I got to the cafe first and was eagerly watching the door. We had exchanged pictures, so I recognized her immediately and waved. She smiled and made her way to the table. The conversation initially was about her new work arrangement but soon pivoted to the true reason for our meet-up.

“I’m gonna be staying in a corporate apartment so if we play we can do it there or at your place. Either works for me,” she offered.

”We can choose between the two depending on which might work best for a given scene,” I added.

Natalie was a short, slender woman in her early to mid thirties. Our actual age difference was consistent for me to be her dad but for our games we would both be turning back the clock a couple of decades. Her build was perfectly suited to impersonate a girl in her early teens and I was really excited about the opportunities her travel had presented.

We chatted a bit more about logistics and schedule before she bluntly suggested, ”I had started writing - just a few paragraphs - the note from school scene for our story. Shall we play that first?”

”Sure, that would be a great start,” I replied. “When might work for you?”

She glanced at her watch. The time had flown by. “I’ve gotta get back to work. How about tonight, at your place. I can ‘come home’ with the note and go from there,” she suggested. I nodded and agreed to send her a map link.