Chapter 10, Part I
"525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear.
525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?"
-"Seasons Of Love", Rent Sountrack
Jake silently flicked his cards face-up onto the middle of the poker table. He had won his this hand with a full house; his winning streak extended to four games in a row. Jake raked in the sizable pile of chips and stacked them into separate piles based up their value.
"So, why are you celebrating the coming new year by playing poker?"
"That's an interesting question," replied Jake. "Hey Will, why are we playing poker right now?"
Will replied, "Because I've always had poker night on Saturday. Just because it's New Year's Eve doesn't mean we skip tradition. Clarissa, you've always come on Saturdays."
"I know that," said Clarissa. She sighed in frustration. "But this is New Year's Eve. Can't you guys do something else other than poker? You've been playing for nearly three hours."
Jake and Will exchanged glances. They were the only people left at the poker table. Everyone else had their banks wiped out and were eating and drinking, talking, and listening to music. Will looked at his watch and saw it was close to 11:15 PM.
Will asked, "You know it's 11:15? Damn. She's right."
"It is? I didn't realize that. We really should stop." Jake counted the number of chips he had and mentally counted the number of chips Will had. Jake estimated that they were about even. "Will, you want to go all-or-nothing? Who ever wins this hand, wins everything."
Will said, "You're on. Clarissa, would you mind shuffling and dealing the cards? I don't want Jake to complain when I win."
Clarissa nodded. She took the deck of cards and shuffled them. The cards were a blur. Jake never ceased to be amazed by her shuffling skills. She possessed a high level of manual dexterity. Before she finally decided on law school, Clarissa wanted to go into medical school like her mother. Her mother told her that surgeons had to be good with their hands and the best way to gain manual dexterity was learning how to shuffle cards. Clarissa learned her lessons very well. While shadowing a surgeon at the local hospital, Clarissa discovered that she got squeamish and promptly fainted at the sight of blood and organs. Right then and there, law school never looked better. Despite making this switch to pursue law school, she still maintained rigorous practice in shuffling cards. Clarissa could have made a killing as a Las Vegas card dealer.
She dealt two cards to Will and then dealt two card to Jake. Will turned his cards over and they were an ace of diamonds and a king of diamonds. Jake turned his cards over and they were a three of spades and a two of clubs.
Clarissa said, "Will has an ace and king in a same-suited pair. Jake has a ten and two, unsuited."
She discarded a card and turned over three cards, the flop cards. They were an ace of spades, a king of spades and a three of clubs.
Will laughed and mockingly said, "I got a two-pair. You've got what? A pair of tens? You still feeling lucky, Jake? Your streak is over. Lady Luck is on my side." Will nodded in Clarissa's direction.
Jake calmly said, "Two cards left, Will. And my girlfriend is just the dealer, not Lady Luck."
Clarissa dealt the turn card. It was a three of diamonds. Jake noticed that Will wasn't looking so happy.
Jake said, "So Will, you were saying about Lady Luck. It seems that she just dumped you and is walking this way."
Will muttered, "Come on river card. Give me an ace or king." He repeated this like a mantra, hoping it would affect the cards in some way.
Clarissa dealt the final card. Lady Luck wasn't on Will's side. For a brief moment, it appeared as if she was going to be kind to Will and come back to his side. The final card, the river card, was a heart. It wasn't an ace and it wasn't a king. It was a three. Jake had a four of a kind.
Will said, "How the...a four of a kind? With threes?"
Jake said, "What can I say? If you're lucky, you're lucky." He paused and added, "Listen to the song playing right now. Luck isn't leaving me any time soon."
On the stereo, Frank Sinatra was singing "Luck Be a Lady Tonight":
525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?"
-"Seasons Of Love", Rent Sountrack
Jake silently flicked his cards face-up onto the middle of the poker table. He had won his this hand with a full house; his winning streak extended to four games in a row. Jake raked in the sizable pile of chips and stacked them into separate piles based up their value.
"So, why are you celebrating the coming new year by playing poker?"
"That's an interesting question," replied Jake. "Hey Will, why are we playing poker right now?"
Will replied, "Because I've always had poker night on Saturday. Just because it's New Year's Eve doesn't mean we skip tradition. Clarissa, you've always come on Saturdays."
"I know that," said Clarissa. She sighed in frustration. "But this is New Year's Eve. Can't you guys do something else other than poker? You've been playing for nearly three hours."
Jake and Will exchanged glances. They were the only people left at the poker table. Everyone else had their banks wiped out and were eating and drinking, talking, and listening to music. Will looked at his watch and saw it was close to 11:15 PM.
Will asked, "You know it's 11:15? Damn. She's right."
"It is? I didn't realize that. We really should stop." Jake counted the number of chips he had and mentally counted the number of chips Will had. Jake estimated that they were about even. "Will, you want to go all-or-nothing? Who ever wins this hand, wins everything."
Will said, "You're on. Clarissa, would you mind shuffling and dealing the cards? I don't want Jake to complain when I win."
Clarissa nodded. She took the deck of cards and shuffled them. The cards were a blur. Jake never ceased to be amazed by her shuffling skills. She possessed a high level of manual dexterity. Before she finally decided on law school, Clarissa wanted to go into medical school like her mother. Her mother told her that surgeons had to be good with their hands and the best way to gain manual dexterity was learning how to shuffle cards. Clarissa learned her lessons very well. While shadowing a surgeon at the local hospital, Clarissa discovered that she got squeamish and promptly fainted at the sight of blood and organs. Right then and there, law school never looked better. Despite making this switch to pursue law school, she still maintained rigorous practice in shuffling cards. Clarissa could have made a killing as a Las Vegas card dealer.
She dealt two cards to Will and then dealt two card to Jake. Will turned his cards over and they were an ace of diamonds and a king of diamonds. Jake turned his cards over and they were a three of spades and a two of clubs.
Clarissa said, "Will has an ace and king in a same-suited pair. Jake has a ten and two, unsuited."
She discarded a card and turned over three cards, the flop cards. They were an ace of spades, a king of spades and a three of clubs.
Will laughed and mockingly said, "I got a two-pair. You've got what? A pair of tens? You still feeling lucky, Jake? Your streak is over. Lady Luck is on my side." Will nodded in Clarissa's direction.
Jake calmly said, "Two cards left, Will. And my girlfriend is just the dealer, not Lady Luck."
Clarissa dealt the turn card. It was a three of diamonds. Jake noticed that Will wasn't looking so happy.
Jake said, "So Will, you were saying about Lady Luck. It seems that she just dumped you and is walking this way."
Will muttered, "Come on river card. Give me an ace or king." He repeated this like a mantra, hoping it would affect the cards in some way.
Clarissa dealt the final card. Lady Luck wasn't on Will's side. For a brief moment, it appeared as if she was going to be kind to Will and come back to his side. The final card, the river card, was a heart. It wasn't an ace and it wasn't a king. It was a three. Jake had a four of a kind.
Will said, "How the...a four of a kind? With threes?"
Jake said, "What can I say? If you're lucky, you're lucky." He paused and added, "Listen to the song playing right now. Luck isn't leaving me any time soon."
On the stereo, Frank Sinatra was singing "Luck Be a Lady Tonight":
A lady doesn't leave her escort
It isn't fair, it isn't nice
A lady doesn't wander all over the room
And blow on some other guy's dice.
So let's keep the party polite
Never get out of my sight
Stick with me baby, I'm the fellow you came in with
Luck be a lady
Luck be a lady
Luck be a lady tonight.
posted by J.U. at 11/18/2005 12:29:00 PM
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