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Kibitzing to the left of Jim's partner, Samantha wore a clinging black V-necked sweater with matching black mini-skirt.

Jim's partner was the Upper VIth joker "Brad" Boadbent, an amiable, random bidding palooka-basher. Not, perhaps, the ideal partner with whom would choose to conduct a knife-edge battle with hight class opposition. Jim reached for his cards and almost dropped them as his concentration oscillated between the 3-2-4-4 shape in his hand and the shape of his dreams sitting diagonally opposite. Jim's met Samantha's eyes for the first time and the reciprocal smile told him this was not the time to fail. This was the very last board . . . . :

On the second round of bidding, at his turn, North asked for a review. The startled look on his face told everyone that he had not heard Jim's original double.
No doubt trying to catch up, North's 4 bid put Jim in a spot. He wanted to bid a natural 4NT, but knew that it would probably be construed as Blackwood, so he bid a suit, as requested. Because it was Pairs, North felt duty bound to bid one for the road - just to outscore 3NT.
Jim knew that a wheel had come off, but after West's lead of the 10, dummy's arrival confirmed the disappearance of both axles too. A week's bridge wih Samantha on the French Riviera seemed a million miles away - an impossible fantasy. How on earth was he supposed to gather 12 tricks with this lot?
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