Page 24 of Caleb's Salvation
Bud’s
Two weeks later
Vivienne
“Check,” Eve said.
“Tell me what that means again?” I asked.
“It means you’re basically passing your turn,” Shelby told me. “I check, too.”
“I’ll bet,” Kate announced. “Two dollars.”
“Kate,” Eve said with a small frown. “You’re fun as hell to drink with but you’re a damn lousy poker player.
“Why?” I asked.
It was Monday night and the crowd was light. Both Kate and Eve were in town so we decided to have a girls’ night. Zeke was watching the boys. I wanted to learn poker so I could play with the guys. Like drinking, gambling had obviously been forbidden when I was growing up. So were any games really. Pop saw the pursuit of fun as wasteful and self-serving.
A wave of sadness rolled over me as I thought about him. Alone, in his house with his bible and nothing else. It was of his choosing, but still, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
I probably shouldn’t care after what he did to me and Sam, but of course, I did. He was my father, even if he had kicked me to the curb. I knew there was no one there to cook his supper. No one to do the chores he deemed too womanly for him to do. I wondered if he regretted it, sending me away.
There was no way for him to find me up here. It’s not like I had a number he could call. Although Eli had hooked me up with a pay-by-call plan on a burner phone. For emergencies, he’d told me.
It occurred to me I should write Pop a letter. I could sit down and pour all my thoughts out on to paper. Tell him where I was and how Sammy was doing. Maybe he would write back. Maybe he wouldn’t. But it felt like the right thing to do.
“Why?” Eve repeated as if I’d asked a stupid question.
“Well, isn’t she supposed to bet?” I asked, pointing to the chips on the table.
“Yes, but she gives away her hand every time she does,” Eve explained.
“How can you tell?” I wanted to know.
“Because she smiles like she’s the cat holding the canary.” Shelby giggled.
“That’s not true,” Kate objected. “I’m working on my poker face, I swear. Jackson’s been helping me. Look, check this out. I call this my Jackson-face.”
We all watched her expression go completely blank. Then she grunted in a weak imitation of Jackson and we all laughed.
“Not bad,” Eve said. “You just need to do that when you bet. Viv, you need to fold.”
I tossed my cards onto the table and so did everyone else. Kate took the tiny pot of chips, pleased by the win regardless of the amount.
Shelby started shuffling the cards when I decided to drop my bombshell on the group.
“So…crazy thing happened the other day. Ty asked me out. On a date. You know, a date-date. Like a real one.”
Immediately, I had everyone’s attention.
“Did you say yes?” Shelby asked cautiously.
I shook my head. “I told him I needed to think about it. That it was a big deal for me. And it’s true. I’m a mother trying to make a life for myself and my son. Dating seems…indulgent.”
“You’re a young, beautiful woman,” Kate said. “It’s okay for you to want more than just surviving. The question is do you want to go out with Ty?”
“In a way,” I hedged, messing with the chips in front of me. Trying not to think about Caleb while I was considering Ty. “He’s sweet and nice. We laugh a lot. I’ve never been on a real date. It could be fun.”
