“Luke, Tina needs you.”I held his gaze for a half-second longer, then threw down my usual challenge and turned my back on him, paused and went to ...alk away. As I did, I felt what I thought was a rock, hit the back of my head. When I say rock, I am referring to pumice, there was an instant of not even pain, before it crumbled. As I turned, I heard scuffling on the drive and Tina was holding my hand as I faced Idiot again. This time I didn’t blink.“Oh, for fucks sake!” exclaimed Diane. “You. Arriving at the Hostel and walking up the steps, there was a big commotion around the front desk. I soon learned that the hostel overbooked by taking in a bus load of students from up north and they had given away my bed and a lot of other people's as well! Damn those bloody k**s! I one of the staff to give me their wi-fi password and quickly logged into couchsurfers, desperate to find someone who could take me in for the night because there was absolutely no hope of finding another hostel this. Ruth commented again about the bread, and Roland promised to add their cookie and brownie mix the next time he brought bread to be baked. We said goodnight to Floyd and Ruth and walked out together.Roland's handshake was firm as we said goodbye, making me cancel the thought that he had soft hands.Karen called to tell me about having Thanksgiving dinner with Gary and his kids."His sister was there. She says she knows you." Half sister," I corrected her. "We're members of a group that does. "Sam went to the bedroom door and knocked on it and said, "Hurry up Stu,you got company, and she's a lot better looking than me!"I thought a somewhat chauvinistic remark, but this is fascinating seeingsomeone I know well, and how different he is in the company of anattractive woman. I concluded this charade had gone quite far enough, soin my male voice I answered, "Well I am flattered by the complimentSam."His eyes grew wide. I continued, "Now you understand how I vanished socompletely for that.