Gunn looked at the cards in shock. "I thought priests weren't allowed to lie!" Wesley just shook his head in disgust, as he had held a pair of queens and folded early. Angel often thought that Wes shouldn't be allowed to play poker for his own good.

     "I didn't lie. I just bluffed! I figured that this was going to be the last hand of the evening, so it was now or never." Lindsey was stacking his chips into piles and figuring up his winnings.

     "So what about your vow of poverty? How do you square that with cleaning us all out?" Gunn continued.

    "Oh, yes, that reminds me. I don't want cash; I want checks made out to St. Jerome's Scholarship Fund. That's why I was so desperate to win tonight. It's running low and we have some needy kids in the parish whose parents want to send them to Catholic school." With that the three other men at the table took out their checkbooks. Angel rounded it up to the nearest $10 and Wesley and Gunn also increased theirs a little.

     "What would you have done if you had lost?" Wesley asked.

     "You know what a lousy poker player I am, so I figured a vulgar show of confidence would get me through, plus a prayer to St. Jerome!"

     "Okay, guys, we're bringing in the food now," Cordelia Whyndam-Pryce announced as she came in carrying a big tray of sandwiches. Wesley jumped to his feet and took it from his wife, who was seven months pregnant. Coralie Gunn brought in a pot of coffee while Graham carried plates, cups, and silverware. Faith brought up the rear with a platter of cookies and brownies. "So Evil-Lawyer-Guy-turned-Good-Priest-Guy cleaned you all out, huh?"

     "It's for a good cause, Cordy. It's so poor kids can go to parochial school," her husband said.

     "You know I went all the way through St. Pat's, Holy Cross High, and UCLA on scholarships," Lindsey added, "and I had some scholarship help to go to Hastings, too. I wouldn't be where I am today otherwise. Graham, I need your check, too!"

     Coralie Gunn took her husband's hand & led him to the table, where he filled a plate with sandwiches for both of them while she poured coffee. Wes went back to the kitchen and filled a glass with milk for Cordelia. Although she really didn't care for milk, she drank it. After all, it's good for the twins!

     Faith sat on Graham's lap and flashed her brand new engagement ring around, letting it catch the light. The eight friends enjoyed good food and conversation for about half an hour until Wesley decided that Cordelia needed to get home and get some sleep. "After all, Cordelia, you're sleeping for three now!" Faith joked.

     "We need to go too, Charles. The baby sitter needs to be home by midnight!" Coralie took his hand, kissed everyone, and led her husband off. The other two couples followed.

     Lindsey and Angel remained sitting at the table. Somehow each of them knew instinctively that the other wanted to talk. Amazingly they had become friends since Lindsey had entered the seminary. "It's great how happy all of them are, isn't it?" Lindsey asked. "You know Faith and Graham have set a wedding date: September 4."

     "I had always felt that something good would happen to her. Are you performing the ceremony?"

     Lindsey nodded, "I told her I had first dibs on her wedding. Gunn's wife is quite a lady, too, isn't she?" She had been Gunn's teacher when he went to night school to get his high school diploma. He was now halfway through college, working toward a teaching degree. "And to think that Wes and Cordelia are married and expecting twins!"

     "He fell in love with her when he first came to Sunnydale as a watcher and she had a crush on him, too. But it took a while for them to grow and mature enough to be a couple."

     "It was love from our first meeting for Rosemary and me, but we had been having visions of each other for about 13 years, so maybe you can't say it was love at first sight. I can't believe we only had a year and four days together."

     "You still miss Rosemary terribly, don't you?"

     "Every day of my life. You know tomorrow would have been her birthday?"

     "Actually I did. I remember you had said she was born on Valentine's Day. That's one reason I set up this game tonight. I figured you might like some company."

     "I appreciate that. It helps to have good friends. How about you, Angel? You look a little sad right now."

     Angel didn't answer right away, but Lindsey waited patiently. Finally, he broke the silence. "Buffy's engaged. Cordelia heard from Willow today. She's marrying a young doctor she met in the hospital when her mother was in for the brain tumor."

     "I'm truly sorry, Angel. I know that you had hope that someday things would work out. I know how hard it was losing my true love by death. It must be even harder to know she's alive somewhere but you can't be together. I wish there were something I could do for you."

     "Maybe you could stay and talk a while, unless you have the early Mass tomorrow?"

     "No, I have 9 and noon, so it's okay. It wouldn't matter anyway. I'll stay as long as you want me to. It would be nice to talk about Rosemary a little. I never had the opportunity to meet Buffy, but, if you want to talk about her, I'd be happy to listen."

     Angel refilled their coffee cups and led Lindsey to the couch where they could talk in comfort. For about an hour they shared reminiscences of their lost loves. There had been a strong physical resemblance between Buffy and Rosemary, but otherwise they couldn't have been more different, just as Lindsey and Angel could hardly have been more different aside from being dark-haired and Irish.

     "The last time I saw Buffy was when Faith turned herself in to the police. We said some very harsh things to each other. I was angry with her. I'm sorry we parted that way. If only I could tell her that I still love her and I always will. That scroll that I took from Wolfram & Hart said that one day after many trials and hardships I would become human. I guess I hoped she'd still be around for that. Even after she found Riley Finn I hoped that someday we'd be together.

     "You will be, Angel, even if it's not on this earth. Just have faith. I know that I'll be with Rosemary and little Lindsey again. I really think I'd better go now. Thanks for all of the money for the scholarship fund. The kids will appreciate it, or at least their parents will."

     "Good night, Lindsey. Thanks for coming. Would you like me to walk back to St. Jerome's with you?"

     Lindsey shook his head and went on his way.

*****

     Later that night, as she slept next to her fiancé in Sunnydale, Buffy suddenly heard a voice in her ear. "Angel wants you to know that he still loves you and always will, but he hopes you'll be happy. He truly does." A tear ran slowly down each of Buffy's cheeks.

*****