Chapter 7

I hopped from town to town as I tried to figure out what to do. I couldn't get a job teaching with the shadow I had hanging over me. Nobody in the business world would touch me. I didn't have enough capital to start a business, and anyway I had no idea how to run a business. For all my intelligence I might be forced to do manual labor. I was at a coffeeshop on the outskirts of Las Vegas when I decided to go to a casino.

I wandered through the glitz and the lights and the bells and noise observing all the games of chances. I began narrowing down my focus until I determined that blackjack was the game most favorable to a player. Sure, the odds were still in favor of the house, but, if you had a system you could turn the game to your favor. I continued to watch and learn as I saw how the casinos used multidecks in an effort to thwart card counting.

When I felt comfortable I finally sat down at a table and began my education. I was quickly dispelled of the illusion that every player was a logical rational player as I saw time and again the action of one player negatively affecting the remaining players. Still by the time I got up six hours later I was up over three thousand dollars. $500 an hour profit. It was a eureka moment.

I got a room at the casino and crashed. When I woke, I showered and went to eat breakfast. Then I went back to the table. I introduced myself to my neighboring players and told them that I was a novice and I asked them for advice. I soon knew how to heed or to discount the information I was given.

I was introduced to the world of comps for meals and rooms. Courtesy cards that would tabulate and keep track of your play (a mixed blessing). The axioms of splitting aces and never splitting tens. The favorable times to double down. What casinos offered a higher payout on hitting 21. The debate on buying insurance.

Each topic would bring as much passionate debate as an scholarly study. I continued to learn the nuances and prospered. I soon realized that if I were to succeed at my new profession that I would have to migrate from casino to casino, thus not overburdening one particular casino. And I found out that there were casinos all over the country.

So I began to travel from casino to casino. I quickly built up a nest egg to tide me over and bad runs of luck. I kept current on my alimony payments by postal money orders that I kept receipts on. Each postal money order included a letter begging her to call me. She never did. I opened bank accounts all over the country with minimal amounts, but, kept large sums of cash in safety deposit boxes.

Whenever I flew across the country I would deposit the small change in the basket prior to going through the detection machines. When I landed, I would go to a coin shop owner and make a cash transaction at a discount favorable to the owner for the rare coins I transported. That kept me from being hassled at airports with large amounts of cash.

Only at my hometown bank did I keep any visible source of income to placate the IRS when I filed my return. I soon built up my funds, but, I was nowhere near to having "fuck you" money. That being a sum large enough that you essentially said fuck you to everyone. It had been three years since I left in shame. The court ordered alimony had ended. That was my status when I woke up the day after Christmas after my liaison with the beautiful escort.

The reason I decided to splurge on last night debauchery was I had made the mistake of calling Teri on Christmas Eve to wish her a Merry Christmas.

"Hi Teri, just calling to wish you a Merry Christmas." I said.

"Oh James, it is so good to hear from you. You need to come spend Christmas with me!"

I laughed, "Sorry Teri, there is something terribly wrong about Santa and sand."

"So, how are you dear? I was worried about you when I heard the news."

Puzzled over what new calamity must have fell, I asked, "What news, Teri?"

There was a long pause as though Teri was debating whether to divulge the information. Finally I heard, "Forgive me, James, I thought you were calling to commiserate. Laura has remarried." She sobbed and I was stunned by the news. I had still held out hope that someday Laura would forgive me and we would have picked up the pieces of our shattered lives.

"Married? She's married?" I heard myself asking Teri. It was like I was experiencing an out of body experience. I could hear myself conversing, but, I could not believe the conversation.

I couldn't help myself, "Who did she marry?"

"It doesn't matter, James! Please let it go!" She begged me but I was adamant.

"James, she married Jason...Jason Feder. They just had a baby last month."

Woodenly, I told her I had to go and I hung up on her. I heard the phone immediately ring and saw that Teri was calling me back. I ignored the call and went searching for the first bar I could find.

I told the bartender I wanted his best top shelf bourbon and then I asked what he could do to procure a woman for me; only the best escort would do. I had abstained for three years, still faithful to my Laura and I had no idea that she had moved on without me. I whiled away the time knocking down shots of bourbon as I waited for the escort to arrive.

When she did, we quietly settled on the price and from her looks I knew she would be worth every penny. We went upstairs to my room and I proceeded to excise the rage that I felt. Four times I had climaxed and my companion had thought we were through. Each time I quickly showed her how wrong she was.

And now, I was empty and hungover and had the stench of last night on me. I shuffled to the bathroom and took a steaming shower until my body began to prune up. After I had toweled off, I dressed and went to the bar in the lobby.