(Page 1 of 2) Aces by Dan BiegerSUMMARY: May flash fiction contest entry."Yeah, it really happened in Vegas. At an off the strip casino and, though I played it, I still don't believe it."
"I am? The only one? Wow, that's scary!
Don't see how I could be the only one. Okay, there were only of handful of spectators and the five of us at the table but me? I'm the only one still around?"
"The dealer was Sue. And, yeah, his dad named him for the song. And, yeah, it didn't pay to mess with Sue. On his left, Curly Bill. Hey, don't blame me. She sat down and said: ‘My name's Willette. But, y'all can call me Curly Bill cause I'm gonna rob you blind and that sure ain't lady-like, is it?'"
"Next to Curly Bill sat Frisco Slim, the heaviest Los Angelan you ever saw. Had a crew cut, blond with brown eye brows. Everything about him begged to be profiled."
"Then, me. Then, Mary Sue. She was kind of bland, whatcha might call a stock character except the woman could play poker. Damn, she could play! What she did look like? I already told you: stock. What a publicist would call auburn hair in some kind of stringy mess, a thin Roman nose, a chin someplace but everything kind of sent into the background by the black horn-rimmed Coke bottle glasses."
"The night started with black jack. I did okay but if we were gonna stick with that game, I was gonna drop out. Why? I think I counted seven aces in that deck. Sue said, no, we wuz playin' single deck so I kept my mouth shut but I wasn't gonna stay. "
"Well, bout 9 or thereabouts, somebody said we ought play something more interesting. Curly Bill suggested Hold-"em but Frisco Slim allowed as how he weren't from Texas and didn't see no good reason to act like he was. I opined that Stud seemed like a player's game to me and everybody at the table grunted or nodded their assent. So, Sue put his rack of chips away and settled in to deal stud."
"A couple hours. I remember I was doing okay but when I woke up here I don't seem to have any winnings, losings, or other kind of stake with me."
"The whole damned building? How'd I get out."
"Well, you be sure to thank them EMTs for me. I appreciate it. Ask "em if next time they might consider bringing my winnings out with me?"
"Yeah, I'm sure I had some winnings. I beat Curly Bill in a hand where she threw everything in. It was right about then that Frisco Slim started getting edgy. He'd look at his deal, sniff at his hole card, check himself out of the hand. That left me and Mary Sue and I couldn't read her. Those damned glasses, you know? Something about them."
"No, I don't know what it was. But, Slim, he thought the did. He said straight up: You're cheating and I think it's the glasses." Mary Sue smiled. At least, I think she smiled but who knows? The glare of the glasses made her mouth hard to locate."
"Then? Then, Sue says to Slim he best be a little more cool than just throwing casual accusations around. Since he, Sue, was dealing, then cheating reflected poorly on himself and he didn't take to looking poorly."
"Sure, sure, Slim, he cooled down. But two hands later, Mary Sue took another hand from him and Slim, he just stood himself up and walked away.
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