LV: Tuesday, Day 2

"I'm wearing a brown skirt and white top," I told my new partner on the phone.

"I'll be wearing a straw hat and Hawaiian shirt," was his response.  "See you in half an hour."

As I disconnected my phone I wondered if I had heard correctly. Did he really just say "straw hat"? Probably not, I decided, but that's okay, he should be able to spot me.

I arrived at our prearranged location a little early and started to eyeball unaccompanied men, trying to figure out which one was Steve.  By now I was also doubting the Hawaiian shirt, so he could be anyone. Men started eyeballing me back, some appearing a bit uncomfortable. I need to be more subtle, I thought, and so I approached a likely candidate.

"Are you Steve?" I inquired.

"No," he replied with a grin, and stopped to chat for a moment. Vegas is a friendly place.

Shortly after he left I heard a hearty "Hello!" coming from behind me. I turned and immediately knew that this was Steve. Yes, he had a straw hat perched on the back of his head and was wearing that Hawaiian shirt. We hit it off right sway.

Steve and I played in the Gold Rush pairs. The first game found us adjusting and learning about each other, bridge related and otherwise. Steve lives in DC and people ask him what he does there.

"I work for the FDA," he tells them.

"He's a taste tester," I add to his great amusement.

In terms of bridge, our first game was okay, but our second one much better. We came in first in our section, earning red points and T shirts. Steve has talked me into playing Gold Rush Swiss Teams on Wednesday. He assures me that we will get gold there--stay tuned to find out if he's right.