Free True Love and Other Disasters by Rachel Gibson

never thought they’d toss her out of a charitable organization two weeks after her husband’s death. She wished like hell Virgil was at home so she could talk to him about what had happened. Of course, if Virgil were at home, they wouldn’t have booted her outon her ass. There was no one at home to whom she could rant or vent or even talk to about it.
    The waitress approached with a menu and Faith opened it. She wasn’t hungry, but she ordered clam chowder, Dungeness crab, and a glass of chardonnay, because that’s what she always ordered at Shuckers. As she raised her glass to her lips, she glanced about the restaurant. She became suddenly aware of the fact that she was the only person dining alone, which added to her already frazzled nerves and hot humiliation. But this was her life now and she’d better learn how to get used to it. If there was one thing Faith knew how to do, it was how to adapt. Being alone after five years of marriage was something she’d just have to adjust to.
    As she sat within the richly carved oak paneling of the oyster bar and ate her chowder, she pretended an interest in the tin ceiling. The restaurant was filled with people, but she had never felt so alone in her life. The last time she’d felt this self-conscious was the first time she’d stripped to her G-string. Sitting there by herself felt a bit like being naked in public.
    The people with whom she’d socialized for the past five years were Virgil’s friends. As she picked at her crab and ordered a second glass of wine, she wondered how many of those friends were goingto ostracize her now. Without Virgil, she didn’t have friends of her own, and she wasn’t quite sure how that had happened. The friends she’d had in Vegas before her marriage lived a lifestyle she’d left behind. Some of them had been really great girls, but these days she couldn’t imagine knocking back cherry bombs and partying till the sun came up. She’d lost touch with the few friends she’d made at Playboy.
    Somewhere in the last five years, she’d lost herself. Or at least, whom she’d been. She’d become someone else, but if she was no longer a part of Seattle society, where did she belong? She was a former stripper and playmate. Her mother was a flake, and she hadn’t seen her father since 1988. For the past five years she’d played the role of a rich man’s wife, but who was she now that he was gone?
    As her lunch dishes were cleared away, the waitress recited the dessert menu. It was on the tip of Faith’s tongue to refuse. To bolt from the restaurant and the uncomfortable situation, but like the first time she’d reached for a stripper pole, she forced herself to endure it. To get through it until the next time, when it would be easier.
    She ordered vanilla-bean crème brûlée, and for good measure, another glass of wine. Whichprobably wasn’t a great idea since she had a meeting in just a bit, but she’d had a very bad day.
    She’d been kicked to the curb by the charitable society she’d belonged to for five years. That alone was enough to justify a few drinks. Add to that her sudden identity crisis, and hell, she deserved the whole damn bottle.
    After a few minutes, the dessert arrived and she broke the hard sugary top with a spoon. As a child, she’d dreamed of crème brûlée. To a poor kid raised in northeast Reno it had sounded rich. Exotic.
    She took a bite and the rich custard tasted smooth on her tongue. She thought of her meeting with the PR and marketing departments. They’d said they had an exciting concept to promote ticket sales. She wondered what they’d come up with.
     
    “Savage,” Coach Nystrom called from the doorway of the locker room. “You’re wanted upstairs in the conference room.”
    Ty pulled his practice sweatshirt over his head. “What’s up?”
    “Don’t know.” The coach glanced at his clipboard. “The rest of you hit the ice.”
    Ty shoved his feet into a pair of Nike flip-flops and walked