T--’s dreamgirl never showed up for checkout. He was crushed.

     “Cold feet,” he said. “We were moving too fast.”

     He needed to drown his sorrow, so I took him to Poppy’s last night. Loretta joined us for much of the sadness because business at the bar was slow.

     T-- caught her up to speed on the weekend. He confessed to playing the part of an out-of-town businessman, and as he dished the details it occurred to me that this woman was playing a game of her own.

     “Holy crap,” I said. “Did you ever think of that?”

     “Of course I thought of that,” he said.

     When he said that, I knew he was...

Please subscribe to keep reading.