Las Vegas

by Sheila Horgan

  She hit him.

  He just looked at her like she must be kidding.

  Moments later the police and ambulance personnel arrived.

  They had the whole thing cleared away in what seemed moments.

  Tourist areas are like that. Violence is not good for business. Living in Florida, the girls were accustomed to that attitude

  Carolyn shook her head. “Such senselessness. I can’t imagine why a woman would involve herself with a man who would treat her badly or why a man would allow himself to be abused like that. It is obviously not the first physical altercation between the two of them. I just don’t understand it. It seems to be getting worse instead of better. Or maybe it is just that you hear so much more about it these days.”

  Anna shook her head. “You would think that with all the options young people have now they would shy away from things like this. They say our generation was accepting. They see reruns of Desi spanking Lucy or hear about a trip to the woodshed, and they think they’ve come so far, but they have gotten worse than we ever dreamed of being.”

  Carolyn sighed. “Back when we were young, you had no options. You got married, and you stayed married. There was no help for you. If your husband was completely out of control, maybe a few of his friends or your brothers might try for an attitude adjustment. Show him by his own means. But mostly you just worked your way through it, and hopefully with some age and maturity things would calm down. Thank God that doesn’t happen as much anymore.”

  Anna smiled. “I remember when I got married. My father took my husband to the side. He explained to my husband that he had never hit my mother and that he had never hit me, and that better not change. He told my husband if he was less than kind to me, he would answer to him. My husband was such a gentle man, I would never have had to worry about such a thing, but a father wouldn’t dare say such a thing these days. The father would be seen as a problem.”

  Adeline seemed especially reserved. “We have gotten sideways.”

  Carolyn tried to sound more logical than emotional. “Speaking of sideways, not a good segue I admit, what are we doing about being followed around, and what are we doing with the rest of our trip? Are we to assume that we will be followed in Hawaii as well?”

  “Gaston knows that I find being followed unacceptable. Period. He suggested he might have a plan to rid us of Lori and company. If he cannot put that plan into action by dinner this evening, I have a plan of my own.”

  Anna didn’t grasp the gravity of the situation. “Care to share?”

  “I am going to disinherit my children.”

  Carolyn and Anna exchanged a wide-eyed look.

  “Don’t be alarmed. My children are more than capable of supporting themselves and building their own empires. They’ve had the best educations that money can buy. They are reasonably intelligent, if completely ignorant. They each received a sizable inheritance when my husband passed. That inheritance was graduated over a long period of time so that they wouldn’t throw it to the winds in their youth. Of course that didn’t stop them from spending what they have already received carelessly. They always assumed that they could live on what their father left them and by the time that money had dwindled they would be graced with their equal portion of my estate. That was a very poorly chosen assumption on their part.”

  Anna took a deep breath. “Not having anything to leave behind is sounding better and better.”

  “I’ve argued all of this with myself for some time. I think that the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back took place right here in Las Vegas.”

  Carolyn was obviously confused by Adeline’s comment. She cocked her head to one side and said, “What did I miss?”

  “It’s twofold actually. Firstly, I met Amy. Here is a young woman with nothing to her name. She has a child. Her biggest concerns are her child and her mother. Her mother. Even with everything else that is going on, she is bringing her mother to doctor appointments. She is doing all of her mother’s grocery shopping. She runs off to the pharmacy in the middle of the night.”

  Anna’s eyes got big. “How do you know all that?”

  “I asked her if she would mind my checking her story. When my people check something, they check it well.”

  Carolyn laughed. “Remind me to stay on your good side.”

  Adeline chuckled. “In any event, I have a great deal of respect for this young woman. Take just one moment to compare that to the actions of my own children, and you will see where my disappointment begins.”

  Carolyn sighed. “We all have different family dynamics. In my own family, God forbid I should need care, it would be my grandchildren. We would definitely skip a generation in responsibility, so it would be my grandchildren that would care for me.”

  “I am aware of those types of situations, and although Amy’s devotion helped to delineate the vast differences between her mother’s situation and my own, it was not the only reason that I’ve made the choices I’ve made. It was conversations I’ve had with the both of you, and Cara, and a number of others in the recent past. It comes to me that I have been quite disrespectful of my children. Not only in the way that I think about our relationship and their behaviors, but also in my treatment of them. I have been just as foolish as my late husband. I’ve not insisted that they go out and create a life for themselves. I’ve allowed them to wallow in the idea that they will soon inherit an estate that will entitle them to wallow for the rest of their lives. That is irresponsible of me.”

  Anna, ever practical, tried to be gentle. “Maybe you should take some more time and think about this.”

  “I don’t think that is necessary. I’m quite sure of my stand. I had more or less decided that I would do this at some point. Their actions, and my distance, give me the perfect opportunity to do just that.”

  Anna shrugged. “Your money, your kids, your life.”

  “Thank you for understanding. I think that I will retire back to the hotel and speak with the rather anxious passel of attorneys that will be required to draw up the necessary documents. Whatever the two of you would like to do this afternoon, we can rejoin this evening and get this unpleasant part of our journey behind us.”

  “How about we all go back to the room, you can go into your bedroom for some privacy, and Carolyn and I will spend a little time with the concierge and figure out what show to go see tonight? I heard they got a brand new buffet at one of the big casinos. Something like five hundred different dishes with chefs cooking right there for you to watch. That might be a fun dinner experience.”

  “That sounds lovely. Thank you for being so understanding. And kind. And supportive.” Adeline’s eyes started to tear.

  Carolyn caught it first. “Oh, no. Don’t you start. I’ll cry right along with you. Some time right around the beginning of menopause I started crying at the drop of a hat, and I just have never gotten it back under control. And, as the kids say, I go all the way to the ugly cry. I don’t stop at a cute little tear escaping down my cheek. There will be no tears. None.”

  The girls were walking through the casino of their hotel, about twenty paces from the elevator, when Anna’s phone chirped. “They delivered the presents to the kids. One less thing to worry about.”

  “Good. I feel better already.” Adeline pulled a face. “If only all my problems were so easily solved.”

  Anna slipped her arm through Adeline’s as they walked. “Most problems are pretty easy. I’m sorry yours are such a challenge.”

  “The issue that weighs most heavily on me at the moment is Genevieve.”

  Carolyn walked to Adeline’s right. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think that you were going to take her out of it with the rest of them. That must be especially difficult.”

  “Quite the opposite. I’m leaving it all to her. They tell me there are ways to arrange it so that the others cannot fight my decision. I pay for the very best legal advice — even with their misstep this vacation — and I am confident they have my interests
well in hand. It is a great deal of responsibility to require Genevieve to undertake.”

  Carolyn nodded. “Well, it’s not like she has to take it all on tomorrow. You are going to be around for a while yet. You can teach her how to do what she needs to do. You will have some time to spend with her and bring her to all of this gently.”

  “Not if she continues her gallivanting around the world in those horrid boots and fatigues she seems most comfortable in. My Genevieve is a little old for playing soldier.”

  “We’ll think of something to entice her away from all the luxuries of military life and back to the grind of mansions, private planes, and gourmet food.” Anna winked.

  The girls laughed as they entered the elevator.

  When they got to their room, the door was propped open, and the cleaning staff was inside.

  Anna sounded more annoyed than bewildered. “I’ve never understood why they have the door open like that. It isn’t going to stop anybody from doing what they do, and anybody that walks by can see inside.”

  “A concern in a regular room, but in a suite, they see nothing of ours anyway.” Adeline shrugged.

  “True.”

  The ladies walked in and saw two young women working quietly. One, a blonde, had earbuds in her ears and was quietly singing something in a language none of the women recognized.

  The other young woman was Amy.

  “Mrs. Cooper. How are you? I assumed that you would be out of the room all afternoon. Is there anything we can get for you and your party?”

  “No, thank you, Amy. We’re just fine. I spoke to Suzi. She was just thrilled to hear that I ran into you. She hopes that when you have some time off you can come out to Florida. Maybe bring that beautiful son of yours to the happiest place on earth.”

  “That would be great.”

  “How is your mom?”

  “She’s doing pretty good. We signed her up for a drug trial. They accepted her. That’s good. I’m hoping that I can find a transportation program. I think I can do it through a really great support group we found. I’ll work it out. Things are really looking better. Thank you.”

  “Honey, if there’s anything you need, you just give us a call.” Carolyn looked into Amy’s eyes. “I mean that, sweetie. Anything at all.”

  Amy looked at the floor. “Thank you.”

  The blonde rolled her eyes and said, “You coming? We need to get to 2039. You know how he is.”

  Adeline raised an eyebrow.

  The blonde responded. “Peter. Our boss. I don’t mean to be unsociable, but I don’t want to lose my job.”

  Anna shook her head. “Not a problem. You girls have a good day.”

  Adeline mentioned that she should have purchased a notepad while they were wandering around the mall and the various stores along the strip.

  Carolyn headed toward the door. “Not a problem. I’ll run down stairs and see if they have anything like that in the notions and sundries shop down by the elevator.”

  “I can just call the concierge. She will have a notepad here in moments.”

  Adeline was right. The concierge, a young man with overly gelled hair, was at their door with a notepad in no time.

  The women laughed as they took a closer look at the pad.

  Anna held the tablet at an angle toward the light. “Well, isn’t this swank? They have their logo on every page, they have their logo watermarked on the paper itself, and they did something weird. There is no line on the sheet, but feel this, your pen is going to follow along on a straight line, thanks to that little groove or whatever it is. Very fancy.”

  Carolyn took the tablet. “People spend money on the most inane things.”

  “I swear to you. I have an old friend.” Anna’s hands landed on her hips as she told the story. “You could look her in the eye and say that two things were exactly alike, but one of them was from a boutique and one of them was from the mall. The boutique one could cost twenty times as much, and she would buy it anyway. Even after you told her that it was the same thing. People are so bizarre.”

  Adeline admitted, “Many of us fall victim to the marketing tricks of the truly talented. I know I’ve spent much more on an object simply because it is what I recognized from previous mentions or because I didn’t care to venture out and shop. I know that for many years, between the staff and the runners, I virtually never set foot in a store.”

  Anna asked, “Runners?”

  “I employ two young people to run errands for me.”

  “Really? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

  “At some point I allowed myself to believe that it was just easier to have other people do the mundane. My time was better spent.”

  “How did you spend that time?”

  “In the last decade, not well.”

  Carolyn spoke gently. “Cara tells me you are a truly gifted artist.”

  Anna smiled. “I heard that too. I heard that the picture you gave Morgan for her wedding is stunning. She is so proud of it. And my Morgan has exquisite taste when it comes to art. She knows her stuff, and she isn’t afraid to state her true opinion. If she said that picture you painted for her is beautiful, then you can go to the bank on that one.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Okay, if you want to make those calls, Carolyn and I will get busy looking for something for us to do this evening. We’ll find out if we can make reservations at that buffet.”

  Carolyn asked, “Reservations at a buffet? They all have long lines meandering back and forth. Even the ones that go to a lot of effort to make it look like something it isn’t, there are people waiting in those lines for a long time. It would feel so strange to bypass them and just go to the front of the line.”

  “That is a strange feeling I’m willing to get used to. Do you need anything from us, Adeline? Are you sure you wouldn’t rather wait until we got home to deal with all of this?”

  “Perhaps if my children are made aware that there is no benefit to them to watch me, they will stop. One can hope.”

  Anna offered, “Then maybe you should just tell them that you are changing things around and leave it at that.”

  “I’ve watched enough television and have lived long enough to know that one never threatens about such things. If you are not comfortable making the change, then simply do not mention it. If making changes is your resolve, then one should have the fortitude to actually make those changes before any pronouncement.”

  “Your choice. Either way. You want something to drink or something to munch on?”

  “I’m fine. Anna, please relax. I’m fine. I appreciate your caring for me, more than you know. But this situation has been a long time in coming, and I will deal with it accordingly.”

  “Okay. We’re here if you need us. Actually, you know what? I’m going downstairs, and I’m going to play on the slot machines or maybe video poker for just a little while. Is that okay with everybody?”

  “I will join you.”

  “Ladies, you needn’t abandon the room for my comfort. I’m quite content to make these arrangements from my bedchamber. To be honest, it wouldn’t concern me to make the calls in your presence.”

  Carolyn stopped. “I appreciate that, Adeline, I really do, but I’d be much more comfortable if I didn’t know anything about your estate or any arrangements you make. My husband was big on plausible deniability. I believe in it. Nobody can ever come back on me saying I wanted something from you, because I can honestly say I don’t even know what you’ve got that I’d be interested in or how much of it.”

  “Very well. I won’t be long. Gaston and I have already covered most of the details. Shall I call you when I’m done, or would you like me to come downstairs and find you?”

  “A casino is a big place. Why don’t you give us a call, and we’ll meet somewhere?”

  “Done. And thank you.”

  “Not a problem at all.”

  An hour and a half later, Anna was up twenty-five dollars, Carolyn was down seven dolla
rs, and they were both sitting at the bar in the middle of the casino, watching a beautiful young woman and an equally beautiful young man at the roulette table. The young couple was obviously on their honeymoon, full of hope and promise and a bit more naiveté than is common these days.

  Adeline joined her two friends at the bar.

  Anna questioned her. “I thought you were going to call.”

  “I did. Neither of you responded.”

  Both Carolyn and Anna took their phones out of their purses.

  Carolyn spoke first. “Sorry. Shows a missed call. I had the ringer turned all the way up, and I had it on vibrate. I don’t know why I didn’t get the call.”

  “Me either. That’s just weird.”

  “It is noisy in a casino. Or it can be. What are you ladies doing here at the bar? I thought you were going to be gambling.”

  Carolyn said, “My normal limit is twenty dollars. Up or down, twenty is it.”

  “So are you up or down?”

  “I’m down seven.”

  Adeline looked confused.

  Carolyn laughed at her expression. “At some point, it just became more fun to watch this young couple than to gamble myself. Although I did find a new game. I’m sure it is just new to me. It is automated roulette. You don’t have to wait for everyone else to place their bets. You don’t have to wait for the guy to spin the little ball. You just place your bets, hit the button, and you win or lose.”

  Adeline looked around. “I’ve always been of the understanding that part of the fun, perhaps the biggest part of the fun, of roulette was the excitement of the crowd.”

  Carolyn shrugged one shoulder. “Probably, but I like the automated version. Maybe it’s because I’m really not much of a gambler.”

  “Oh, I’d beg to differ. I think we are all capable of the salto mortale.”

  “The who, what?” Anna laughed.

  “Salto mortale. I believe it is an Italian phrase. It means a deadly leap. An acquaintance of my first husband once told me that my decisions in life were often a salto mortale. That I made grand leaps of faith that could easily end badly for me. That he admired my valor. I wonder what happened to that part of me. I don’t feel as dauntless as I once did.”