by Peart, A. O.
“What?” Caroline and I shout in unison.
Ali laughs and hoots in delight, and Svetlana grins approvingly.
“This is a circus.” Caroline rolls her eyes. “Okay, drive, but when the cops stop us, we better have a reliable story. And you,” she points to Svetlana, “better not wave that freakin’ gun around. Do you even have a permit for that piece?”
“No, she doesn’t,” I answer before Svetlana can. “She’s not a citizen so, technically, she can’t carry.”
Caroline looks at me and then at Svetlana with the “are you shitting me?” expression. “Oh, that’s just peachy. Jena, are you going to drive or are you looking for a guidebook?”
“Oh, shut up. This is manual transmission. I’ve driven manual only a handful of times,” Jena says.
“Anyone else knows how to drive manual?” I ask.
Ali snorts. Caroline shakes her head, and Svetlana shrugs.
“Well, I can’t either. So it’s Jena or we’re walking.”
“In these heels? No way,” Svetlana opposes. She’s wearing high heels, and although they look like they’re only about three inches, I don’t blame her for not wanting to hike in them.
“Have some faith in me, would ya?” Jena starts the engine, and the van jerks forward, stopping momentarily. The engine dies, and Jena swears.
“I think you need to press in the clutch,” I offer.
“I am pressing in the clutch,” Jena grumbles.
All of us in the back quickly fasten our seatbelts. With Jena’s mad driving skills, our only hope is to stay put. She tries the engine again, and this time the vehicle rolls forward with only minimal jolting. We clap our hands and whoop excitedly.
“Woooot!” Jena shouts.
I spot the Point Elliott Casino sign, indicating straight ahead. “I think we’re getting close. There is a sign, right there!”
“I see it. There!” Ali points, excitedly. “Past that traffic circle.”
And there it is: sprawled right ahead of us, a multi-floor, blazing-with-lights building with its signature black-and-white heron image above the neon words POINT ELLIOTT CASINO.
ELEVEN
“When life gives you lemons, squirt someone in the eye.”
Cathy Guisewite.
The casino’s parking lot is huge, but Jena decides to find a spot somewhere close to the building. This section is crammed with cars.
“We should leave the van somewhere visible so The Turban Man can find it easily. He knew we’re going to the casino,” Caroline reasons.
“Do you see how many cars are here? How can he possibly find it?” Jena says, unconvinced. “Oh, there’s a spot.” She maneuvers the vehicle into an empty parking space, although it takes her four tries before she fits it between the lines painted on the pavement.
I take out three twenty-dollar bills and put it on the driver’s seat. Svetlana notices and adds another twenty. “That should do it. I hope he won’t curse us for taking his ugly van.” The rest of the girls add money to the pile.
“I’ll write a note to him.” I tear off a page from a small notebook laying on the dashboard and write: DEAR MR. TAXI DRIVER. THANK YOU FOR DRIVING US. SORRY THIS TURNED OUT CRAZY, BUT WE WERE AFRAID THESE GUYS WOULD HURT YOU. HERE’S SOME MONEY FOR YOU TO COVER GAS AND ANYTHING ELSE. WE HOPE YOU’RE NOT MAD THAT WE BORROWED YOUR VEHICLE. BE COOL.
Svetlana eyes the note, frowning. “Be cool?”
“Means, don’t do anything stupid. I hope he understands.” I wrap the bills inside the note and leave it on the seat.
We get out and look around. Ali sobered up some, but she’s still wobbly on her feet and clutches onto my arm for support.
“So what’s the plan?” Svetlana asks me. “Should we split or stay together?”
“Let’s stay together for now. Someone has to be with Ali all the time—”
“Sure, sure. Babysit Ali,” Ali interrupts me. She spits on the pavement. “Bleh, I swallowed a bug.”
Caroline and I roll our eyes.
The five of us walk to the entrance and go inside. The place is brightly lit and massive with an impressive round ceiling that reminds me of something between swirling blue ocean waters and a starry night sky with a blazing sphere in the middle.
There is a round bar, right smack under that sphere. On the top of the bar a cool sculpture stretches up to the ceiling. It depicts a group of colorful fish circling something shaped like gigantic, glittery seaweed. Is there even glittery seaweed? Well, there’s one here, right in front of my eyes.
“Wow, this is cool.” Ali approves. “What do we do first?”
“First, we find Colin’s great grandma and her crazy friend Stella.” I comb my eyes over the room.
Ali’s smile disappears, replaced by a pout. “Ah, that. Crap. Okay, where would she go? Bingo? Slot machines?”
“Dunno. Maybe bingo? That’s what the old ladies usually like to play, right?” I look around.
“Too bad we don’t know how she looks. We could split up and find her faster that way,” Caroline reasons.
Rows of slot machines stretch out from the circular bar and all the way to the area with small, half-round tables with card dealers. There is a large crowd in here. I guess Friday night must be a popular time for gamblers. Or maybe every night is. It will take some time to find Helga in here.
“There is a roulette table. I always wanted to try roulette.” Jena points to our left.
“Me too,” I add.
“Let’s plan a weekend at the casino, girls. We can have some fun then and not worry about finding little old ladies.” Caroline laughs.
“Hell, yeah!” Ali puts her hands on her hips and turns around, taking it all in.
“That actually sounds really cool,” I admit. “Okay, let’s walk around and see if we can spy them.”
I describe both Helga and Stella. They shouldn’t be too hard to spot, so we set out on the mission. I text Colin to let him know the search has just begun. He texts me right back, saying he’s only about ten minutes away from the casino.
“Oleg and Vadim are here.” Svetlana points with her chin to the two Russian giants unhurriedly strolling along a row of slot machines. She waves to them, and they both nod in acknowledgement.
“There!” I indicate the slot machines to my left. A gray-haired, short lady stands a few yards away with her back to us.
We rush to catch up with her. She turns around and looks straight at me. It’s… Melba?
“Melba! What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for Agatha. She’s getting us drinks,” she responds matter-of-factly.
“But… wait. What? I thought you stayed with Libby.” Before she can respond, I notice Libby and Agatha walking toward us. Agatha carries two drink glasses. The large, white flower in her hair has shifted forward and now threatens to fall out.
Libby sees me and rushes forward. “Natalie! Did you find Helga?”
“No. But you didn’t tell me you were coming here too.” Who else is going to turn up?
“As soon as you told me about the casino, Melba and Agatha suggested we drive here to look for Helga. I agreed there was no point sitting around, since I told everyone who was looking for her in our neighborhood that we are leaving,” she explains.
Okay, fine, whatever. I make quick introductions, because our group is growing by the minute and we better know who’s in the search and rescue party. This is becoming ridiculous.
Svetlana, Caroline, and Jena go off to join the two mafia goons. Ali, still looking a little woozy, stays with me.
Melba wrenches her walker from against a slot machine and positions it firmly in front of her. I don’t even know why she bothers, since she can walk just fine on her own. Hell, I’m sure she can run without the damn thing!
She puts her drink in the drink holder and says, “Agatha, get us some of those chips. I’m feeling lucky tonight.” She pulls her wallet from her festive bright-yellow purse and gives Agatha a fifty-dollar bill.
; Just as I thought—these two aren’t here to find Helga. Libby tries to oppose, but I touch her elbow and shake my head.
“Leave them to it, Libby. Did you drive them?”
“Yes.” She nods.
“So they aren’t leaving without you. Let’s go.”
Libby tells Melba to check her cell phone periodically, and we move in the opposite direction from where Svetlana and her group went. It’s loud and crowded around, and my senses are already running on overdrive.
A guy in a white dress shirt, obnoxiously-pink tie, and a dark suit comes on the stage and adjusts the microphone. When he makes an announcement that Last Year’s Bikini is about to perform, a large group to our left makes such a racket, that I want to go there and murder at least half of them. A headache starts creeping behind my eyes, and I moan. Not another migraine! Not now!
The band’s technicians are on the stage, readying whatever they need to get ready. I urge Ali to walk faster past the stage, but her eyes are wide with excitement and she obviously isn’t interested in the search-and-rescue anymore. Ali’s a big girl, so making her move is not an easy task.
“Ali, don’t just stand here. Let’s go.” I pull her with no effect whatsoever. She’s solid, standing in front of the stage on feet firmly planted on the floor.
“Did you hear that? I love Last Year’s Bikini!” she exclaims.
I groan. That band is loud, abhorrent, and possesses less than a teaspoon of talent between the four of them.
“I need to go. Just stay here and text me if you need me. Don’t drink anything.” I shake my head and wince. That headache is coming on strong.
I turn to Libby and say, “Okay, let’s start with this section, and then move there and then there.” I point.
She nods. “Sure. Lead the way.”
TWELVE
“Freedom lies in being bold.”
Robert Frost
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I look at the screen and tell Libby, “Colin just got here.” I text him back to tell him where to find us.
When I look up, I see an interesting scene across the room. Svetlana’s sitting on Oleg’s shoulders, viewing the crowd. It’s such a bizarre sight that I chuckle. Oleg’s height combined with Svetlana’s makes their human tower peculiarly tall. She’s pointing with her manicured finger somewhere close to where I’m standing. I turn to follow her gaze and see… nothing.
I pull Libby by the arm to walk closer to where Svetlana spotted, hopefully, Helga. We maneuver between wandering patrons and the card tables. Before security can object, Oleg lowers Svetlana to the floor, and they disappear in the crowd.
“There she is!” Libby shouts.
“Where?” My eyes search the spot, and I see the red jacket on the back of a chair.
Helga’s sitting comfortably at one of the poker tables. Stella’s occupying the chair next to her. Libby and I hurry toward them.
“Helga!” Libby stands by her mother, hands on hips. She’s fuming. “Are you out of your mind?”
The old lady looks up and grins. “Libby!” She turns to the dealer, who’s shuffling the cards, and proudly announces, “This is my daughter, Libby. Pretty little thing, isn’t she?”
I almost snort at the pretty little thing, because if Libby could ever be described as such, now is not the time.
“Ah, what a coincidence!” Stella claps her hands. “We didn’t know we’d see you ladies here tonight.”
Uhm… what? Let me find my brain to digest that statement. Didn’t you just sneak out of the birthday party without saying a word to anyone? But before my headache-fogged brain comes even close to comprehending what the hell Stella’s trying to pull off, Libby stomps her foot.
“Honestly, Helga. Whatever has gotten into you? Why...” she looks apologetically at the dealer, who listens curiously, and says, “Excuse us, please.” She grasps Helga by the elbow and forces her to follow her away from the table.
I sit in the vacant chair next to grinning Stella and, crossing my legs and arms, say, “This was a hell of a plan, Stella.”
“I know, right? Helga wanted to go gambling. She hasn’t been to casino since Blake passed away. That’s her last ex. I told her: it’s her birthday and she’s supposed to have fun.”
Why I am not surprised? Stella’s just the type that would talk someone into a crazy adventure like this. I close my eyes and shake my head. “Why didn’t you say anything to anyone? Libby was about to call the police. She was scared that something really bad happened to Helga, and now she’s livid.”
Stella waves her hand dismissively. “Rubbish. Libby’s too uptight. She needs to let her hair down before it all turns gray. And she needs to get laid. That woman hasn’t seen a naked man in years.”
I sneak a peek at the card dealer. His lips are pressed into a tight line, and it’s evident he’s trying not to smile.
“I tried to hook her up with Roger from the country club, but no, not Libby. Roger’s a fine, fine man.” Stella takes a sip of her drink, and then her eyes open wider. She looks at me. “You would like him! He’s only fifty… oh, wait. You have a boyfriend. I forgot. Colin’s a good kid. A very good kid. I’ve known him since his birth.”
Speaking of Colin, he should be here already. I quickly text him: “We found Helga and Stella at Point Elliott. Where r u?”
“Stella,” I interrupt her monolog. “Were you planning on taking Helga back home tonight?”
“Not tonight. She wanted to stay at the hotel,” Stella says as if there is nothing wrong with the whole crazy plan.
“And when did you intend to call Libby or Colin?”
She shrugs. “Give the old lady a break. It’s her birthday, after all. Who knows how many she’s got left to celebrate?”
I know she’s right. Helga’s an adult, and if she wants to celebrate her birthday at a casino, she should be allowed to. But making Libby scared out of her wits with Helga’s disappearance wasn’t the right thing to do.
Jena, Caroline, and Svetlana find us and make haste in our direction. I see the Russian goons staying behind, curiously eyeing Stella. I bet they think she’s the run-away grandma. She’s got the right look to fit that profile.
I sigh. “Stella, I know you meant well, and I know Helga wants to have fun, but couldn’t you just let Libby know where you were heading?”
“Absolutely not. She would never let her go. Libby has it in her head that Helga is old and fragile, and that she needs to be protected at all cost.” She crosses her arms over her chest and looks at me defiantly.
“Hey, guys!” Jena hollers.
I realize I need to introduce Stella to my friends, and so I do. How many more introductions do I need to go through today?
“Cool place, isn’t it?” Stella reclines in her chair, stretching her arms behind her back. “Do you play poker, ladies?”
“I do.” Svetlana nods eagerly.
Caroline shrugs. “A bit.”
Jena grins. “I wanna play.”
“Sit down, everyone. We’ll have a round.” Stella points to the empty chairs. “I’ll be right back.” She stands up and whispers in my ear, “I’m going to the ladies room.”
“I’ll pass.” I get up. Svetlana takes my spot. She convinces Caroline to join her and Jena.
I watch the dealer distribute the cards. My mind wanders. I start realizing there are possible similarities between how Libby feels about her mother, and how Colin feels about me. Libby and Colin are overprotective because of their past life experiences. While Colin has the tragedy that took Faith away to blame, Libby probably suffers from insecurities inflicted upon her during her youth when Helga kept changing husbands and never provided a solid and stable family life for Libby.
I think I finally understand why Helga wanted to run off without obtaining Libby’s permission. She wanted to be in control like she used to be years earlier—to break free from all the restrictions her daughter imposes on her now, even if it is for just one evening of gaming.
When Ste
lla returns, I tell her, “You’re right. Helga should celebrate her birthday the way she really wants to.”
Stella’s eyes open wide, and a big smile spreads on her face. “You’re cool, you know?”
I grin back at her. “Yeah. I know I am. But now we have Libby to deal with.”
“Leave it up to me.” She winks.
Stella walks over to where Helga and Libby are arguing. I hope this isn’t going to turn ugly.
Last Year’s Bikini announces their first song, and I cringe. This is going to be a gut-wrenching experience. I wish I had some earplugs. My best bet is to stay as far away from the speakers as possible.
THIRTEEN
“There is no such thing as fun for the whole family.”
Jerry Seinfeld
I jump and gasp when I feel someone’s arms slide around me from the back, but I instantly recognize the touch and the dark, masculine scent that always melts my insides. Only Colin can make me feel this way. I turn and find his clear-blue gaze on me, one side of his mouth lightly quirked up. He kisses me quickly on the lips and says, “What am I going to do with you?”
“You will let me be who I am and not worry about my fragile side. I don’t have one.” I smirk.
He releases a breathy laugh. “I see the family meeting in session.” I know he means Helga, Libby, and Stella. Helga’s girlfriends are like family since they’ve been best friends for most of their lives.
“Yeah, something like that. You didn’t have a word with Helga yet?”
“Nope. Getting in the middle of those three feisty women can only bring trouble.”
“You finally talk some sense, Mr. Hampton.” I run my finger over his wide, t-shirt-clad chest.
He catches my hand and kisses it. “I would like to talk some sense into you, babe. But first, let me see my grandmas.” Entwining his fingers with mine, he pulls me with him toward Helga, Libby, and Stella.
They stop arguing when they see us. Helga looks up at Colin and opens her arms for a hug, “There’s my boy. I hope you’re not upset with this old lady for trying to have some birthday kicks.”
