Let's play cards

I came back in the room with my three step-daughters discussing what to do for the evening. Rachel and Michelle were at a loss, since their plans to spend the weekend at the places of their respective friends had fallen through. Suzy hadn't had a Friday to herself in years. Suzy and Michelle looked up and smiled when I returned. Even Rachel, who usually kept things coldly formal between us, managed to be friendly.

"So, any suggestions about what we should do for the evening, Jim?"

My hormones had a number of ideas, but I decided to suppress them for the moment. "A friendly game of cards, perhaps?"

Before Rachel could respond, Michelle responded with an overly enthusiastic "Great! How about---"\

"--Hearts?" answered Suzy.

"--Spades?" responded Rachel.

"--Cribbage?" I piped in. Rachel, Suzy and I looked at each other and laughed at the way we had all responded at the same time.

Michelle stuck her tongue at all of us. "Actually, I was thinking poker."