I spoke with the girl tonight - she had broken up with her boyfriend a couple of weeks ago, and wanted someone 'safe'.
Conversation:
'Safe?'
'You might as well have Lawful Good written on your character sheet.'
Awkward as I found it after the game, I found out that it could have been more so - she almost asked me a few years ago, the last time I ran a game at a pagan retreat.... Then I would have had a naked young woman asking to share a sleeping bag, and no convenient job the next day.
I told Jackie about the follow up, and mentioned that the girl had almost made a play about five years ago, and Jackie said 'wait, is she the girl who' - and proceeded to describe her, amazingly well for someone she has met once, about three years ago. 'I could have told you that'.
I think Jackie had a 'that's why' moment, when she realized who the girl was. I also think that she was suddenly a bit less alright with it, given that the girl had been thinking about it all that time ago. And Jackie made certain to tell me that 'forgivable' does not mean 'okay' - that she would forgive me if I lapsed, but that she would not be happy about it. Since I had not lapsed I felt pretty relieved, actually. Her telling me that it was okay had bothered me a good deal. It really shouldn't have been okay - in retrospect, I wonder if Jackie thought that I
had slept with the girl, and was saying that she could live with that, rather than giving me permission for the future. It seems to make more sense to me, that way.
So, it does look like I missed some serious warning signs - Jackie picked up on them three years ago. I also had one of those 'that's why' moments - I had wondered why Jackie had stuck so close to me when I introduced her to my players, since Jackie is by no means shy, and hadn't acted at all the same way when I introduced her to my folk group. I think she was feeling territorial. For some reason, that put a silly smile on my face.
I need to put some points into Sense Motive, I guess.... I wonder if I was the only one in the group who was taken by surprise. It wouldn't be the first time.
Hopefully, everything will get back on an even keel now, though I am going to be a good deal more cautious around the girl for a while.
I had been considering running a game at the pagan retreat again, since my summer job is no more, and Gooche Island has been granted to the town, leaving a largish gap in my summer. I now think that it might be best not to take the chance, this year.
The Auld Grump, and that is quite enough of that topic.
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