Chapter 39

Tricia had been surprised that Matt had been willing to sleep in and then wait for her to make breakfast before heading out to work. As a consequence she was far later than she thought she’d be going to pick up Matty from her parents. After two weeks away from him she was acutely aware that he would be starting school next year and she would not have him with her all day every day. In some ways she supposed that would make it easier the few times a year she did go to play a tournament series. She knew it would take some adjustment though, she’d come to rely on having him home all day and knew that seeing her baby going off to school was going to be hard. She had to smile at her attitude because she had been the one who’d not really wanted to have children and here she was as hooked on him as everybody told her she’d be. This was one case, she told herself, where being predictable was a very good thing.

She pulled into her parents front yard and went up to the house, knocking and then entering, calling out to find out where everyone was. Her mother answered from the kitchen and Tricia went to find her.

They hugged and her mom smiled at her. “You look like you had a good night. I’m glad you let us take Matty for one more night. It was good for both you and Matt I think.”

Tricia felt herself blushing. Her mom had always been like that. She had been the one who’d given Tricia any sex talks that she’d had growing up. As nearly as she could figure her father would sooner die than talk about it. She’d seen her mom gently tease her father through mild sexual innuendos all her life.

Her father had been firmly on Matt’s side when Tricia’s tryst with Jaime was discovered. He had made it clear how displeased and disappointed he was in her. If it hadn’t been that he’d been hard to please her entire life it might have crushed her but as it was she’d found that for the most part it rolled off of her. Maybe if her brother had been able to have that attitude he wouldn’t have left home and cut off all, or most ties, with the family.

Her mom had supported her father on the matter but Tricia always got the impression that she was far more understanding. She’d come to see over the years since it happened that her mom mostly seemed to be disappointed that she had gotten caught more than she was disappointed with what Tricia had done. That had led Tricia, in the past few years, to wonder if her mom may have at sometime done something similar. She had even had visions, after seeing the movie Bridges of Madison County of one day, after her mother had passed on of finding similar diaries detailing it all. Tricia had laughed at that though, telling herself that life was life and fiction was fiction.

“I had a very good night,” Tricia said. “And that’s all I’m going to say.”

“Well certainly dear,” her mom said, a totally innocent look on her face. “I didn’t expect a blow by blow account. I know you love Matty and must have been missing him something fierce so I’m just glad you gave yourself that one more night.”

“Me too Mom and thank you for taking him, both last night and for the last two weeks.”

“It was my pleasure. Your dad enjoyed it too. Don’t you dare tell him I said this but I think he’s trying to make up for the things that happened with your brother with Matty. It’s done my heart good to see them so happy together.”

“I have to admit that I can’t see Dad having the patience to pal around with Matty.” Tricia admitted.

“I know but you’ll see,” Her mom said. “They’re out in the workshop now. We’ll go out there after a bit but I want to hear about your trip first without your dad around. He still thinks Matt was off his rocker to let you go and that you were for going off to do something like that.”

“I can’t figure out why he seems against me playing poker,” Tricia said. “He has played all his life. He taught Andy and Andy is the one who taught me, even if whatI play now is different.”

Her mom sighed and then said. “For whatever reason he seemed to be determined to see only the worst in you kids. You know that, you grew up with it. It finally drove your brother away and that broke my heart. After that I got him to take it a little easier on you but it can’t have been easy.”

Tricia just shrugged. She didn’t feel like going into that all over, there was nothing to be gained that she could see.

“He’s also just a plain old fashioned chauvinist.” Her mom went on. “Poker is something that guys do with their beer and their cigars around the kitchen table. All women are supposed to do is make sure there is enough beer and enough snacks.”

“I hate to disappoint him but some of the best poker players in the world are women,” Tricia said. “I can see how professional football might be a man’s game. It pays to be big and strong. Poker though? That only takes strength of will, and courage and brains. Women are just as smart as men any day!”

Her mom chuckled. “Preaching to the converted dear but you know how effective it would be to try to tell that old coot. If you ask me women are smarter than men. Don’t tell your dad I said that though.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Tricia grinned.

“So how was it? I can’t even imagine doing something like that,” her mom told her. “Going off to some place you’ve never been to risk all that money and stuff. Weren’t you worried you’d just lose your money?”

“I admit I had some doubts,” Tricia admitted with a shrug. “I didn’t know what to expect. At first it was very intimidating. The tournament room was huge mom! When I first walked in there were more poker tables than I’d ever imagined in one place.”

“But you got over feeling intimidated I guess?”

Tricia nodded eagerly. “I did, very quickly really. Everybody was really pretty friendly. I did very well in the first cash game I played. Then the next day I went looking for satellites to the first event and met a guy, Gary, who told me how it worked and kind of led me through the process a little. He and his wife Sandy are neat people.”

“Excuse me dear but you sound like you’re talking French or some other foreign language. What is the difference between a cash game and a what did you call it? Satellite?”

Tricia smiled. “Sorry mom. A cash game is like what Dad does with the guys. You are sitting around a table playing and if you go broke you can just reach in your pocket and get out more money. You can start and stop when you want.”

“A satellite is a form of a tournament. In a tournament each player pays a set fee and then they all start with the same number of chips. Once you’re out of chips you’re out of the tournament. No reaching into your pocket to buy more, not in the tournaments I played anyway.”

“A satellite is a tournament that, instead of a cash prize, pays an entry into a bigger tournament. For example a what is called a $50+$5 satellite with ten people pays an entry into a $500 event. The other $5 from each person goes to the casino for running the tournament.”

“And what is it that you won that you got all that money?” her mom asked. “Did you really win $14,000? That boggles my mind.”

Tricia smiled. “I really did. I wasn’t even going to play that event. It was a ladies only event and that kind of bugged me. Gary wanted his wife Sandy to play though and she was nervous. She said she’d play if I’d play and Gary offered to pay my entry into the tournament in return for a percentage of what I won.”

“So he paid for you to play? Just so his wife would play too?”

Nodding, Tricia said, “Yep. It was a no-lose situation for me. It cost me nothing to try and I wasn’t playing the open event that day anyway. He paid $200 for my entry and $200 for Sandy’s entry. The deal we made was for 25% of my winnings which considering he took all the financial risk seemed like a good deal to me.”

“But if you knew you could win then why not put up the $200 yourself and get all the money?”

Tricia chuckled. “Well I didn’t think I would win. I thought I could do well. I also wanted to help them out. He wanted Sandy to try it and I could tell she really wanted to but was afraid to. Actually even now I’d do the same deal probably if somebody offered it. Somebody I have come to respect a lot told me that it was not a bad deal for me at that time. And I only got second. I didn’t win.”

“Well that’s pretty close to winning.”

Tricia shrugged. “Once I got close I really wanted the win though. The cards were not on my side and Carmen Cruz, the woman who won, is a very good player, much better than me.”

“For now she is maybe, but maybe not for long?”

“We’ll see mom,” Tricia chuckled. “I can’t play as much as she does so I may not ever improve to that level.”

“Are you planning to go to another one of these tournaments?”

Tricia looked at her mom, trying to decide what was behind the question. She didn’t see any evidence of disapproval.

“I would like to,” Tricia admitted cautiously. “Matt seems to be ok with it. I’d have to see how it really sits with Matty having me gone like that. Most of them are kind of far away so it would be good if I could go for the whole thing. At least I know now I can play on that level and I have enough money socked away to affordit.”

“Evie McPherson was convinced you were going to lose your house and both cars gambling when you went off there.”

Evie McPherson was one of her mom’s friends. Tricia thought of her as a kindly grandmother type but one hopelessly out of touch with the 20th century. Tricia could see Evie worrying about just that, she worried about anything anybody did that was the slightest bit out of the ordinary.

“Mom I know enough to never gamble with money I could not afford to lose. I learned that much growing up listening to Dad. I remember him saying they cut somebody out of their game because he was losing and could not afford it.”

Her mom nodded. “Ray Rawson. Turned out he was losing their rent money. Poor guy. He drifted away after that. I suspect he just found some place else to lose it.”

“Probably,” Tricia said. “I did see some players while I was there that definitely had gambling problems. You don’t have to worry about me though mom. I promise you.”

“I’m not really,” her mom said. “Not about gambling anyway. I don’t quite see why Matt was so comfortable letting you go off like that. I hope I’m not stirring up trouble dear but didn’t that seem odd to you? After he found out about your affair he was watching you like a hawk. Now he lets you go off on your own for two weeks?”

“Don’t think I haven’t wondered Mom,” Tricia admitted. “I thought about that a lot and it kind of worried me. But then I got back and he’s built that sun porch just the way I wanted. I felt so bad for doubting him!”

“That was good. I know you’d been wanting it. He and his buddies got that up really fast. Fast enough he took off fishing that last weekend even. At least you didn’t have to sit home while he did that.”

Tricia knew that her mom had seen her side of why she’d done what she did with Jaime. She never voiced that around Tricia’s dad, not more than once anyway when it had caused a big ruckus. Tricia knew she’d told Matt how she felt. She’d also told Tricia that no matter the provocation she should have used restraint. Somehow the way she’d said it to Tricia the times they’d talked about it had made Tricia think that her mom was trying to say ‘you shouldn’t have gotten caught’ more than ‘you shouldn’t have done it at all’. But Tricia wondered if that was just her trying to justify herself. She’d never had the nerve to out and out ask her mom if that was what she was saying and she though that she’d have not admitted it out of loyalty to Tricia’s dad if she had.

That discussion was terminated when Matty came bouncing into the room carrying a bird feeder that he proudly and loudly announced he’d made all by himself. Tricia hugged him and told him how nice it looked. Indeed it looked so good that she suspected he’d had more than a little help. When she looked up at her father he just winked, letting Matty take all the credit.

She stood up and hugged her father. “Thank you for being willing to take care of him for me Dad.”

“I enjoyed it honey,” her father said gruffly. “We had a good time. Matty also helped me make you some shelves for your new sun room. If you’ll pull around to the workshop I’ll load them into the car for you. We put the finishing touches on them this morning.”

“Can I swing by and get them after lunch?” Tricia asked. “I told Mary Beth I’d meet her for lunch.”

“Sure,” her dad said. “Then we can talk. I want to hear about your trip to the big den of iniquity.”

That made Tricia look up at him sharply but his grin showed her that at best he was only half serious. She shook her head wondering why playing poker on Friday nights with the guys was ok but playing in a casino was not. She knew better than to even try to argue the subject with him.

“I want to tell you about it Dad,” Tricia said. “I’ll be back after lunch.”

“Do you want to leave Matty?” her mom asked. “You could have time with Mary Beth that way.”

“I’ve left Matty alone enough I think. I miss him too much to leave him alone again right now.” She gave Matty a big kiss on the cheek.

Matty looked at his grandfather and rolled his eyes.

“Women will be women Matty,” Tricia’s dad said, a trace of a smile in his voice, “Go on with your momma for now. We’ll have more time later.”

“Ok if you say so Grampa,” Matty said. “Can I have a milkshake with my lunch? I been real good! Just ask Gramma and Grampa!”

“He has been real good,” her mom said with a smile.

“Then I see no reason that you shouldn’t get a milkshake Matty,” Tricia chuckled.

“Lets GO!” Matty said pulling Tricia toward the car by her hand.

“I guess I’m leaving now,” Tricia said wryly. “I’ll swing by after lunch Dad.”