Ten

FOR a moment, I thought she was joking. The look on her face told me otherwise.

“A snake?” I repeated. “But you seemed so happy when you met him at the Blend.”

“Oh, he was charming enough, though not as interested in art or culture as he claimed in his profile. The real estate market was what he enjoyed talking about, and he did—all night long . . .”

She waved her hand. “Albert brought me here for after-dinner drinks, just so he could point out all the structures on the Jersey skyline that he and his financial institution had bankrolled over the years.”

“Well, I’m sure you learned something.”

“Oh, I did. The lesson came when I visited the women’s room, where I was confronted by my escort’s irate sister-in-law—”

“You mean his brother’s wife?”

“No, dear, I mean his spouse’s sister.”

“Albert is married?!”

Madame nodded. “He was using the app to step out on his young wife.”

“Excuse me, did you say young wife?”

“As the snake hastily explained to me—his sexy new wife enjoyed his money and gave him plenty of physical gratification, but out of bed she was a complete bore. He couldn’t talk to her, he said, and he enjoyed the romance of taking mature, accomplished women like me out on the town.”

“I guess that’s flattering.”

“It’s ridiculous! I sent him on his way, refusing even a ride home. But with pride cometh the fall.” Madame patted her pageboy and looked away. “My phone went dead.”

“Well, it’s over now. And we’re making the best of it, right?”

“Indeed we are!” She finished her drink and raised her empty glass.

Just in time, the waiter appeared with a cocktail for me, and fetched a new one for her.

I could see why Madame was feeling no pain. Troubled Waters wasn’t so bad in highball form. The bubbly mix had a citrus-sweet tang and peppery ginger beer sting. It tickled my nose and packed a head-spinning punch. But its powerful effect didn’t deter me, and when the waiter returned with our food, I asked him for a refill.

Since Madame had dined earlier, she ordered dessert (apple strudel).

I, on the other hand, could have consumed every item on their “Octoberfest Celebration” menu. Resisting all-out gluttony, I settled on the Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich with Bavarian Beer Cheese Sauce, braised red cabbage, and a side of German potato salad.

The white meat chicken was pounded as thin as a deutsche mark, the bread crumbs sautéed to crunchy perfection. The seeded bun was fresh, and the beer cheese was an inspired touch that added a creamy richness to the simple sammie. The cabbage brought back savory memories, as did the Hot German Potato Salad—it was the kind with bacon and vinegar that a local church in my Pennsylvania hometown served during their Octoberfest, and I forked the tangy, smoky bites into my mouth with a contented sigh.

“You know, Madame,” I said between unladylike mouthfuls, “yours isn’t the first bad dating-app story I’ve heard tonight, and it certainly isn’t the worst.”

“I can roll with the punches.”

“Honestly, I don’t know if I can stand it anymore. I’m sorry, but I’m beginning to despise this ‘swipe-right’ culture. I can’t understand why women and men are continually putting themselves in situations where they can be humiliated, betrayed, or worse.”

Madame raised an eyebrow. “It sounds as if you have personal experience.”

“I do.”

“You surprise me, Clare! You’re engaged to a perfectly wonderful and chivalrous man. Why are you using a dating app?”

“Not me! My ‘personal experience’ involved two customers . . .”

I briefly gave her the skinny on Gun Girl and her Crusher, including the unfortunate news that a video of the event had gone viral on the Internet.

“The Village Blend’s image is taking a beating,” I lamented. “And I don’t know how to turn it around . . .”

Madame’s reaction surprised me. She didn’t appear upset. In fact, she seemed amused.

“I am sorry for that poor girl and that foolish boy. Both clearly lack maturity, good judgment, and the most basic tenets of civil behavior. But what happened tonight could prove to be a positive thing.”

“Positive? I’m sorry, but I can’t see a silver lining to this particular Dark and Stormy.”

“Perhaps a little perspective might help . . .”

“What do you mean?”

Madame’s violet gaze moved over the river. She tipped her head toward a slow parade of working barges. Some floated by us in silence, others with bright blasts of their air horns.

“I’ve watched the years pass like those barges, Clare, some quiet as death, others with earsplitting changes. I’ve seen shops open and close; buildings rise and fall; trends come and go. Through it all, new generations always tried to break through boundaries. Out with the old, in with the new! But there’s very little new when it comes to human behavior. That’s why a single crime can change everything.”

“A single crime? In this town?”

Madame nodded. Then she leaned forward and fixed her eyes on mine. “Tell me. Have you ever heard of the Groovy Murders?”