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them,” she said, “but please don’t be long. I’m not very good at bar-talk.”
    After Jasmine left, Rose said, “We can talk about this later. Right now, we really need you to pour drinks. We haven’t had customers in the bar all night. It’s important we keep them happy.”
    “What’s wrong, Rose? Tell me and I’ll make it right.”
    She wanted to tell him what was in her heart, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t admit that she was terribly afraid that by not going with him, With a Twist would come tumbling down around her, and it would be her fault. But on the same token, she couldn’t leave with him and give up not only her dream but that of her two best friends.
    “You better go out there. If I know Jasmine, she’s out there talking about crunching numbers and the one thing that will make our patrons run out of here screaming is Jasmine’s lessons in financial planning.”
    Jasmine bounced back in the kitchen. “Max, please. We now have five thirsty people at the bar.”
    “Go,” Rose ordered.
    Max unfastened his white apron, threw it up on a prep table and left in a huff, with Jasmine leading the way.
    * * *
    When Rose awoke the next morning, Max had already packed up and was gone.
    No note.
    No fond goodbye.
    Not even a text message on her phone. It was as if he’d never been there. His room was spotless and the sofa-bed was neatly put back together. The only evidence that he’d been there was his bag of Star Anise lying on her kitchen counter.
    She checked her email. Nothing.
    This time, he hadn’t even bothered with an email.
    She scolded herself for thinking he could change. Hadn’t her father taught her anything?
    He and Max were both cut from the same leavin’ cloth. She’d known it all along, so why did it hurt so much?
    Rose sobbed out loud this time, and when she thought she was all cried out, she cried some more.
    The first time he’d left, she’d never even kissed him and she’d cried for two weeks straight. She could only imagine the tears she’d shed this time around.
    Rose wanted to phone her friends and tell them what happened, wanted to hear them tell her it would be okay. That Max was a jerk for giving her up. That he would never find true love. That he’d be alone for the rest of his life. But the thought only made her cry harder.
    She was in love with him, more now than she’d ever thought possible. She knew she would never get over him. All she could really hope for was that in time the pain of giving him up would ease to a dull ache. He’d gotten under her skin this time, and she knew she’d never be the same woman again.
    By ten-thirty that morning, when she should have been getting ready for work, she called Jasmine instead and told her she couldn’t make it in today.
    “It’s okay. We only have two reservations for the entire day,” Jasmine told her, which brought on more tears.
    Rose clicked off and went for a long walk along the marina behind the Convention Center, ending at Seacoast Village. She hoped to spot the gypsy sitting at her folding table, colorful scarves waving in the breeze. Rose wanted to ask her what she should do now that she’d told her lover goodbye. She needed her advice on how to fix things so they could keep With a Twist.
    But the gypsy wasn’t there, which only added to Rose’s misery.
    Around eleven the next morning, Valentine’s Day, Rose swung open the front door and walked into With a Twist , knowing Max was on a plane, moving farther and farther away from her. She’d finally come to terms with her fate, and knew it was what had to be, but it didn’t make it any less painful.
    Her tears had miraculously stopped sometime around midnight when the I Love Lucy marathon stopped and The Twilight Zone marathon began. Not that she wasn’t a fan of the show, she simply didn’t need to watch anything weird when her own life was weird enough.
    She’d turned off the TV and slept until nine-thirty that morning, dressed and walked to work