Synopsis

The game was already tense, but a new kind of disruption arrived with the news. It seemed the troubles of a friend’s sister had bled into the night, casting an unwelcome shadow over the cards and camaraderie. Tim found his concentration fractured, the familiar rhythm of the game replaced by a nagging awareness of lives lived beyond the poker table. The stakes felt suddenly less important, the thrill muted by the weight of unspoken worries.