“Are you just saying that because it’s sparkly?”

She grinned at him.

“So what if I am? A woman’s got to have some flair if she has to wear shoes like this, okay?”

He laughed and shook his head.

“Let’s order some food now, I’m starving. You can press the buttons right here and they bring it to you.”

They ordered loaded nachos and beer to start, and someone brought over their beer as Max and Olivia were setting up the scoring on the screen.

“How long has it been since the last time you were bowling, again?” Max asked her as she moved her glittery bowling ball from one hand to another.

She pursed her lips.

“Oh, let me see … at least seven years, it must be? The last time was for my friend Justine’s thirtieth birthday, and she must be thirty-seven or even thirty-eight by now? So we’ll see how this goes, I guess.”

He looked both kind and a touch condescending, just as she’d expected.

“Do you want to go first, or do you want me to go first?” he asked.

She put her finger to her lips as she considered that.

“You go first. Show me what I’m supposed to do so I remember.”

He nodded and took a sip of his beer.

“Okay—you put your three fingers in the ball like this,” he said, demonstrating. “Then you start from back here, and take a few not-quite-running steps, toss your arm back, and let the ball loose down the lane.”

His ball went flying down the lane, and it knocked down about half the pins. Olivia nodded slowly.

“Good job, look, you got—what, five of the little sticks down.”

He laughed.

“Pins, and I’m kind of rusty, but thanks. I also haven’t done this for a while, though for me it was less than two years ago. Right after I got elected, actually. We had a little bowling alley victory party for the campaign staff. Though that night I drank a lot more beer and hugged a lot more people than pins I knocked down. Here, I get one more try before it’s your turn.”

He picked up his ball again and threw it down the lane; three pins fell that time.

“I used to be better at this, I promise,” he said as he walked back to join Olivia.

She stood up and patted him on the shoulder.

“You seem pretty good at it to me.” She picked up her sparkly bowling ball and walked toward the lane. Max stood to the side to watch her with a smile on his face.

“You do it like this, right?” She took a few quick steps forward, swung her arm back, and released her ball straight down the middle of the lane. It flew all the way down and, SMACK, knocked all ten pins over in seconds. Max’s mouth dropped open.