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time.
    And while he had not made it back to the casino as planned, he had regained his confidence in his poker game during the night he had played, and looked forward to again having a profitable diversion in the New Year. Who knows, maybe this year it would help to keep his mind from drifting to where it shouldn’t.
    As he looked at the mirror attached to the closet door, Jack was convinced that he could get through the evening and that the Christmas Eve call from Delaney was just what he had needed to snap out of his funk. He even looked better and healthier, the bags under his eyes somewhat diminished and the hollowness of his cheeks more filled out.
    Then, he realized he needed his cuff links.
    Jack reached up to the jewelry box on the shelf where his collection of watches kept his cuff links company, and was pleased to quickly find the gold accoutrements that would finish off his James Bond look for the evening. Fumbling to work the cuff links into a tiny sliver, Jack’s mind suddenly flashed back to a year earlier.
    “Let me get those for you, Jack,” the sound of her voice so real he felt her presence in the room.
    “I can dress myself,” he heard himself laugh as he pictured himself with her in his bedroom, struggling to get dressed for the evening.
    “Jack, you are going to be late for the party if you don’t give those to me.”
    “Okay, Brit,” he remembered how he always gave in to her so easily. “I wish you could stay tonight.”
    “I wish I could too, but I promised the girls I would have dinner with them at my mom’s before dropping them off at their father’s. But, I’ll tell you what, I should be able to make it back by midnight and I will make it up to you then.”
    “Are you sure, Brit, I don’t think you should be out on the roads tonight.”
    “I’ll be fine, Jack,” she insisted as Jack remembered the touch of her hand on his as she finished up attaching the cuff links.
    “Okay, Brit, but promise me you will be careful.”
    “I will be fine, Jack, now let me take a look at you,” he recalled exactly what she had said like it was yesterday.
    As he remembered the pleased look on her beautiful face as she stepped back to take a closer look at him, Jack suddenly snapped out of his trance, no longer able to control his emotions, the pain so overwhelming he practically collapsed onto his bed.
    What had he been thinking? Why had he given in to her? Why hadn’t he just told her to stay home and he would come over after the party?
    Everything would be different and she would still be here today if he had just said that one simple sentence. She would still be here to raise her girls, still be here to run her business, still be here to love him.
    She would still be alive, Jack painfully admitted to himself as he tossed the gold cuff links onto the night table, and once again, fell into a trance.
    * * *
    “Hello,” Jack’s mind again relived the surprise he felt at hearing a man answer Brittany’s phone.
    “Who is this,” he remembered asking irritably as he realized it was 11:40, forty minutes after she was supposed to arrive at the party. “Put Brittany on the phone.”
    “Sir, this is County Fire and Rescue. I am afraid there has been an accident.”
    “What do you mean there has been an accident,” Jack panicked as his heart nearly exploded. “Is she okay?”
    “Sir, she has been taken to South Florida Regional Medical Center.”
    “Tell me that she is okay,” Jack demanded. “What happened.”
    “Sir, try to stay calm. A representative from fire and rescue will meet you at the hospital and provide an update.”
    Jack immediately knew this wasn’t good news, and as he ran to his car, he called Brittany’s mother.
    “Jack, what happened,” Denise answered in a panic. “She just left here an hour ago. The Fire Department called and said she has been transported to the hospital.”
    “I don’t know, Denise,” he answered as he jumped into his car. “They won’t tell