Lucky(7)

“All right,” said the pimply kid. “Show us your aces, then, if you weren’t bluffing.”

“I never said I wasn’t bluffing.” Lucky stood, flipping her cards as she did. They were terrible: a five of spades, a ten of diamonds. She looked down at her winnings, then shoved half toward the dealer as a tip—while he blinked in disbelief—and the rest over to the pimply kid. “Have fun. That was great. Thanks, y’all.” The players stared, astonished, as she turned and made her way toward the bar.

“Hey, you should have kept those chips,” Cary said when she arrived at his side. “Looks like you won a lot.”

“But why? We’re leaving tomorrow. We have enough money in our Dominica account. I’d have to show ID to cash these in. Plus, it was just for fun. The looks on their faces! Totally worth it.”

His expression was hard to read. It was, she realized with a sinking feeling, his poker face.

“Are you okay?” she said. “Who was that you were talking to?”

“Oh, just some guy wanting to know where the bathroom was,” Cary said. He stepped closer. Now he was looking at her the way he had when they had first met, back when his gaze had made her feel like she was one of the wonders of the world. “I love you so much, you know that? You make everything fun. Come on.” He pulled her toward the bar. “You’re right. We’re rich. And we need to celebrate. Celebrate life. Bottle of ’85 Dom, please,” he said to the bartender.

“Cary, no, it’s getting late, and we have an early flight—”

“So we won’t go to bed, then,” Cary said with a laugh. “You said you wanted to have the best night of your life before we left, and the night is still young.” He reached for the bottle while she reached for him.

“I just meant I don’t think we’ll finish it. We have to wake up so early to get to the airport. I thought we’d just go back up to the room and…” She kissed him and he turned his attention away from the bar.

“We have plenty of time for that, Lu. Tomorrow, we run away. Tonight, it’s a party. Like it’s our last night on earth.” He planted one more kiss on her lips. As the bartender popped the champagne cork, Cary said to her, “Repeat after me: I just want to party all night.”

She accepted her glass. “I just want to party.”

“All night.”

“All night,” she repeated dutifully.

He grabbed the bottle and strode across the casino. They reached the exit and the security guard called out, “Hey, you can’t take that bottle—” but Cary handed him a hundred-dollar bill without breaking stride. Lucky took off her stilettos and dangled them from her fingers as she ran to catch up with him at the elevator bank.

He pulled a card out of his pocket. It said STAFF ONLY. When they got on the elevator, he used it to access a restricted floor.

“Where did you… Oh, never mind.”

“That’s right, babe. You don’t need to know.”

He took her hand as the elevator doors opened, pulled her down a hallway, to a door. It led to a rooftop with a staggering view of the city below.

Cary walked to the edge and raised his arms, the bottle in one hand, his glass in the other.

Gently, Lucky tried pulling him back, but he held his body rigid. “Be careful,” she said.

Finally he stepped back, took her in his arms.

“Are you ready to have an unforgettable night with me?”

“It’s already been pretty unforgettable. I mean, I bluffed out all those guys—”

He refilled her glass. “I want you to forget about everything else and just be with me. Fall in love with me again, Lucky. Tell me you love me, and will love me, no matter what.”

“Of course.”

“Always? No matter what?”

“Cary, what’s going on with you?”

“Nothing. I’m okay. This is just… I can’t believe we’re doing this.”

“But we are. There’s no going back.”

He lifted his glass and tapped it against hers. “No going back,” he said.

They turned and faced the skyline. Far below, the lights of Las Vegas spilled out across the ground like jewels from an upended box, the glitter ending abruptly at the dark edge of the desert. She looked down at it and breathed deep; her fear became excitement. Something stirred inside her that felt like hope—the kind of hope a lottery ticket held just before you checked its numbers. Cary took her hand and led her down into the dark and steaming Las Vegas night that was suddenly just beginning.





September 1992

CHAPEL POND, NEW YORK



It was done. Lucky and her father left the Sagamore Hotel a day before they had said they were going to, and didn’t say goodbye to Steph or her mother. The money order was in John’s shirt pocket. Lucky could see it. She tucked her nose back into her copy of The Elegant Universe so she wouldn’t have to talk to him, so she could pretend she lived in a different world, maybe even a different galaxy. They pulled up outside a bank. He went inside, and when he came out, he had a spring in his step and a thick envelope of cash in his hand. He locked the envelope in the glove compartment.

“We’re really rolling in it now, kiddo,” he said.