The Bridge Marathon

We had a six day bridge marathon, mostly at Moiya's house, though the party did start at my house and we did have one stay at Wyona's who burned candles to produce the correct ambiance for us.  But mostly Moiya provided the space and the treats: chocolate zucchini cake, pumpkin pie slice, warm country seed bread to die for, spaghetti squash just out of the oven .....

Bonnie Wyora was the score keeper, shadowed by Wyona's expertise, of course.  There is nothing like keeping score to really learn how bridge works.  That would be, learning when you have a game on, a leg on, how much is above the line, or below -- all jargon I know but have yet to really manage by using it to keep score.

The four of us kept changing partners so that the stunning victories of one day didn't keep happening to the same pair of players.  I held one hand that had 27 points -- no word of a lie.

In the six days we played, Wyona had diagnosed herself with gout and was in the process of giving up the two luxuries left to her -- diet coke and chocolate.  The pain in her toe lessened but moved to her pointer finger until she could hardly hold her cards -- even if there were twenty-two points in the hand.

Her finger got bigger and bigger.

... at the emergency department, waiting for Wyona ...

As Bonnie and I were taking our morning walk passed Wyona's house the next day, she called us over, hoping that we, too, could diagnose the progress of her gout.

"Looks like a trip to the emergency department," said Bonnie, looking at the finger that now had tinges of green.

The three of us hopped in the car  for Salmon Arm where the physician on call made his own diagnosis -- an infection that needed lancing.

On leaving the hospital we called Moiya who was also in town and said she would meet us at a fast food joint.  Bonnie slipped into a dollar store, got us 2 more packs of cards and we spent the afternoon  drinking coke and dreaming of the chocolate that would be back in Wyona's diet, and thus in ours.

Bonnie also spent a lot of time shuffling the cards so they are ready if you happen to see us and we need a fourth.

Arta