was a poor loser. So you see Rose was a tiny bit concerned tonight. But, voila, that’s life.
‘Dear, with bridge you can always count for the interplay of skill and fun’ Madeline used to say when new members were introduced around.
While bidding was in full force Caroline O’Brien’s restlessness became obvious to everyone. She was wearing a smock dress in velvet with crochet lace inserts. She was seated to the right side of Rose and was brimming with energy. Usually she was a shy, quiet sort of person and such a change in her behavior seemed unlike herself.
As Rose learned nothing from bidding she braced herself for the game. It was about to come down to a race for tricks, she thought. She was relying on Madeline to report any suspicion of infringements to the floor director; not that it happened very often but the club liked to be vigilant.
‘The situation is more strict in a competition and it’s better to give people the chance to be prepared if they decide to go for one’ was Madeline’s preferred explanation.
As Rose looked up to see Madeline, she noticed her sideways looking up smile aimed at the opposite table. Following her gaze Rose found herself staring with surprise in James’ eyes. It looked like, after all, he was capable of a natural smile, she realized. Aha…Mystery solved thought Rose and paid no more attention to it.
‘I don’t know what to do’ Stephanie White said loudly, trying to decide what to bid next. Her yellow gold onyx pendant was lost in the depths of her cleavage. She was a voluptuous blonde and tonight she was wearing her hair in a low bun under a pillbox hat that she was wearing with such grace that most likely all women around felt envious by the glimpses they gave her. She was wearing a plunge neck full dress in rose jacquard. Daring. She was Caroline’s partner tonight.
Were the two of them up to no good tonight, Rose asked herself? Rose had seen her doing that before and probably Madeline would have recognized the technique too if less preoccupied with James. She was going to ignore it, Rose decided. Rose was the dummy tonight and knew her place.
Madeline, on the other hand, was all smiles and in a world of her own. She was playing on an auto pilot. Likely lots of dopamine flooding her brain. She saw nothing but James. It was pretty obvious to everyone. So of course their team lost the bidding and then most of the tricks and Madeline barely noticed that. Penalties were huge but she appeared to be happier than at the beginning.
Was she a tiny bit jealous of Madeline, Rose asked herself?
….
It was near midnight when the group finally left the hotel. They were all in a happy mood. Maybe alcohol helped a bit. Rose’s team was at loss but they had fun and they were all believers in living in the present theory. ‘There was no time in life for regrets’, was their favorite motto! They all walked out the hotel door and faced the brilliance of the sky. The sky was smiling upon them. Of course, the southern hemisphere sky, which Rose still had to get used to.
‘Autumn is the best time of the year for sky watching’ someone whispered into Rose’s ears as they all walked into the street. As she turned her head toward the voice she stumbled again in those beautiful dark and mysterious eyes of James. His pupils were dilated. She was speechless again and her nose caught a pleasant scent emanating from him. At the time she was not able to identify it but later learned that was Polo Blue.
James grinned at Rose, nodded briefly and left. Ha, tricks of the trade, she thought. Is he trying to stir me up? Madeline was nowhere to be seen. A handsome man, I wouldn’t mind having someone like him by my side, Rose concluded and went home. Driving at night was considered pretty safe in this city. It was a clear, full moon night and the traffic was minimal. The sky was a delight: like a Christmas tree, sprinkled with millions of stars. I’ll definitely miss it, Rose thought, thinking about going home to her grandma’s tinny village stuck in the mountains with a different type of sky.
Rose was not up to date with the celestial events, knew little about the sky watching and even less about the planets, galaxies, comets, supernovas but she surely knew how to appreciate a beautiful night and that was what the sky was offering to her tonight. Rose felt happy and safe. Her mind and soul were in the right place. Brisvegas felt like home to her.
Rose was driving an old red Mini Cooper hatchback. The 4 passenger door version, 2. o liter petrol. It is a superb car. Fast and fun to drive. She never expected to drive one but here she was. Fate’s present to her. She could imagine her grandma Letitia saying ‘Rose, trust me, things are going to get better and better…trust yourself and you’ll be just fine’.
The car’s transmission was automatic and the steering wheel was on the right side. Here in Australia driving was on the left side of the road, just to complicate the matters more. It took Rose some time to get used to it but tonight she felt confident, in charge, and she was enjoying the beauty of the sky all by herself, thinking of how many things had happened since coming to this place 6 months ago. Having the lead is everything in the bridge game and life is very similar indeed, she thought. Maybe she’d finally hit the jackpot. Maybe she’d finally found her happy niche in the world.
As Rose was getting out of her car and taking in the smell of fresh air, gardenia and frangipani flowers planted in her driveway she was suddenly surprised and momentarily blinded by the lights of a car that entered her parking lot and immediately stopped behind her car. In a split of a second it crossed her mind that it was in the middle of the night and she was out there alone and perhaps she was unconsciously inviting trouble. So Rose moved rapidly towards her front door and prepared herself to shout ‘fire’ if the newcomer gave her any vibes of bad intentions. This idea was based on an advice or you could call it an initiation in dealing with emergencies that she received for free from one of her neighbors soon after she moved in.
‘Ah, afraid of me? ’ a male voice said in the quiet night.
‘Do I know you? ’ Rose managed to reply without showing the panic in her voice. Now the engine noise was cut down but the intruder was still in the shadow of his car.
‘You should’ he said. What a confident Aussie, Rose thought, recognizing with pleasure the owner of the voice and trying not to let her imagination run wild. She couldn’t quite picture herself having a relationship with James.
‘Short memory, hey? ’ he said and slowly came out of the shadow. It was James and he came across as pleasant and easy going.
‘James Ommaney, you gave me a fright, ’ Rose said with pretended upset that was not easy for her and feeling suddenly upbeat.
‘Sorry. Just wanted to make sure you got home safe’ James said. ‘You are new to Brisvegas, aren’t you? ’ he continued. ’I can show you around town if you want’ he offered while moving towards her.
‘I accept your offer. I have only another 6 months left’ Rose simply said while racking her brain for a clever reply.
‘You don’t like Brisvegas? ’ he sounded incredulous. Rose noticed his jumping to conclusions and asked herself if alcohol had some contribution. Was he pursuing her romantically? It was compelling to believe that although herself was under the influence of Dionysus tonight.
‘Long story’ Rose replied trying to keep the conversation short. She was now afraid that their voices were waking up her neighbors.
‘I have time’ James persisted as if unfazed by the time of the day.
‘Not tonight’ Rose said and ran inside the house not knowing what else to do. That left him with no other choice but to retreat after a warm ‘Good night’. As Rose was closing and bolting the door behind her, she realized that she was feeling stirred up and restless. She was not sure what she wanted and she blamed the excitement of the day for it. Too much of too many good things, as my grandma would say, thought Rose. Was James into her?
She felt definitely attracted to this man, and had to admit that to herself but it was obvious that she was standing in a queue and she didn’t like that. Maybe it was the competition that she did not like or maybe something else. Before she
had time to reflect more on it she was fast asleep.
Temperance
On another continent, 15, 000 km far away, the winter was approaching fast but the day was not finished yet. Letitia was leaving the building in a better mood than when she entered earlier that morning. It was a relief knowing that things were as they should be. She had always been a sensible person, some would say a practical one but she knew better. Who cared about her lifestyle choices?
Very early in life she decided that ‘forty and fat’ was something that will never apply to her. In her early seventies now, not that anyone outside her family and close circle of friends would have guessed that, Letitia has never been sick or taken any medication. That’s till recently. The sudden, unpleasant, terrifying moments when she felt that her heart was racing and she was about to die have increased in frequency and duration over the last month and, finally, she was frightened into seeking medical advice. As she pushed open the huge glass door and walked outside the modern and sleek, glass and steel building Letitia comfortably took a quick left turn on her high heels and immersed herself in the mass of people. They were in a hurry to catch up with the day.
She knew she could not afford to be seen consulting a doctor. It wouldn’t do her reputation of