Since there was no sign of Anna, I sat down at a table in view of the front door. The main room was half dark and smelled of beer. The air-conditioning was turned up in anticipation of the crowd. Behind me and to my left, I could see the raised dais where the band would play. I’d make a point of being gone by the time Ethan arrived. I could hear billiard balls crack into one another smartly, and assumed there was a pool table in the back room.

I finally spotted Anna. She’d changed clothes. For her Friday-night attire, she’d selected a form-fitting red leather miniskirt, a glittering red sequined tank top, and four-inch heels. Her demeanor had undergone a transformation as well. Gone was the industrious shopgirl with her cuticle expertise. She was in hunting mode and dressed for the kill. Her eyes were lined in black and her lipstick was the same hot red shade as her nails. Her hair was still secured by a clip but arranged in a French roll instead of a tuft on top. She’d added long, dangle earrings that bobbed and sparkled as she moved. There was no sign of anyone with her.

When she slid into the seat across the table, she was accompanied by a subtle cloud of perfume. She made eye contact with one of the bartenders who knew what she was drinking without being told. A moment later, a waitress appeared with a martini on a tray. Three olives were submerged in the depths and the glass was frosted with a thin sheath of ice.

Anna glanced at me. “What are you drinking?”

“Chardonnay.”

The waitress made a note before she turned and walked away.

Anna picked up her glass. “End of a long week. Excuse me if I don’t wait.”

“I thought Ellen would be with you.”

“In a bit. Hank, too. His mom lives six doors down and she said she’d watch the kids. So what’s the plan? Staying over?”

“I have a room at the Holiday Inn.”

“Good for you,” she said.

“Is this where you spend your Friday nights?”

“Saturday nights, too. I date a guy who plays keyboard in Ethan’s band.”

“Is that how you met?”

“Other way around. I talked Ethan into hiring him when another guy dropped out. Where’re you from?” she asked, switching the subject as if the answer had slipped her mind. Ethan had probably unloaded anything and everything I’d said about myself.

“Santa Teresa.”

“Nice. How’s the club scene?”

“There isn’t one.”