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' anada "Easy Come, Easy Go" 13 feb '
' 290 by Higgins 2001 '
` `
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Frank glanced alertly to right and left, looked behind him, and
ducked into the entrance to the pool parlor which was housed below the Hotel
Hooker. All six tables were occupied and Guy was sitting behind the counter
smoking a Parodi and glaring at the players. At the table in the far corner
there was a game of five and nine ball going.
"Want in, Frank?" questioned a greasy looking player in heliotrope
pants and a yellow shirt besmeared with a greenish grime.
"Believe I will," retorted Frank as he unlocked his private cue.
"Rack, Guy, rack."
"Yessah, boy, I come," and he limped toward the table. "Wheresa you
dollah?"
A slim, neat looking character known as "slick" broke the rack. The
three ball dropped on the break and he banked in the one. He made a futile
attempt to hit the two, which was stitched by the seven, and then it was the
next man's turn. A short, fat man known as "Chunko" waddled up to the table
and slowly and meticulously pumped the cue between his fat fingers. He
miscued, brought forth a muffled curse, and slid back into a nearby chair.
Frank walked calmly to the table, ran the remainder of the rack, and
proceeded to make the next four racks. Each player and to pay him one
dollar for the five ball and three dollars for the nine ball for each of the
five games. Guy was now standing next to the pinball machine and watching
attentively. He said, "Damma Frank, sometimes you shoota better than you
know how."
"Jesus, Guy, how can you stand to smoke them stinkin' Parodis?" asked
Frank.
Alluding to the fact that Guy was often farting, Chunko said, "Hey,
Guy, I bet those aren't nicotine stains on your underwear."
Frank walked over to the wall containing the line of pool cues and
locked up his own stick. Chunko pushed himself up from his chair and
accused Frank of quitting while ahead.
"Dammit, it isn't quitting ahead; I just can't stand no more of them
stinking Parodis of Guys. I'm going in back and watch the card game for
awhile. I'll be back."
Frank walked into the next room and watched several hands of poker.
The game was seven card stud, nothing wild, Bill was raking for the house,
and there were six players in the game. Shortly after midnight one of the
players left the game and Frank took his seat. Frank was very superstitious
and he felt that entering the game as the seventh player would have jinxed
him for future crap games.
Bill dealt the cards and when Frank had received his fourth card he
had made two small pairs. A sneaky looking man in a double-breasted suit
had two diamonds showing and the player to the right of Frank had a pair of
aces up. The two players mentioned raised the pot and Frank called them.
The other players called and Bill again wheeled the cards. The fifth card
did not help Frank's hand but he called the others. Two players were scared
out and then the sixth card was dealt. Frank again called the raises and
another player folded. The man in the double-breasted suit now had three
diamond showing. The last card was dealt and Frank improved his hand. He
now held a full house. The man with the diamonds checked and the one with
the aces bet five dollars. The pot was now worth close to one-hundred and
fifty dollars. Frank raised the better five and the checker raised him
five, so the bet was ten dollars to the man holding the aces. He called the
bet and raised it ten. Frank pitched ten into the pot and then added a
crisp new twenty dollar bill.
The others called and Frank announced, "Full boat." The other
players cursed quietly and watched Frank pull in and pocket the money.
Bill was dealing the second card of the next hand when Guy came
limping into the room.
Guy said, "Damma, the bullsa come. They make raid soon. Quick,
break up game and getta the hell out."
Each player snatched up his money and dashed out of the card room, up
the stairs, and out onto the dimly lit street, moving rapidly past the
entrance to The Hotel Hooker.
In his haste to remove himself from the immediate area, Frank emerged
from the subterranean rooms, ran around a corner, and ducked under a ladder.
When he realized what he had done he loudly proclaimed the fickleness of
fate. First he had won heavily in both pool and cards, and then he had
passed by chance under a ladder.
Frank felt the sharp pain of a tremendous blow to the head, saw red,
orange, and yellow, and then passed into a gray unconsciousness. When he
came to he surveyed his damages, and then he knew that he had been hit from
behind and rolled. He checked his wallet and found it to be empty, and then
he remembered that he had put what he had started with in another pocket; it
was one dollar and seventy-five cents, all in change.
He checked the pocket and found that he still had his initial
investment. He cursed his fate until his face turned the color of blood and
then, suddenly, a smile came across his face. He shrugged his shoulders and
sauntered off, thinking, "Easy, come, easy go."
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' '
` anada290 by Higgins (c) 2001 anada e'zine `
