Backward

“Hey, watch out!” I pulled her back before she knocked into the man in the get-up. “Sorry, sir. My friend’s a ditz.”

“That’s not very nice,” she said with a pout.

“You’re not apologizing?”

“No harm done,” assured the scruffy man who observed us. “A breath of fresh air. You two play chess?”

Dawn and I knelt across from him, taking the white pieces. “I’m Gale Jones. The annoying pest is Dawn.”

“Gale Jones, Dawn.” He winked at my sunrise companion. “Love your name.”

“It’s a pseudonym,” I explained. Something about him was familiar, I thought as he adjusted the black pieces.