We made small talk for a little while longer, I reckon he was early forties under all the hair, his wife had run off with a best mate, taking his k**s... and he started drinking, lost his job, and the downward spiral had started, I felt so sorry for him, he stood up, looking so sad,I put my hand out and held his hand,he moved closer to me, and Chas moved back a little,I said to him do you want a hug? he replied it’s been a long time since a woman has hugged me, so I reached out and pulled him to. She giggled and squealedlike a little girl until the realization of howthis would be. Remember that neither of us had ever had anyexperience outside of our marriage.The questions started.... How would I react to her having a lover?How would she find one? Would it alter the way we felt about eachother? Finally I suggested that she ask someone from the party.She did and was given an adult contact magazine. We sent in anadvert.... Mid aged couple seek guy for 3some, preferablyolder... We got a lot. I’d asked her for a date sometime ago but she’d thanked me and said no, if anything she was more into girls!They were followed in by the guys as boisterous as ever, after getting their drinks they asked me to join them in a game of three card brag. (A much simplified version of poker) and as usual the girls took over the dart board.Cherry looked pleased to be asked to join them so we spent a couple of hours at our respective games before deciding to call it a day.“Jenny’s nice isn’t she?”. ” Goddammit! He should have known better. Clara was always forgetting to charge her phone. A normally thirty minute drive to her office downtown turns out to be an aggravating torture test of snarled traffic and flooded roads. Paul tries every shortcut he knows, cutting through parking lots and alleys, and against one way streets. As he drives he tries to gauge where she might be by recalling what Clara had told him of this night. How she walked through the blankets of rain to street corners.