Chapter 8

The young guy with the hat proved to be a real character, chatting with everybody, joking constantly and just generally seeming to have a very good time. Tricia envied him his easy way with people even though she could tell that a couple of the players seemed to wish he would just shut up. She found his banter refreshing. She also noticed that he was a good player and a dangerous one as he took out player after player and built his chips up.

“That’s a really cute hat,” Tricia said to him when they were both out of a hand.

“Thanks,” The guy said. “It usually lightens a table up some.”

Then he stuck his hand across the table. “My name is Josh.”

“Tricia,” she responded shaking his hand. “People really wear some funny hats. Look at that guy at the next table. The way that knit hat sticks way up makes him look like a cone head or something. Why would you wear a knit hat sticking way up like that?”

Josh laughed. “Well I wouldn’t. I think it looks like a giant condom. Condom heads, that’s what they look like.”

Tricia laughed as did the players nearby who had been listening. She looked over at Rick who was just shaking his head. “You don’t agree?”

“Oh I do,” Rick said. “He’s right on the money and in a way I think I’d sort of thought that but I’m no sure I could have said it in public.”

“Well me either but it was funny and he is right,” Tricia said.

Shortly after that Tricia got into a big hand that knocked yet another player out. This time the tournament director did not bring them another player but instead tossed seat cards in front of each player and told them he was breaking their table up.

Tricia was a little bummed to be leaving a table she was comfortable at but she knew it had been inevitable. She got to her new table to find it much duller than the other one. Nobody was talking and everybody looked deadly serious. Tricia tried feebly to start a conversation with the players near her and finally gave up and just played.

It came time for a fifteen minute break and on the way back from the bathroom Tricia checked her phone. There were no messages but she was shocked to see it was already after nine o’clock! She had played right through the time she was to have met Jaime and had not even thought about it. Too late to worry about it now she thought with a shrug.

Back at the table she counted her chips. For the past half hour she had been getting nothing and the blinds were getting big enough to hurt. She knew she was going to have to make a move soon. Squirming around she looked at the computer screen which displayed the tournament clock. It showed that they were getting near the money. Another eight people had to go out and everybody left would get paid.

As play began she was feeling more nervous. She had really not expected to get to this point. She also felt a little guilty at just standing Jaime up but she’d had no way to get word to him so she told herself it wasn’t her fault.

Quicker than she expected the Tournament Director announced that they were at the bubble and the next person out would be the last person not getting any money. That was not a position that Tricia wanted to go out in.

The rest of the players must have felt the same way because nobody seemed to want to play. Hand after hand they pretty much just folded to the blinds or somebody would raise and everybody would fold to the raiser. Then Tricia picked up a great hand, pocket aces. It made her a bit queasy though. She’d hoped to not have to play until the money bubble burst. She knew she had to though and made a standard raise. She was shocked when one of the smaller stacks quickly pushed all his chips into the middle and announced “I’m all in.”

She looked down at her hand again nervously and knew she had to call. Since she had more chips she would not be knocked out if she lost but she’d be badly crippled. Her voice shaking she pushed her chips forward and said, “I call.”

The dealer pushed back her extra chips and told them to turn their hands over. The other player quickly turned over a pair of queens and said, “I hope you’ve got Ace King and we’ve got a race.” He knew that if that was the case he’d have a bit better than a 50/50 shot at winning.

He groaned when Tricia turned over her pocket Aces. She felt a little better.

Then the dealer dealt the flop and the first card up was a queen putting the other player far into the lead. Tricia felt her heart drop into her stomach as the players near her made conciliatory noises telling her that she made the right play.

The turn card didn’t help and Tricia sighed, picking up her card protector and her drink, preparing to leave.

She couldn’t bring herself to look at she dealer prepared to deal the river card. Then she heard the players at the table go nuts and she opened her eyes when she felt somebody thump her hard on the back. The river had been an Ace and she had won.

Stunned she sat down, shaking the disappointed player’s hand as he offered it while saying, “good hand, and good luck.”

She was even still in a state of disbelief when the tournament director announced that the remaining players were in the money.  She was now assured of at least getting her buy in back and since she had won that she was actually going to make a tidy little profit no matter what.

A sheet was passed around by one of the players showing the payouts and she saw that the money did not go up much unless she advanced a lot farther than she was now. Since even with the win she’d just had she didn’t have all that many chips she knew she was going to have to get more aggressive or the blinds and antes were going to eat her up.

Tricia did just that and for a while was building her chip stack nicely. Then she made an all in raise that was quickly called and she knew she was in trouble. When the cards were turned over she saw she was well behind. Luck wasn’t with her that time and just that quickly she was out of the tournament.

They told her where to go to get paid and on the way there she passed Rick’s table. He leaned back and grinned at her. “Hey Tricia! Don’t look glum! You did great! Look how many people didn’t make the money!”

She shook his hand and wished him well, envying slightly his huge chip stack. By the time she signed the forms she had to sign and got her money she was feeling pretty happy. She had done well she told herself as she folded the nice stack of Bills into her purse.

Briefly Tricia considered playing a cash game, it was barely ten but she realized that she was really beat so she made her way toward the hotel. Her mind was replaying the tournament and she wasn’t paying much attention to anything else. She walked through the lobby and up to the elevators.

Then she froze as she was about to push the button to call the elevator. She turned and looked back toward the lobby. She had to lean on the wall when she saw Jaime sitting in a chair with a smile on his face just watching her.

She closed her eyes but when she opened them he was still there, still smiling at her. Weakly she made her way to him feeling as nervous as she remembered ever feeling.

“Congratulations,” Jaime said standing up as she approached. “Cashing in your first Circuit Event is great.”

“You were watching?”

He shook his head. “I was afraid you’d see me and it would screw you up. I peeked in enough to know you were still in it but I wasn’t really watching. How have you been?”

Tricia wasn’t sure what to say. This  was not how she had pictured it going if she ever saw Jaime again. In the distant past she’d spent lots of time running many different scenarios through her mind but this wasn’t going like any of them. She found herself at a loss for words.

“Tricia, would you rather I just leave? I know I promised not to contact you again but I knew I would be here and I admit I was playing online at a couple of tables where you said you were going to be here. At least I thought it was you.”

She stared at him. Leave? Did she want him to leave? She knew she should say yes. She also knew she couldn’t. She shook her head, still unable to say anything.

“I sent that card with the schedule in it hoping to give you some warning. The last thing I wanted you to do was be in a tournament and get moved to my table and have that be the first time you even knew I was here.”

She finally found herself able to answer him. “I knew you’d be here. I found your journal online and read it.”

He shrugged. “I had no way to know. If I caused you any problems with Matt by sending that card then I’m sorry. Is he here? I don’t want to get you in trouble again.”

Tricia shook her head. “No I’m here alone.”

They simply stood there looking at each other for what seemed like an eternity but was actually just a few seconds before Tricia said, “Can we sit down? I’m having trouble absorbing this all. Right now the whole day is feeling like I’m in a dream.”

“Of course,” Jaime said motioning her to a chair.

She sat down facing him and looked into his face, a multitude of conflicting thoughts and emotions running through her mind.