Penny nodded and, after one last look around the room, gathered up her handbag.

“By the way, as if we weren’t busy enough already, Mrs. Lloyd has volunteered us to judge the commercial window displays this year. But the good news is that Eirlys is doing really well at the salon. I think she really enjoys taking on the extra responsibility when I leave her in charge.” She turned to go, and then stopped.

“The smell of this place,” she said. “The new paint and all the new materials… When I was in grade seven, I was moved to a new school and I seem to remember that we started our classes before the construction was even finished. I think the paint and plaster on the ceilings were still damp. Anyway, this project just reminded me of that time. Funny how the smell of something can instantly take you back.”

Three

Mrs. Lloyd studied the cards fanned out in her newly manicured hands and then smiled across the bridge table.

“Three no trump.”

The bidding continued and a few minutes later her partner laid down his cards on the table, in descending order and by suit, so she could play the dummy’s hand in the last round of the evening.

A few minutes later, with the scores tallied, Harry Saunders leaned across the table to take her hand.

“Well played, partner! And your hands look lovely, by the way.”

Mrs. Lloyd smiled broadly.

“Oh, I can’t tell you how much I enjoy having you as a partner,” she exclaimed. “You’re such a clever player. On every hand you just seemed to know what my next move was going to be!”