BlackJack

Alex shuffled the deck of cards in his hands, first tossing them from one hand to the next, then splitting the deck and folding them into each other with that oh so familiar slapping sound. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and his Zippo lighter. It was a filthy habit and he knew it, but somehow, Alex just couldn’t make it through the day without at least one cigarette. Snapping open the lighter and flicking it ablaze in one smooth motion, he lit the cigarette, snapping the lighter closed and shoving it back in his pocket, enjoying that first drag of nicotine goodness.

A few more rounds of shuffling and the cards were how he liked them, not that what he liked had mattered for much as of late, but that didn’t matter now, it was just him and the cards. A simple flick of his wrist sent the first two cards to the table in front of himself, landing face up and spreading out; the queen of diamonds and the king of hearts.

Don’t you draw the queen of diamonds boy; she’ll beat you if she’s able. You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet. Don Henley had warned men everywhere about the queen of diamonds, but this desperado hadn’t listened to that advice. Well, that was a year and a half of his life that he was never going to get back. Damned woman.

More cards started to join the first two on the table; the deuce of diamonds and the ace of diamonds, followed by the four of spades. Seventeen…not a bad hand. The five of hearts and the ace of hearts followed quickly, and were quickly joined by the six of diamonds. Bust. Can’t win ‘em all. The king and jack of clubs. Twenty.

The next two cards to hit the table made Alex smile. The king of diamonds and the queen of hearts. Don said the queen of hearts was the best bet, too bad he wasn’t the king of diamonds. His brother sure had money. Hell, Michael had more money than he knew what to do with. And he certainly had the queen of hearts. Sheila was a great woman, nothing like Leslie. She didn’t nag, didn’t complain, and certainly didn’t sleep around with every guy that she came into contact with while professing her undying love for you. No, Sheila was nothing like Leslie. Damned woman.

The ten of hearts and the nine of clubs hit the table next, followed by the four of diamonds, the ten of diamonds, and the seven of spades. Two good hands in a row. Not bad at all. Unfortunately, those two hands were followed by three bust hands so quickly that Alex knew the luck had been fleeting, and only there as a teasing reminder that he was only lucky when he was by himself.

A bit of ash falling onto the table and cards drew him back to the here and now. Looking at the cigarette in his mouth it realized that it was half gone, and all the ash was on the table and his lap, which is not where it belonged. Cursing himself for letting his mind wander, Alex stood up, brushing off his pants, looking around for the ashtray that he hadn’t brought with him. Cursing again he tossed down two more cards, the jack and ace of spades. Black jack. With a laugh he turned and left, in search of that blasted ashtray.