favorite people ever.” He is partial to ghosts and warriors like the hero of the film “Kung Fu Panda.”

“Basically, I like cool stuff that becomes cooler when you make it a ninja,” he says.

He is quick to add, however, that the black unicorn and the mermaid will always occupy a special place in the Bennetts’ souls. The couple smile at each other. “It’s kind of a nice love story, isn’t it?” Siggi says.

8. It is only now, despite all evidence to the contrary, that he is completely comfortable.

The ice cream is gone. The children playing inside the shop have left. Dinner hour is approaching, and the river walk is quieting. “I like it like this,” Siggi says, and Bennett holds her hand as they walk toward their car.

Texas will always be meaningful to them. They met there. They have family there. Bennett’s career began there. But it was not the place for them.

Since signing with the Giants, Bennett has done more than score a touchdown in each of his first two games. He and Siggi have been to fashion shows and art galleries. They have been to museums. They have taken the ferry to Manhattan and they have lingered over dessert beside the water. “In some ways, it felt like maybe we ran out of things to do in Texas,” Siggi says. “In New York, we never will.”

The true value of their new home, though, does not lie in its cultural array. In Dallas, Bennett says, he never was truly at ease.

People would say to him, “ ‘You’re a metrosexual’ because I dress nicely or because my favorite thing to take pictures of is our outfits,” Bennett says. “I like art, photography, film — all that creativity.”