Page 44 of About Last Night

"I suppose so," she agreed, then touched her head. "If you don’t mind, right now I don't want to think about the wedding."

He nodded, then glanced around the room. "I found a deck of cards in the desk. Want to play?"

She smiled. "Crazy Eights?"

He smiled back. "It's been a while, but I think I remember how to play."

"Me, too. But my family always played during the holidays."

"Mine, too," he said, walking over to retrieve the cards. "That was before smart phones and streaming TV, when everyone had their own separate entertainment."

They positioned a small table between two upholstered chairs and sat down, Janine cross-legged. She laughed. "Cards and board games will be relics someday. Our kids—" She stopped suddenly.

Derek shuffled the cards. "You're planning to have kids." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Maybe," she hedged. "You?"

He dealt the cards. "Gotta find the right girl first."

"You don't… have a girlfriend?"

"I do not," he responded definitively. "The agency keeps me busy." Busy trying to keep the lights on.

Janine played a card. "What do you like most about advertising?"

He thought for a moment. "It makes me feel close to my dad."

"Does he work with you?"

"He died."

She inhaled sharply. "I'm sorry."

He played a card. "Thanks. It was a while ago. He started the agency, and I worked with him. Jack, too, when the mood struck him. After dad died, though, it wasn't the same."

"Is there something else you'd rather do?"

"Not really," he admitted. "I like being an entrepreneur… I just don't have the same creative chops as my dad… or Jack." He waited for her to play a card, then drew until he could play again. "What do you like most about being a physician's assistant?"

"Preventive health care," she said. "I'd rather try to head off an ailment than treat it."

"Wouldn't that put you out of business?"

She smiled. "I wish. Wouldn't that be amazing, if doctors and healthcare workers were no longer needed?"

He studied her shining face, struck by her sincerity. He gave a little laugh. "Don't let Steve hear you say that."

"Don't worry, I won't." Then she bit into her lip, as if she regretted her outburst.

"But yes, that would be terrific," he added.

She played a card. "Steve calls me Pollyanna."

He played a card. "I think we need more Pollyannas in the world."

Their eyes locked, and azingpassed between them… at least he felt it. Janine looked away, then played a card and grinned. "I'm out."

He groaned, then added up his points. "Tell me about your family." He was intrigued by the upbringing that had shaped her aspirations.

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