Alistair Valdwell and Abelard

Alistair Valdwell and Margie were fast friends since age five. They wrote only once a week, but they'd never been in love. When he asked the front desk girl who was bucked tooth enough that she couldn't be offended by his preference for Margie, Alistair learned that she'd lost her only love. On the fourth night, his friends retired early, perhaps at his direction, and left him at the bar.