attending these events. Women wore mostly dresses and some trinkets, and men anything but suits. So it was usually a quite relaxed atmosphere in comparison with a game held in other places.
Playing on money was also unlikely to happen tonight, Rose thought. And James was there. For some reason Rose had already started to associate his persona with money, gambling and maybe adventure. She was not sure that she liked the idea. However the mystery of it was appealing to her and here she was in his car, allowing him to drive her to the club. Rose still did not know his major occupation or his lifestyle choices but then she figured that it was a reciprocal matter and felt more confident.
Now please don’t make generalizations. Not every woman would act the same in this situation. It wasn’t so much Rose’s lack of assertiveness when confronted with someone like James whose mind was made up for tonight but more her expectations of the current situation.
Rose had to admit to herself that she was annoyed with him for intruding into her talk to Stefano earlier. She was left with a sensation of unfinished business. However she was perfectly aware that life moves fast and in mysterious ways and she was keen to keep up with the speed so she jumped at the offer made by James. It would have been nonsense to push an issue prematurely, she thought, as she recalled the tentative attitude that Stefano had this evening. Something to explore later, Rose decided.
She was guessing that James was also favoring rapid decisions and for some reason, likely a dangerous life. It was just an intuition on her part and without clear evidence. Just a speculation. He was definitely surprised tonight to find someone in Rose’s house. Maybe the offer to play bridge was a last minute improvisation from his part. And maybe his view of her was of girly girl, highly dependent, submissive lassie.
‘I want you to be my partner tonight, ’ Rose heard James saying and that put a stop to her reflections.
‘That’s not possible James. I usually play with Corrine, ’ she answered automatically.
‘Ah, ’ he replied with some annoyance in his voice. ‘You seem to be familiar with mnemonics, ’ he verbalized his thoughts.
‘I learnt a few tricks, ’ Rose admitted with some pride. Nothing wrong with that, she thought.
‘You should pay more attention to the bidding as it occurs, ’ he advised and Rose had to admit that he had a point there. ‘But using SPATS after you studied the bidding is also very useful, ’ James added.
‘SPATS? ’ Rose said with a questioning tone and face turning to him.
‘Sequence-passive lead-attacking lead-trump lead-singleton lead, ’ he explained patiently.
‘Wow!’ Rose said not knowing what else to say. Seemed difficult even to spell it and she wasn’t suffering from dyslexia.
‘The longer and stronger sequence, ’ he said. Rose nodded in agreement. She knew that.
‘Passive lead from a suit with no honor card to avoid giving away a trick, ’ he explained. Now she was not sure she understood that one. He added: ‘You need to read Klinger’s book’.
‘What about attacking, step three? ’
‘Softly, softly, saints at prayer, ’ James said with a smile and a wink.
‘Ha, you are trying to play with my head, ’ Rose said with some annoyance at his teasing.
‘Is it working? ’ He asked with a big smile on his face.
‘Why are you trying to teach me? ’ Rose asked avoiding an answer. She was thinking that his boyish game was working more against him.
‘I like you, ’ James said simply. Rose felt her heart racing and asked her head to ignore it. Can’t be anything serious, she told herself, just a little flirt.
The car suddenly stopped and Rose realized they arrived at the club. What a fast trip, she thought and then she saw that Corrine was just leaving her car dressed in fine white pants and a tailored buttoned red top. She was wearing ivory peep-toe pumps and a versatile, jolly chic leather handbag. Always classy, Rose thought and then she noticed that James was also staring at her friend. Difficult to miss, I guess, she said to herself with a sigh and a bit of envy.
‘Thanks for the lift, ’ Rose said aloud to James and bailed out the car without waiting for his answer. ‘I’ll ask Corinne to give me a ride back home, ’ she added.
‘Something wrong? ’ He asked with some worry in his voice.
‘What do you mean? ’ Rose replied and she could detect some irritation in her voice. Was she allowing James to make her jealous? For God’s sake!
‘Did you hear what I just said a minute ago? ’ James asked with some visible irritation of his own.
‘Which bit? ’ Rose said. ‘I’m not sure what you mean, ’ she clarified. ‘Or how I feel about the situation, ’ she added deciding to play open.
‘Confused, huh? ’ James said but Rose thought that he was surprised by her honest answer.
‘I like to think things through, you know. That’s why I like bridge, ’ Rose explained herself.
‘Aha, ’ James just said now looking at her seriously. Corinne greeted them happily unaware of the serious discussion she was interrupting and before they were able to exchange any other words Madeline was there and dragged James away.
‘No car tonight? ’ Corinne said with insinuation after they were alone. ‘How is he? ’ she added, tipping her head to one side in James’ direction.
‘Knowledgeable, ’ Rose replied with mischief.
‘Wow, that’s good, ’ Corinne said with enthusiasm. ‘Isn’t it? ’ she asked when noticing Rose’s flat demeanor.
‘Not in that way, ’ Rose said and squinted her eyes at her friend. ‘He was trying to teach me about the opening lead strategy in bridge, ’ Rose explained with a small sigh.
‘Of course, ’ Corinne replied giggling and not believing a word of what Rose said.
During the evening they won some games and lost others and generally had a great time. They left the table around 11:00pm and walked to Corinne’s car when they noticed James. He was barely visible in the shadow left by the trees as he was leaning against his car.
‘A pleasant night ladies? I can take you back home, Rose, ’ James offered.
‘Well, thank you, James…’ Rose started to say and she did not know how to continue.
‘Thanks, James. ’ Corinne replied. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow then Rose’ Corinne said turning to Rose, and she smiled waving at her friend. Rose was for a moment a bit frustrated about this ad hoc arrangement that did not take her preferences into consideration so she waved good bye to her friend and said nothing but followed James to his car. It had been a marvelous night but she was getting tired.
‘Knackered, huh? ’ James showed off his observant side. ‘I thought that you needed a change, ’ he continued and before Rose had the time to reply he asked: 'Would you like to join me tomorrow? I have been invited to a friend’s party on the coast’.
‘Playing poker again? ’ Rose asked.
‘Probably not, ’ he said with some regret in his voice. ‘It’s a surprise party organized by his wife. Not sure what to expect but we’ve been told to dress casual, ’ he said. ‘Tomorrow is Saturday, ’ he added trying to persuade Rose to make up her mind.
‘I know, ’ Rose said not in a hurry to commit yet.
‘Is that a YES? ’ James insisted.
‘I don’t know James. I have a few things to do at home and I would like to sleep in tomorrow, ’ Rose answered diplomatically while trying to decide.
‘That sounds good. I can pick you up around 03:00 pm, ’ he said. ’ You have plenty of time to rest till then. ’
‘Very persuasive, ’ Rose said smiling half convinced.
‘Of course. Always. Did it work? ’ he asked.
‘OK, ’ she made her mind.
They laughed and talked about the night’s events for the rest of the trip. He had more tips regarding playing bridge. When they arrived to her place Rose was in a pretty good mood and she was still laughing when he cut the engine off and told her that he wanted
to stay.
‘Please Rose, let me stay tonight, ’ he said with soft eyes, dilated pupils and breathing fast. His voice was soft and pleading. His eyes were imploring and full of unspoken promises. Rose was caught between a strong desire to accept the request and take James to bed as he was begging for and the flight instinct to run away and protect her independence and security.
Then before Rose was able to make an informed decision she felt his strong arms wrap round her and she surrendered. Her last fleeting thought was related to a favorite saying of her grandma that she thought could apply to the present circumstances: ‘Don’t worry about making mistakes, we learn from them’. The rest of the night was a blur of happy moments. James was definitely more than a great lover and she learned the meaning of a bangaroo.
When Rose woke up in the morning she found herself in bed alone and it was still dark outside. Or at least that was what she initially thought before realizing that the heavy curtains were fully blocking the light of the day. Maybe it was all a dream, she thought.
Rose was in shock when she then noticed that the clock was showing 12:00 pm. Good God, she thought, I must have been drugged. How could I have slept for so long? Then she remembered that she had nothing to drink last night. Can the substances that are known to be used to facilitate sexual assault be given in other ways, she asked herself for a minute.
Rose briefly reviewed the last night events: no alcohol intake, only water and that was not provided by James. Can she blame the psychedelic effects