I looked down at my plate, the tension rippling through m...

I looked down at my plate, the tension rippling through me. Half of me wanted to leap up and run, accepting the stunned attention of my fellow diners as they wondered what sort of personal emergency might force me to flight. The other half wanted to slip beneath the white linen table cloth and hide, hoping to prevent the coming humiliation. My lower half tightened involuntarily, a natural