Short story: A bridge too far

Mrs Valerie Warren had been Oscar O’Neill’s receptionist for more than 20 years. She had started soon after the death of her husband, and had not remarried. She did have a regular bridge partner, Alan, but Oscar wasn’t sure if their relationship was more than that, and didn’t want to pry.

Oscar used to play bridge himself when he was younger, but had played very little since leaving university. So when Alan was taken ill, some years previously, Oscar agreed to be Valerie’s partner at her local bridge club for the night. He was rather nervous about this, as he hadn’t played for a long time, and he knew that bridge clubs could be rather cliquey.