Chapter 3

As we headed towards the blackjack area of the casino I realized that I didn't have any cash on me, so we made our way towards the ATMs set up by the cashier's cage. I withdrew $1,000 and turned to face Linda.

I said, "Here's what I am going to do. I am a big believer in everything happening for a reason, so am going to bet this entire $1,000 on one hand of blackjack. If it wins, then we split the money, sit down, and play for a while. If it loses, then we go get coffee for an hour or so and tell each other the sories of our lives that brought us to this point while the kids have fun playing video games."

"I think it's crazy, just like everything else that has happened in the last 24 hours, but it's your money. Deal." she replied.

We walked up to one of the empty $100 minimum blackjack tables, laid down the $1,000, and told the dealer "money plays". She dealt me a king and herself a nine, then dealt me an ace! Blackjack! I just won $1,500 on that hand! Her other card was a six, so she cleared the table and payed me out my chips. I took the cash and put it in my pocket. I was walking out of that casino, at worst, breaking even as far as the gambling went. I gave Linda $750 in chips and we sat down to play. The first hand, I bet $100 and Linda looked at me like I was stupid or something.

"Like you said before, everything happens for a reason. That first hand was a pretty good sign, why not bet it all? You already broke even, and there are two of us playing. Odds are pretty good that at least one of us will win" she explained.

I pushed all $750 up to the betting circle. Linda did the same. The dealer gave me a ten, Linda a Queen, and herself a seven. My next card was a jack, Linda's was an ace, and the dealer had a three. After drawing a four, then a nine, she cleared the table and paid us out our winnings. I now had $1,500 again and Linda had $1,875. We were doing pretty good! I bet another $750 the next hand, and Linda did the same. I was dealt an eight, Linda got a three, and the dealer got a king. I didn't like the looks of that. My next card was a jack, Linda's was a nine, and dealer's was hidden. I stood on eighteen. Linda looked thoughtful for a moment that doubled down. The dealer quickly flipped up her next card, a seven. Nineteen. The dealer flipped over her card. A seven. She drew another card, a five. Twenty two. She busted. We won again. I got another $750 out of it, but Linda got $2,250 because she doubled down her bet. I didn't think we should press our luck any further, and mentioned this to Linda. She seemed inclined to agree with me so we got up. We had spent less than 10 minutes at the table and I had won $2,250. Linda won $4,125! She tried to give me her winnings since the money came from me in the first place, but I told her that she had won it on her own and was therefore entitled to it. After a little more persuasion, she agreed and we went to cash out.

Once we had our money in hand, we headed towards a little coffee shop off to the side of the casino that was actually in the line of site of the arcade. We could keep an eye on the kids while we had coffee and just talked.

"I got married eight years ago", she began, "when I found out I was pregnant by this guy I had been going out with for a few months, John. I liked him well enough at the time, but it was really a marriage more for convenience than anything else. I already had a daughter (which is a long story. I got pregnant by a friend, and he never even knew that I was carrying his child) and I wasn't getting any younger, so when I told him I was pregnant he proposed, I immediately said yes. Things went along nice for a while. We moved in together, we were both working, but we were barely getting by and it was getting frustrating. When Sarah Renee came along, that's my seven year old, he decided that he wanted to move back out to California where he was from and all of his family was. My mother always told me that a woman needs to make sacrifices for her family, so I reluctantly agreed to our moving. It was nice meeting all of his old friends at first, but he started going out with them more and more often until he was going out drinking every night, while I sat at home with the kids. We had several fights about his drinking and staying out all night until I found out I was pregnant with Kimberly Nicole. He started staying home more often after that and would only occassionally go out with his friends on the weekends. His drinking slowed down considerably, and we were all getting along great. He payed attention to me, he paid attention to the kids, and he found a good paying job where he worked hard enough to provide for us all while I stayed home with the children. After a couple years and several promotions he started working late more and more often. I just figured it came with his new position until Kimberly Nicole's birthday last month. We invited several of Kimberly's little friends (mostly children of our friends), several of our friends and some people from John's work. John and a woman he said worked down the hall from him, Heather, kept giving each other little glances and smiles all through Kimberly's party. After the party, John said that he needed to go back to the office to finish up some work and would probably be a few hours. I am not stupid. I knew he was up to something. I got my best friend and next door neighbor, Claire, to watch the kids, jumped in my car and headed for John's office. He worked for a fairly small company, so the building was only one floor, and I was easily able to see into his office from the window outside. He was sitting sideways at his desk while his "down the hall coworker" was on her knees sucking his cock! That motherfucker! I took out my cell phone and called him. He picked his phone up and said 'Hi honey. Is everything ok?' I told him that things were not ok and that I was standing outside of his office window at that very moment watching him get sucked off by Heather. He froze for a second, then pushed Heather off of him, stood up, pulled up his pants and said 'honey, I can explain'. As if there was any possible explination that would validate his behavior! I went straight home and he arrived about five minutes after I did. I laid into him about everything I go through while he just runs off acting like he didn't have any responsibilities at home. I told him that if he wanted his whore he needed to just leave right now and not bother us again. He swore it was a one time thing (uh-huh. Riiiiight) and he told her it was over before he ran out of the office to come home. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, and I WAS 2,600 miles away from my family, so I forgave him. Three weeks later he came late from work one night and I caught the smell of another woman's perfume. I wanted proof, so I dragged him to the bedroom acting like I was hot for him. I got his pants down before he even know what I was doing and as my face came close to his crotch, I caught the scent of another woman's pussy. That was it. I started swinging and screaming as he tried to back up and pull his pants up at the same time. He fell a couple of times as he ran out of the house. I went next door, got the kids, loaded up the car, and left. We had only been driving a few hours when the car started making strange noises and we saw smoke coming from under the hood. We pulled into the rest stop, but the car refused to start again. We were just giving up hope when you showed up. So, there's my story. Kind of pathetic, I know, but it is mine. Now I am headed to my sister's where I can stay while I file for divorce and try to put my life back together. The money we won tonight will go a long way towards helping me get things started and get me and my girls situated."