1. He's perfect for the part
2. You're my obsession
3. A question of morality
4. Could I really love a man who could do something like this?
5. A problem and a solution
6. A favor for a friend
7. The grace period
8. Trying to make things right again
9. The sort of spiritual experience eternal companions should share

• (character chart)
• (caution/disclaimer)

1. Young Women's
2. Youth Conference
3. Saturday's Warrior
4. Brigham Young University
• Gratuitous Love Scene
5. Polygamist
6. Temple Wedding
7. Orem High
8. Bordeaux Mission
9. Exmo Conference

"No, now it's my turn to veto this idea," I said. "I know you had your heart set on seeing some of the casinos here, and as bad as I feel right now, I would feel a hundred million times worse if I felt like I had kept you from having fun here after you've gone to all of this effort and expense for me. Seriously, I'll be okay here by myself."

Jake looked like he was torn between wanting to go out and have fun, and yet not wanting to leave me alone to be overtaken by dark brooding.

"I think I may have just the remedy for this situation," he said. "I've brought something from my mom's cabinet that perhaps I shouldn't have." He went to his bag and pulled out a bottle of vodka.

I gasped. "Alcohol," I said. I didn't know why, but somehow that seemed like going too far. Here I was in sin city committing every kind of sin possible. I wondered if there would ever be any hope for me to recover after this.

Jake seemed to understand what I was feeling. He came over and sat down on the bed and put his arm around me. "Think of this weekend as your grace period," he said. "Nothing you do this weekend counts for or against your eternal salvation."

I was still a little worried.

"Now," he said, "I'm your doctor, and this is your medicine. This will help you to relax and survive this one difficult day. There's a convenience store next door. I'm going to get you a sandwich and some chips. What would you like with your medicine? Orange juice? Cranberry? Something else?"

"Orange juice," I said.

"Okay," he said, standing up. As he went to the door, he noticed the envelope and picked it up. He looked over some of the materials inside and shook his head. "I can't in good conscience leave you alone with this," he said. "It'll just make you crazy." Then he left with it.

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When he got back a couple minutes later, he had a sack from the convenience store, and he didn't have the envelope anymore. He set the sack down on the table by the bed and pulled out a bottle of orange juice. He then poured some vodka into the bottom of a glass and filled the rest with orange juice and handed it to me. I sat there and held the glass in my hand and looked at it.

"I'm not going to leave until you drink this," he said.

I took a swallow. It had a sharp, strange taste to it and a bit of an after-bite.

"Good," he said. "Now, if you'll drink that and settle in and watch some good old-fashioned mindless television, I believe you'll be okay." He turned on the TV and started flipping through the channels. As he hit one with an old Scooby-Doo cartoon on it, I laughed a little. "Ah, this is just what you need," he said, leaving it on faintly in the background. "Now drink up."

I drank some more of my drink and took the chips out of the sack.

"Good," he said. "Now how do you feel? Do you want me to stay here with you? It's no big deal, I will. I can come back to Vegas anytime."

"No, no, go, seriously," I said. "I'm okay. I'll have fun relaxing and watching these ridiculous old-time cartoons. In fact I've even brought some mindless reading material." I went to my bag and got out the latest issue of Cosmopolitan which I had bought the other day and hadn't even started reading yet.

He laughed. "Good, you're already one step ahead of me," he said.

"Exactly," I said. "I'll be fine."

"Okay," he said. "Actually, there's one more thing." He paused, looking a little sheepish. "I've counted my money, and without digging into my mom's advance on next month's paycheck, I have enough money for the hotel balance and gas and provisions for the way back, but just barely..."

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