Chapter 3

Later that day Ted had stopped to fill up with gas south of Richmond, Va. He saw an Army-Navy store across the road and made a snap decision. While he realized that he had packed suits and dress shirts, he now realized that he would no longer need that mode of dress. He made his way to the store and outfitted himself with khaki pants, denim jeans, plaid shirts, athletic socks and a sturdy pair of plain, brown shoes. On the way to pay for his purchases he pulled a plain, beige baseball cap from a rack and included in the pile on the counter. He paid for his purchase and was soon on his way, but he had decided to no longer use the Interstate. He looked at his map and made a decision to use only the blue routes, the secondary routes that were shown in blue on the map. He chose a road and headed west.

He drove through small towns and hamlets, making sure to obey all the speed limits. He stopped at small motels along the way and ate at Mom and Pop spots when he was hungry. He was amazed at the quality of the food served to him. It had none of the institutional taste of the major chains - this was down-home cooking. Servings were huge, hot and tasted wonderful.

The third day out Ted stopped for breakfast at a small eatery with a sputtering neon sign out front trying to spell out "Mom's Kitch" The "en" was burnt out and it didn't look like anyone was going to give that sign any attention anytime soon. He entered the place and saw a few booths along the window wall and a short counter with five stools. He took a seat next to a grizzled old-timer who turned to look him over.

The waitress, who didn't look like any Mom he remembered, took his order and brought him a steaming cup of strong coffee. He took a sip and heard the old-timer address him.

"Howdy," The voice was gravely and deep.

Ted nodded and returned the greeting.

"Where ye headed? " the old guy asked.

Ted turned to him and noticed his eyes. They were a piercing blue and weary, as if he had seen things better left to the imagination.

"West," Ted replied briefly.

The old guy nodded, as if expecting such an answer. Moments later he continued.

"Where ya comin' from?" he questioned. Ted felt a flush of irritation creep up. "Why the fucking questions?" he thought. He turned to his tormentor and with a shrug, answered.

"East," he said dismissively.

Ted was relieved to see his breakfast then placed before him and he dug into the eggs and sausages. He spent the next few minutes assuaging his hunger, thanking the waitress who came to refill his coffee cup.

"Yer running. It ain't gonna work, buddy... been there, done that. I'm here ta tell ya, it don't work. It all catches up to ye."

Ted turned to him, ready to snarl, when he again saw the old guys eyes. There were unshed tears there and Ted suddenly felt uneasy and apprehensive. He threw some money on the counter and left quickly, not turning around. Seconds later he was again on the road.

"What the fuck," Ted muttered to himself. "Is everyone a goddamned Sigmund Freud? Damn bum, giving me advice. I really need that now." But the old-timers remarks kept haunting him, gnawing at his subconscious as he drove. He knew, deep down, that he was running away, he knew that it was stupid. But he just couldn't face the situation now - or was it that he just didn't want to?

Ted also began to realize that added to the sorrow and grief was another emotion - anger. Not a burning, searing rage, but a tired, empty sense of bitterness. His mind kept going back to the two incidents that almost caused him to leave Barbara. He now pretty well knew that they weren't isolated events, only things that he had managed to catch her at. She had been very clever throughout their years together. He had never really suspected that she was having affairs, but she must have been cheating from the start.

Ted then froze and had to pull over to the side of the road. He was trembling, breathless. He had suddenly come to the realization that his children may not even be his own. "Oh, my God," he screamed. "Oh, that fucking bitch," he shrieked. He felt the nausea return and barely made it out of the car before vomiting his breakfast by the side of the road. The tears started again and he fought them back and gained some control. "No more, no more tears for what was," he vowed. "Time to move on," he muttered to himself.

The next few days passed in a blur of shabby motels and small eateries along the road. He was sorely tempted, many times, to stop at the bars or saloons he noticed, lit up with dying spots, as he drove by in the evenings, but he knew the danger of driving drunk. He would not travel down that road. He didn't relish a night in jail for drunkenness.

Ted passed a sign announcing the Nevada border and on a sudden impulse decided to vist Las Vegas. The lights and noise of sin city could prove distracting, something that he sorely needed at the moment. A few hours later he cruised into town, but had absolutely no idea what was where. His senses were a bit overwhelmed by the bright streets and the crowds. He saw up ahead the entrance to the Golden Nugget and decided that it looked like a good stop.

Checking in, Ted carried his own bag to his room and immediately went to the wide window which overlooked the city. "Jeez It's like the Emerald 'fuckin' City," he thought to himself as he stood, entranced by the town below him. He quickly washed and changed into a pair of slacks and polo shirt. Making his way down to the casino he was momentarily confused by the cacophony, lighting and mass of people milling about. The damn place looked like a scene out of Dante's Inferno.

Ted bypassed the slots which were ringing and jangling and almost as noisy as the patrons jumping in front of them. He then noticed the poker room to which is quickly headed and found an haven of relative quiet. He stood and watched for a few moments and then moved to a table in the corner where a group of five were playing Texas Hold 'Em. Besides the dealer he saw four older men who seemed more than half lit and an attractive women who appeared to be in her mid or late 30s. Ted smiled as he saw quickly that the men had no idea what they were doing and that the woman was slowly and efficiently taking them for a ride. It was obvious that she was a skilled poker player and just as obvious that the men there, while loud and overbearing, had no idea that the "little lady" was taking them for a ride.

Ted moved to the table and took a seat, throwing some money at the dealer in exchange for chips. One of the jerks at the table chortled, "Well, some new blood. Now it's time for us to play some real poker, guys."

Ted smiled and caught the eye of the gal at the table who smiled in return. After about two hours at the table Ted was up around $800.00. It was almost like taking candy from a baby. The four old farts chased after hands, kept playing poor cards and were easy as hell to bluff. He learned that the woman's name was Gail and she was a resident of Las Vegas. It wasn't long before the jerks at the table gave up in disgust and left the game. Both Ted and Gail decided not to compete against each other and rose to leave.

Gail smiled up at him and remarked, "Now that was an interesting few hours."

Ted laughed, "You mean a profitable few hours. How much did you take them for, if I may ask?"

"About $1200.00 or a little better. A good nights work. There are always idiots like those guys around. They just won't believe that a woman can beat their pants off and I almost always take them to the cleaners," she grinned and continued. "I'm having a drink for the road, care to join me?"

The last thing in the world Ted wanted right now was to develop any kind of relationship with any female, but this seemed innocent and he was sure that he would never see her again. "Sure, Gail. A drink before bed would be good."

Gail glanced up at him again and grinned at the double entendre. Ted, recognizing the innuendo, turned a bit red and just shook his head. He smiled sheepishly and she assured him that she understood his meaning.

They sat in a booth at the lounge, enjoying the small quartet and sipping their drinks. Ted learned that Gail was a single mom with a 12 year old daughter and she made a very comfortable living doing just what she was doing this evening.

"If tonight was an example of what happens every time you play, I'm sure that you do very well," Ted said.

"Tonight was a little better than usual, but I still do very well. Didn't someone once say that there's a sucker born every minute?" Gail laughed.

After another drink and another half hour of conversation Gail rose to leave, saying that she had to get up early to get her daughter off to school. She shook his hand and then met his eyes and said softly, "Ted, I hope that whatever is wrong is made right one day. You may not realize it, but you're wearing your heart on your sleeve. Someone has obviously hurt you badly and I hope that you can find some peace soon." With that she turned and walked away from him.

Ted just stood there, his mouth agape. "What the fuck," he thought to himself. "Do I have the word cuckold written on my forehead," he wondered. He shook his head again and headed to his room. He didn't think he would be able to get much sleep, but to his relief he nodded off quickly and didn't open his eyes again until midmorning.

The next day saw Ted cruising the strip and visiting the various casino hotels along that storied corridor. He was again amazed at the concept that was Las Vegas. Nothing was spared in order to capture the visiting dollars. Each casino seemed the same; the slots, the blackjack tables, roulette, etc. No windows and few exits. By evening he had tired of his excursion and made his way back to the Nugget. He caught a quick dinner at the hotel and wandered the casino floor.

Ted felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to find Gail smiling up at him. "Hi, Ted. Going to try your luck at the table aqain?"

Ted was glad to see her. "Maybe later, Gail. You have a game tonight?" he asked.

"Yep, a big one. This could make my year, if I'm lucky. My daughter is at a friend's house tonight so I can stay late. Wish me luck," she grinned and turned to saunter into the poker room.

Ted smilled after her and thought about another round of poker. Perhaps he could join her in her game, but then realized that he could be a distraction to her and unwanted competition. He wandered the casino floor, played a little blackjack and shot some craps, winding up with pretty much what he started with. Passing the dollar slots he, on a sudden impulse, changed some bills into coins and started playing the machine, not paying too much attention to what he was doing.

His mind kept returning to the same question. It was always the why, why, why had she so betrayed him and also, how long had she been doing that. He felt pretty certain now that the two times he had actually caught her were probably just the tip of the iceberg. How many other times had she cheated? He knew that one day he would have to face her and get the truth, as painful as he knew it would be. In the meantime, he hoped that distance and time would help, at least in small part, heal the hurt that was tearing at him.

Suddenly it seemed as if all hell had broken out. Bells were ringing, whistles blowing and strangers banging him on the back. Ted turned around, confused as to what had happened and found a huge man shaking him by the hand while flash cameras almost blinded him.

"Congratulations, my friend. You just hit a sizeable jackpot," the giant shouted to him. "Follow me, please." With that said, the tuxedoed goliath led him to the lobby and down a thickly carpeted hallway. Seconds later Ted found himself ensconced in a deep, leather easy chair in front of a mammoth desk behind which the huge man seated himself.

The door opened behind Ted and a trim and well-dressed woman in her 40s, Ted guessed, entered.

"Let me introduce myself and Tess to you. I'm Harry Davis, Casino Manager and this lovely thing is Tess Lowenski." Tess smiled at Ted and shook his rather limp hand. "Tess is an attorney and a CPA and is in charge of this end of the business. We have other personnel like Tess on duty at all times. Now let's get down to business in regard to just what you've won. You're a guest here, so I already know your name, Mr. Arnold. The forms in front of you are the standard ones we use for this purpose. Sign where Tess tells you to and we can get this paperwork out of the way."

Tess Lowenski proceeded to inform Ted as to exactly what he was signing and the purpose of each of the forms as Harry Davis sat smiling and puffing on a rather large cigar.

"Okay, that's out of the way, thank goodness," Harry boomed. "This is the part I just love. I can tell by just looking at you, Ted, that you have no idea in the world what it is that you've won." Harry grined at the blank expression on Ted's face.

"Okay, Ted. With all of the withholding taken and the other fees and shit, you've won exactly..." and Harry looked at the check in front of him, "$674,566 and some change. Not bad for a few coins in a machine," he laughed.

Ted sat there, totally befuddled. "I'll be a sonofabitch," he muttered to himself. He realized that life just threw him another curveball and, for the life of him, he just couldn't make sense of it all.

"Ted," continued Harry Davis. "This is just a suggestion, but I would strongly advise you to deposit this check immediately into a money market account. We have a branch of a major national bank here at the hotel and the account can be opened and the deposit handled quickly and easily. Believe me, you would be well advised to do that."

Ted quickly saw the wisdom of that. "Good idea, Harry. Let's do that right now."

"I can take care of that for you, Mr. Arnold. There will be just a few more forms to take care of," remarked Tess Lowenski. She was quick and efficient and in a few more minutes he found himself with well over half a million dollars in a money market account.

Ted turned to Harry Davis. "Harry, how much publicity will winning this jackpot stir up? Am I going to have to avoid the press for the next few days?"

Harry laughed. "You have to be kidding, Ted. This is not unusual. All of the casinos in this town often have jackpot winners. It's good publicity for us and it keeps the suck... errr. customers coming back. I doubt that your win will even make the local paper, let alone anything national," he observed keenly.

After a few more details, Ted, in somewhat of a daze, made his way up to his room. He opened the mini bar and had a scotch and water which he sipped as he sat and tried to make some sense out of just what happened. He again shook his head in wonderment and was then startled to hear a knock at his door.

"Gail," Ted said with some surprise. "I didn't expect you see you here."

"Hi Ted. Well, aren't you going to ask me in?" Gail grinned at him saucily.

"Oh, of course. Sorry about that," Ted mumbled, surprise still evident on his face.

With a sparkle in her eyes, Gail continued to toy with him. "I see you have a drink, Ted. You going to offer me one?"

Ted stood and looked at her for a moment before moving to the bar and getting her a drink. He held the glass in his hand for a bit before handing it to her and then commented, "Word gets around quickly, doesn't it?"

Gail grinned at him, but there was just a bit of anger and disappointment in her eyes. "You really think that I'm here in your room because you hit a jackpot? I guess I really shouldn't blame you; you don't know me or what kind of person I am."

Gail plopped herself down on the bed and raised the glass to Ted in salute before taking a sip. "Ted, let me explain something to you. I would have been here, jackpot or not. I do very well financially, as you have seen and I don't have to sell my body for a few bucks. I'm here because I like you and for some reason, I trust you. I trust you to take this no further than it deserves."

She looked at him intently as she stood and placed her glass on the end table. She was wearing a slinky, black dress held up by spaghetti straps which she loosened. The dress fell to the floor and she stood there in a brief bra, garter belt and stockings and thong panties.

Ted sat speechless. His senses were saturated, too many amazing events had buffeted him within the last hours and he found it difficult to sort them out. He was not so far gone as to not recognize that this woman had a fabulous body.

Gail reached behind here and unclasped the bra which fluttered to the floor. Her breasts were large with very little sag. The nipples and areolas were a dark pink and very erect. She placed her palms on her breasts and softly caressed them as Ted watched spellbound.

She then placed her fingers in the sides of her panties and lowered them until they fell to the floor. Her genitals were bare, shaven clean. Gail noticed where his attention lay and grinned again. "I keep it shaven, Ted. Not for anyone special, but because it excites me and makes my orgasms more intense. I'm glad that you seem to like it."

Ted's eyes flickered over her body. From the lips of her pussy, which now appeared to be moist, across her slightly rounded stomach and up to those magnificent breasts. He tried to swallow and he realized that he had a massive erection.

Gail moved to him and straddled his lap, placing her forearms on his shoulders. Ted could feel the heat and moisture from her on his erection. "This is my sex life, Ted. I refuse to involve myself with any man on any long term basis, so I take oppoirtunities when they arise, and you're just such an opportunity. Are you easy, Ted? Feel like getting laid?"

Gail saw the stupefied expression on Ted's face and laughed easily. "I think I shocked you, didn't I? Ladies aren't supposed to take the lead in the game of seduction, isn't that so? Well, as you can see, I'm no lady, Ted. So what do you say?"

While Ted's mind had finally started to function, he still felt confused and conflicted, but this didn't detract from the eroticism of the moment. His hands were on Gail's waist and as he moved to kiss her he noticed a small mole on the side of her neck, just under her jaw line. Barbara had just such a mole in the exact place, he realized and he then totally lost it.

Without any warning, he broke down and completely lost control of his emotions. Whether it was the accumulation of the traumatic events of the day, or the reoccurring and crushing realization of his wife's infidelity, he shuddered and the tears came. He made an almost violent attempt to control his grief but without success.

Gail, instead of leaping to her feet, just cradled his head to her breast and allowed him to purge those emotions so deeply felt. The tears finally came to an end and Ted poured out to her the torment that was plaguing him. He finally leaned back, emotionally exhausted. They both then recognized the incongruity of the situation and Gail moved from his lap, found the hotel robe which she slipped over her shoulders and sat down on the edge of the bed.