Laura's Big Win (39 page)

“This is America, the U S of A, right?”
was his opening discussion line.

“It is.” was all Alice could say at the
moment, not seeing where this was headed.

“Land of opportunity and free will,
right?”

“Well, yes, but not without limits. The
house rules are so everyone can play and no one gets in trouble at
home by losing too much money. That’s why we have the rules, sort
of as an equalizer.” Alice had hoped the re-explanation would
clarify things, but it didn’t seem to help.

“And as I understand it, the house
profits go to a charity. Right?”

“True. We distribute the winnings to a
couple or three places, as needed.”

“What I propose is that the rules be
suspended for six hands and six hands only. That way, each of us
has a chance to win for a select charity. I will represent, let me
see, do you have a Catholic Church?”

“We do, St. Matthews.”

“Okay, that’s mine. I hope I win good
pots; I have some things to atone for. Name five other charities,
one for each of these gentlemen. Each of us will write a number on
a slip of paper, the amount we feel comfortable with losing, no
questions asked, payable at the end of the sixth hand to the
respective charities. Low number is the max limit. I understand why
you have the house rules, and I think it’s a great idea, but loss
of money, well, it isn’t that big a deal, not to me anyway.
Besides, everything is going to charity anyway, so whoever is in
the game has already written that much off. Six games.
Deal?”

Alice pondered the situation. These
were not ordinary players, and even though she didn’t know most of
them personally or professionally, she was a good reader of people,
and these people liked to play with adult sized pots. It was a
great opportunity to do something for some charities without them
asking, and these guys were going to ask for a tax write-off
anyway, she’d bet on that. Her answer was not long in
coming.

“You have a deal. Now, before we start,
we’re taking a five minute recess. You decide amongst yourselves
the six players, and remember, the house has a charity as well. I
can tell you this much, based on what we know from our own
charitable activities, the Salvation Army has a summer camp fund
raiser going on at the moment; the Baptists had a fire last month
and are trying to build a new church, the YMCA/YWCA needs repairs
to their swimming pool, the local Synagogue also has a summer
program, the Fireman/Policeman Benevolent fund helps needy families
after catastrophic loss, and the AME group needs some building
repairs. The house takes the Conyerville homeless shelter. Any
questions? Five minutes; once we restart, no leaving the table
unless you’re busted or we end game six.”

Dennis had been floating around the
area, as much a goodwill ambassador as anything, but he quickly
picked up on Alice mentioning the homeless shelter, his favorite
charity for one somewhat diminutive reason named Angie. He made his
way over to her during the break and inquired in a subtle manner
what she thought was going on with these people.

“Dennis, to tell the truth, I think
they just want to raise the stakes for the fun of it. These guys
would bet on a race with three legged horses, just for the unique
challenge. Personally, I think they have more money than they know
what to do with and they enjoy a creative and fun means of
disbursing it. That’s it, plain and simple. I’ve been watching
them, and I didn’t see any cheating. I don’t know who a couple of
them are for sure, but you can count on this: the checks will cash.
So, here’s hoping Angie does good, okay?”

Dennis blushed slightly at the
reference, but stood his ground. “You haven’t changed a bit Alice,
except maybe, I think, you’ve got kind of a wild streak we didn’t
know about. Looks like your sheep are coming back for the shearing.
Good luck.”

The group reseated themselves at the
table. One player had opted out, and a woman had taken his place.
The slips of paper were distributed, each wrote a number and passed
the paper back to Alice.

“Gentlemen, and lady; the low number is
$20,000. We will expect you to cash out at the end of the sixth
game. Game is Texas Hold ‘em. Please identify the charity for which
you are playing. Are there any questions?”

There being no questions, the charities
were identified and the games began. Six games later, the homeless
shelter was doing quite well, and in retrospect, all the charities
came out ahead considering it was money from out of nowhere. The
players arranged fund transfers to the Windmere charitable account,
or ordered out checks as needed to their respective charities. All
in all, it was the biggest stakes game Alice had ever dealt in her
life, but strangely, she didn’t feel any pressure at all, probably
because these people liked the fun of the game and cared little
about the money. If nothing else, it was a memorable experience,
with more than one player suggesting a rematch at Windmere in the
future. Over the years, it would become an annual event, but by
invitation only; Alice and Vincent would return many times to run
the tables.

For all the excitement in the carriage
house, Alice did have other responsibilities this day, one of which
was to get Laura to the “church” on time. Mostly, that consisted of
making sure the dress was properly worn, hair fixed just right,
things like that, even including a last minute pep talk just in
case the flesh was willing but the spirit was getting nervous.
Alice was to serve as the Matron of Honor, while Roger stood as
Best Man. The bride would be escorted by her father, but “given” by
her children when asked “Who gives this woman in marriage?” It was
a line they rehearsed often, even with Father Jim, just to make
sure they got it timed correctly. For his part, Ryan was as sure
about this and as calm as he could be; he even sensed that he could
feel the “rightness” of this day. Once planned, things rather took
their own course toward completion, even though Laura had planned
much of this day herself. As with most things that seem simple on
the surface, it is the underlying complexity that makes it seem so.
On the other hand, the Windmere staff was accustomed to handling
large gatherings of assorted persons; they just had a higher
interest in this particular gathering. Laura had become “theirs” to
take care of for the moment, and when little rough spots popped up,
as they will in any large venture, the staff squelched them with
accuracy and rapidity. She had not considered the large number of
cars to park, since most large gatherings at Windmere were
transported from the airport; this was more local in nature, and a
good many invitees elected to drive it, even from some distance
away. But then there was Franz, and Dennis, who handled all the
parking and provided cart transportation to and from the tent area.
Cal had thought to arrange with Sheriff Dawson to hire off duty
deputies for the gate. Doris and Marie, and their husbands, had
been there since sun-up, and the housekeeping staff on duty had
rounds assigned to keep the place looking good at all times. The
day care area was in full staff early on, and in general, the place
could not have held much more activity, with one exception. A call
from the airport manager said he had a radio call from a helicopter
that intended to land at the golf course pro shop parking lot;
whomever it was knew the area, but wanted to let people know it was
not an accident. It was just one more thing in a whole series of
events that made the day memorable. If there was any one thing of
any importance left undone, Laura remembered it
mid-morning.

A couple of months previous, a middle
age couple who had been at Windmere a time or two for business
reasons called and wanted to know if they could rent a suite for
maybe a week, in December, just the two of them. In the office that
day, Laura had handled the call, checked the schedule, and reserved
Suite A for the couple. The reservation was scheduled properly, the
couple was picked up at the airport, and since housekeeping took
care of the Suite itself and the couple had already been there and
knew the ropes, Laura had rather neglected them in the wedding
excitement. This morning she realized her neglect and thought it
best to make apologies directly to the guests. Tapping on the door
to the suite, she was met by the husband.

“Good morning. I hope I’m not
disturbing you. I’m Laura, the one who made these reservations for
you. Can I come in for a moment?”

“Sure, come on in. There isn’t some
problem is there?” he asked.

Laura noticed the tension in the room
between the man and his wife. They seemed civil enough to each
other, but it seemed more like two acquaintances who didn’t know
each other very well, rather than a married couple of nearly 30
years. Invited to have a seat, she did so on the familiar side
chair, introducing herself to the wife in the process.

“First up, if there is a problem it is
that I have neglected to do my job in making sure guests are taken
care of and feel at home here. What you see going on here today is
not our usual Saturday activities, and it’s pretty much my fault. I
will marry Mr. Williams of Windmere this afternoon; you may have
met him. But, that is no excuse for not tending the store, so to
speak. It’s sort of a collateral duty for me, but all of us are
here to see to your needs, whatever they may be. My immediate
problem is, I don’t know what your needs are, or what I can do for
you. I’m sorry if it seems you have been neglected; we haven’t been
through anything like this before, and the learning curve is a
little steep. So, is there anything I can do to enhance your stay
with us?”

The couple looked at each other for a
moment before the wife finally spoke up.

“No, I don’t think we need anything,
really, except…..look, we don’t even know why we’re here. Maybe
this was all a mistake; I don’t want to burden you with our
problems; with a wedding on your plate, I’m sure this doesn’t
matter. We’ll be fine, really.”

“Sorry, but I don’t think we can leave
it at that. I know you two have been married quite a while.
Kids?”

“Yes, two, boy and girl.”

“And, where are they now?”

“They’re both out of the house now, out
of college and doing their own thing. We hear from them regularly,
but mostly it’s just the two of us in the house.”

“So, you woke up one morning and
realized this man living there had become a complete stranger, with
habits and things you didn’t even know about. You have to know that
he’s having the same issues. Trust me, it is a whole lot better you
are learning these things now rather than having a couple of
lawyers arguing over who gets to keep the cat. I can relate to
this, but believe me, I did it the hard way; today......I got
really lucky when this man crossed my path. We talk a lot about
things. But, that doesn’t help your problem.. Play golf, either of
you?”

“I do, my wife doesn’t; she just never
learned. Guess she never had the time with the kids on her
arm.”

Laura was remembering her “golf lesson”
with Ryan the day before the divorce hearing, and how much fun it
had been. Turning to the wife, she asked “Would you like to
learn?”

“Well, I...maybe I could.”

“Good. Stand up and take a swing
using.....um.....this umbrella as a substitute for now. That’s it,
good. Now, do you see anything wrong with the way your wife swings
a club, real or not?”

“I....um.... yes, but I don’t
see…..”

“Okay; now, can you stand behind her,
hands on hers, and try it again slowly, couple of times……that’s it,
slowly now.”

This is crazy, Laura thought to
herself; I’m not a marriage counselor or therapist or anything.
What am I doing here? But as she watched them take a couple more
practice swings, she realized that the stiff arms and postures had
relaxed, that they were actually touching in other areas now. She
wondered if they had ever even touched each other’s hands in the
past 20 years. But, 2 PM was coming, and she needed to move things
along. “Here’s the deal, if I can pull it off. First, if I can find
the golf pro, I’m going to have him set you up with an assortment
of drivers and a couple buckets of balls. The course isn’t really
open this time of year, but you can use the driving range. You have
to teach her how to drive. When you’re done, come back here to grab
a shower, have lunch sitting with whomever you find in the kitchen,
then come to the wedding. There will be people there who know each
other, and people who don’t really know anyone, so you’ll have
company. Dance. Enjoy each other, and talk, even if you have to
yell above the music, talk. This time tomorrow, my new husband and
I will be a happily married couple; you two can be as well, if you
work at it. Bet I can have your golf cart at the back door before
you can change clothes. Any questions?”

“Just one.” the wife asked. “How do you
know this will work?”

“I don’t. That’s up to you, but I think
you’re started. Okay?” Laura had noticed that even though the
practice swings had come to an end, his arms were still around his
wife, and hers were over the top of his. Laura could feel Ryan’s
arms around her just then and it sent a delicious shiver through
her being. “Sorry; gotta run. Wedding to go to; mine! See you
there.” And out the door she went.

“Hi. My name is John. Pleased to meet
you.”