Last week I arrived at the bridge club sporting a new hair style.  Of course Julie noticed immediately and complimented me.  We briefly discussed the salon, how long the process took, the price, possible alternatives, and where a mutual friend goes to get her hair done.  At that point it was time to start playing bridge, which we did.  Later that afternoon we were at a table in the middle of the room when Mike walked by.  He glanced over at me.

"I like your hair," he said.

"Thank you," I replied.  I was pleased and more than a little surprised.  "That was really nice," I said to the table.  "It's unusual for a man to notice."

"Yes, but Mike would notice," one of the ladies said.  Her partner nodded approvingly.  Julie was uncharacteristically silent . . . until last night.

"I shouldn't tell you this," Julie began over a glass of wine.  Although this opening may sound ominous, I have heard it before and so was not alarmed.

"Yes?" I asked, my curiousity piqued.

"You know when Mike said he liked your hair?  I told him to say that."

"What! And we were so impressed with him," I laughed.

Now for a word about bridge.  When I think about yesterday's game, what comes to mind is how many times I had to turn control over to Julie.  I opened several times, either with a very good hand or with a very good preemptive hand.  Sometimes I doubled because the opponents opened and I had a very strong hand.  Often, though, Julie then responded with a different suit that I could support.  I felt a twinge every time this happened, but bridge is all about teamwork so I went where we needed to go.  While being the declarer is exciting, I think I like the bidding process--when I hold interesting cards--even better.