I should have waited to come back to work today. I should have waited for Monday, when everybody is coming back. It wouldn’t have been so noticeable.

Here’s what happened. I saw Jane in the break room, getting some coffee. She asked me where I’ve been for most of this week, and I knew I couldn’t tell her that I’ve been in my bedroom for three days. Or was it four? I can’t remember.

I couldn’t even believe that she had noticed I was gone. I think maybe she must like me. That must be why.

So I had to make something up on the spot. I told her that I had been in Las Vegas.

Her: "What for?"

Me: "I like gambling." This was an idiotic thing to say, because I don’t know anything about gambling.

Her: "Really? I love poker. I play online all the time."

Me: "Yeah. I should try online poker sometime. It would be a lot cheaper than always flying to Vegas."

Her: "I’ve never been to Vegas."

Me: "Huh. I have to get back to work."

Is it possible she was hinting that she’d like to go to Vegas with me? That’s what it sounded like.

Probably not. If I had a better story ready, I could have used it to start talking about something interesting. Like I could have told her I went camping in Arizona or something.

Or I could have found out where she’s from and said I was there, visiting old friends.

I need to start learning to play poker, IMMEDIATELY.