Chapter 3: Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving at Denise’s house was like nothing Thomas had ever experienced. Normally, in his first pass through the decade, Thanksgivings were oftentimes spent alone since his mom had to work a waitress job. He would spend the day with any friends that could get away from their families. At Denise’s, there were countless relatives crammed into her house. Lawn chairs with portable trays filled every available corner. Aunts, uncles, and cousins were spread throughout the house and there was a constant din coming from every room.

After lunch, Denise paraded Thomas around the house and introduced him to her family. They repeated the same information about how they met and what they were studying in college countless times. After the first room Thomas whispered to Denise that he would never remember so many names.

“It’s OK. We won’t see them again until next Thanksgiving.”

She took him by the elbow and continued to introduce him to the next group of family members.

At three o’clock there was a collective rising throughout the house. Thomas looked at Denise with a questioning look. She grinned.

“Some families play football on Thanksgiving, others will go bowling or to a movie. Our tradition is poker.”

She explained that there would be six to a table. Buy-in was twenty dollars. She glanced around and did a quick count. She said that there would probably be six tables. They would play until all but two at each table had chips. The winners would be split into two semi-final tables. Play would continue until there were three left at each semi-final table, then a final table of six would play for the whole pot.

Thomas nodded. In his first life, he was a good poker player. He could count cards and oftentimes would come home a winner when he took a trip to Vegas. In this life, he got ever better. It was at a casino that served single-deck blackjack that Thomas made his first bundle of cash. Blackjack, plus a timely bet on a MLB no-hitter is what netted him almost a half-million dollars. He continued to return to the casino and play poker and blackjack once or twice a month.

“There you are,” exclaimed Denise’s mom. “We’re going to steal him and start him at our table.”

Thomas was guided to a table in the kitchen. Denise sat at a table in the living room and waved while mouthing, “Good luck.”

The first table wrapped in less than thirty minutes. Denise’s twin sixteen year old cousins, the youngest age allowed to play poker under their house rules, lost quickly. Why they were paired together was lost on Thomas. Table #1 finished as Denise’s uncle, who was usually favored to win the whole thing, lost due an incredibly bad beat. He sulked away from the table as Denise’s oldest cousin and her dad were the last two at the table.

It took almost two hours, but finally the top twelve were decided. Of the final twelve, Thomas ranked ninth in total earnings so he was placed at the new Table #1 with others that finished with an odd-numbered rank. Denise was sixth and she sat at Table #2.

Another two hours passed before there were only six. Thomas and Denise both progressed to the final table. Thomas quickly realized that there were really only a handful in the family that were good players, and this collection was almost predetermined. A bad beat earlier eliminated one of the favorites, but there were still five very good players seated around Thomas.

He took a couple of fliers and risked much more than he should, winning two and losing one. In the end it came down to Denise, her dad, and Thomas. The family stood around the table offering commentary on each deal.

“Funny that the home owner and his family are in the final three!”

“Think Denise and Thomas are colluding?”

“If it wasn’t for that damn three of clubs, I’d be there,” said the uncle that was still smarting over losing in the first round.

Thomas folded a hand and left Denise and her Dad to battle. Denise’s dad went big while she called his bluff. She easily won. It was now between Denise and Thomas. He bet recklessly without looking like he was throwing the game. He knew they were the final two and would be happy to see Denise win. After one bad call, Denise gave him a dirty look. Others may not have picked up on his strategy but she knew what he was doing. He played hard with what money he had left and lost it honestly over the next dozen hands.

A loud cheer went up when Denise finally won. The aunt that was designated the “banker,” came over and presented Denise with a bundle of cash - $720 dollars. She also handed her a hand-made trophy that consisted of three decks of cards bolted together sitting on a small wooden base with a royal flush in spades fanned out over the card decks.

“Our new champion,” the aunt declared. “Be sure to bring this back next year and defend your title.”

After winning the poker game, Denise and Thomas made their final rounds and said good bye to her family. They were in separate cars so Denise followed Thomas back to his mom’s house.

“That was a great day,” Thomas said after they parked in the driveway and headed to the back door.

“It was. My family loves you, even if you took second place at poker.”

Thomas unlocked the door and grinned at Denise. “Could have taken first, but...”

“Oh, no you don’t,” said Denise. “If you want those bragging rights you need to earn ‘em.”

In the living room they were met with a rapidly blinking answering machine light.

“How’d we get so many calls on Thanksgiving?” wondered Thomas. He pressed the large green play button on the machine.

“Thomas, this Connie Watters, Billie’s mom. Your sister is in the hospital. Please call me at home once you get this message.” A phone number was left at the end of the recording, along with the automated time-stamp of when it was receive. The message was recorded less than hour after Thomas left the house.

Two similar messages followed. The last had been received less than an hour ago.

“It’s Connie, again. It’s urgent. Call me ASAP.”

Having heard the number three times, Thomas picked up the phone and dialed it from memory. A gruff male voice answered the phone.

“Yeah?”

“Hi, this is Thomas Ford. Connie called and left me a message to call. Something about my sister?”