High Stakes

High Stakes
        By Matthew Warren Wilson



         The three of us were waiting for Azrael to get there so we could start the game and I was a little annoyed, as always, that he had to take his sweet time.  I mean, I wasn't there out of the kindness of my heart; I just wanted to play, win, and get home in time for a good night's sleep before work started all over again.

         Jeazy was droning on about the nature of God, per usual, and I just kind of zoned it out seeing as how I don't really care which way anybody goes, but it was really getting to old Bub.  I could see his eyes getting all squinty and he was sipping his Scotch a little more often than usual.  In fact, he was already on his second one and we hadn't even started the game.  I felt a little sorry for him; he was so much older than the rest of us and he always looked like he was feeling awkward, out of place.  I swallowed the last of my whiskey and said:

         "I'm gonna get another drink.  Anyone want one?"  I paused for a second, then said "Jeazy?" forcing him to shut up for at least a second.

         He looked a little pissed off at first but he quickly softened his look and said "Yeah, a little more wine would be good."  Then he turned back to Bub.  "So what I'm saying is that God is more selective.  He's got a long list of criteria for people to get into heaven, whereas gettin' into hell is easy.  You do one bad thing and you're in."  He paused.  "Or even, not do anything bad, just don't believe in God and same thing: burnin' in hell."

         I handed Jeazy another glass of wine and he took a long sip.  I glanced at Bub and he was just staring at the deck of cards he was shuffling, over and over, his jaw clenched tight and his eyes still all squinty.  Jeazy was always going on and on about the nature of God and it was something the rest of us had just stopped paying attention to, but Bub couldn't seem to do that so Jeazy would just keep talking to him, egging him on and pissing him off.  I thought it was kind of mean, and Jeazy could be a real asshole about it sometimes, but Bub always wanted to come over for poker night, so I couldn't be too sympathetic.  It wasn't like we forced him.

         Regardless of how I felt, Jeazy continued: "So the point is that getting into heaven is like getting into the ritzy, hip club downtown and getting into hell is, like, getting into the roller rink.  You know what I mean?"  He took another quick sip of wine and looked around.

         "No, I don't know what you mean," I said absently, pouring my whiskey, thinking that was the stupidest analogy I'd heard in a long time.  I didn't care about the topic, but sometimes it was fun to try to pick apart Jeazy's weird logic.  "You still have to pay to get into the roller rink.  That's not like hell at all.  Everything you do to get into hell is free."

         Jeazy shook his head back and forth, slightly, quickly, and I could see his eyeballs sort of glaze over behind his glasses.  The old hamster in his head must've been running double time on its wheel.

         "No," he said, "What about, say, high-priced child pornography?  That's sure to get you into hell and you have to pay through the nose."

         "You would know," Bub muttered, but Jeazy pretended like he didn't hear him. 

         "Not true," I said.  "If child porn is your thing, and apparently it is," - Bub snorted, which was really the only way he laughed - "and you're gonna be going to hell anyway, then you could just kidnap a couple kids and make your own porn.  That's free."  I rubbed my chin for a second.  "Or, if you don't have any artistic talent - and we all know child porn is chock full of artistic talent - so your own stuff doesn't turn you on like the high-priced shit, you could just stab a couple of bankers and use their cash to buy it.  Stabbing bankers is free, and when you buy something with money that isn't yours it's the same as being free, right?"

         "No, that's not the point," Jeazy said.  "I'm just saying that there's no standards.  The money you pay to get into the roller rink is the deed.  It's not the actual money.  It's just like any deed you might do to get into hell."  He paused again to sip his wine.  "I guess the point is that anyone can do it."

         "So... not anyone can get into heaven?" I asked.

         "Well, yeah, anyone can get into heaven if they meet the criteria.  They just have to make themselves do it.  Can't just be yourself, that doesn't work."

         "Just shut the fuck up about it," Bub said, shaking his head from side to side. I could almost see the steam coming out of his nostrils.  I sat back down with my fresh glass of whiskey

         "I'm just saying," Jeazy continued, "that heaven is way more selective.  "And that's why there's so many more people in hell. Maybe that's why it's so hot, too. You know, all the body heat and sweaty people and everything?" 

         Bub lost his grip on the deck he was shuffling and sprayed half of the cards across the table in front of him.  "Jesus!  Shut the fuck up."  He looked at Jeazy.  "I'm fuckin' serious."

         Bub didn't usually assert himself like that, and really, what could he do?  But Jeazy looked a little scared and he shut the fuck up.  Before I could say anything the front door creaked open and Azrael walked in with some lady who was probably 35 or 40.  Azrael never brought the young ones, who were so much more fun to play poker with, and yet he walked around all high and mighty like he was some kind of lady's-man.  There was no reason for it.  Even old Bub had brought over better looking women.

         "Hi!" Azrael said loudly.  "I brought a friend along!  I hope you guys don't mind!"

         Jeazy and I didn't say anything but Bub flashed his familiar fake smile and said: "Of course we don't mind."  He beamed at the lady.  "Come on in.  What's your name, darling?"

         Jeazy and I glanced at each other quickly and rolled our eyes.  Azrael and Bub did this little ritual every time a new female came around.  It didn't do them any good, didn't change anything, and it got old real fast.  Still, I didn't say anything.

         "This is Sally!" Azrael said and I winced, but the lady didn't seem to notice that he was practically shouting.

         "Well hello Sally," Bub said, "I hope you're up for a good game of poker tonight."  He patted the back of the chair next to him.  "Why don't you take a seat right here?"

         Jeazy sat up straight.  "Or," he said, "You could sit next to me."  He raised one eyebrow.  "But it's your choice."

         "H-hi," Sally said, already a little flustered.  She looked at the two of them for a couple of seconds and then sat down next to Bub.  I couldn't blame her.  It was far less annoying to sit next to Bub.  Azrael sat on Sally's other side and Jeazy frowned for a second, then said: "Well let's get this game going then."

         "Slow down there, boss," Bub said, looking at Jeazy, still smiling.  "Don't you think Sally might like a drink?"  He turned back towards her.  "What do you say, darling, sherry?  Brandy?  Maybe a little champagne?"

         "A little brandy, I think.  On the rocks."  She leaned back in her chair and I could see a slight bit of relaxation creep onto her face, into her posture.  That was the thing about Bub; despite his many flaws, he had a charismatic, soothing effect on people. 

         "J.R., get the lady a brandy," Bub said without even looking at me, like I was the fucking bartender or something.  I thought about protesting but decided it would just delay the game even further so I got up to pour it.  No sooner had I grabbed the bottle than Azrael piped up: "I'll take one of those, too, Slim Jim."

         Azrael knew I hated being called Slim Jim.  Or Grim Jim or Grimster or Jimmy Slim or any one of the variations he could think up.  J.R. was okay, I'd answer to that, but why couldn't anyone just call me Jim?  I decided Azrael could get his own fucking drink, so I handed Sally hers and sat back down. 

         Azrael raised his eyebrows and opened both hands, palms towards me.

         "Sorry, Ass-rael, I forgot," I said and I smiled at him smugly.  Sally giggled, just a little, under her breath.

         Azrael frowned but got up to pour himself a drink.  Jeazy was about to start dealing the first hand when Sally asked: "So what are we playing for here?  Twenty dollars?"

         Azreal put on his best wicked witch voice, which was incredibly bad, and said: "We're playing for your soul!"  He tried to cackle but it sounded more like a chicken than a witch.  Still, Sally smiled.

         "Okay, my soul," she said, "But how much money do I have to put up?"

         "Oh.  Yeah, twenty dollars."  Azrael smiled at her, then in the wicked witch voice: "Twenty dollars and your soul!"

         It amazed me that the stupid voice would work at all, but somehow it always did.  Sally was no exception.  She grinned like the village idiot and started fishing a twenty out of her purse as Jeazy dealt the cards.  I peeked at my hand, 8-2 off suit, and folded right away.

         Bub and Azrael folded, too, so it was just Sally and Jeazy in the hand.  This was a good way to see if Sally knew anything about poker.  Jeazy sure didn't, so if he won the hand then it would be safe to say that Sally didn't either.

         The flop came out 8-8-King, and I wanted to pound my head on the table for tossing away that 8.  Sally bet two bucks, which made me want to pound my head even harder.  Jeazy folded right away, like he always does if someone bets before him, and Sally won the hand.

         I shuffled the deck and started dealing and Jeazy said: "You know, God intended people to just be brains."

         That was a new one to me and I couldn't help but laugh.  Azrael said: "What, like the brains in jars at the carnival?" and he half smiled.

         Everyone checked, so I bet a dollar on my 10-Jack off-suit.

         "No, not in jars or anything, just brains."  Jeazy folded and got up to get more wine.  "People are supposed to be thinkers, to be minds."  He paused.  "To just be.  You know?  There's no reason for all the organs and extremities."

         "How would they ever be able to progress if they were just brains?" Azrael asked.  "People have to be able to create, and they have to have arms and legs and fingers to do that, as well as brains.  And then they need the organs to keep the arms and legs alive."  He thought for a moment, then called my dollar bet.  "To keep the brains alive, too, I imagine."

         "No, see, it's the arms and legs and stuff that kept people from developing the full mind potential," Jeazy said.  He took a swallow of wine and grimaced as it was going down.  "The brains should have been able to manipulate things just by sheer force of will.  Once they had arms and legs there was no need for that, so they didn't even try.  And that's where people have it all wrong, too.  It wasn't Evolution or Creation, it was a mixture of the two.  Fish sprouted legs, started walking around, found some brains and mated.  That created monkeys or something, I forget."

         Jeazy was obviously getting drunk and I thought that would just make it easier to beat him at cards.  Azrael was eyeing me for a long time after the flop came out, and then he bet three bucks.  There was an easy flush out there, so I folded.  He could keep my dollar.

         "That makes no sense," Bub said, looking at Sally.

         Sally looked Jeazy right in the eye and said: "Really?  You think fish and brains mated?  How is that even possible?"

         "Yeah," I said, "If brains were just brains they wouldn't have any reproductive organs.  Plus, you expect me to believe that the offspring of a fish and a brain would be a monkey?"

         Azrael began dealing the cards.

        "Maybe it wasn't monkeys," Jeazy said.  "But the brains could shoot their mind-essence into the fish just like sperm, then the fish laid eggs and -" he paused thoughtfully, staring at his wine glass. "And they hatched monkeys."  He paused again.  "But maybe it wasn't monkeys."

         "No, it was lizards, right Sally?"  Bub gave her a conspiratorial wink.  "Fish and brains make lizards.  Or serpents."

         Sally smiled and bet a dollar.  Bub called.

         "No, no, I know it wasn't serpents," Jeazy said, shaking his head like he was really trying to figure out what the copulation of fish and human brains would produce.  "Could be lizards, though."

         I called the dollar bet but after the flop there was a pair on the board and I had nothing.  Sally bet again, so I folded.  Bub stayed in.  They continued to bet on the next two cards and by the final call half of their chips were in the pot.  Bub looked smug as he turned over three-of-a-kind but Sally had a full house.  Bub's face fell and it took him a moment to put the smile back on.

         "That's the way it goes sometimes," he muttered.  Then a little louder: "Good hand."

         We kept playing, passing the money around mostly, with no one really gaining an advantage.  Jeazy was folding every hand, though, and drinking wine like he thought Prohibition might start up again any minute, so after a while he had considerably fewer chips than the rest of us.  He always played like that, like he wasn't really trying to win, and when he went all in I just happened to have pocket Jacks so I called him.  He turned over an Ace-King.

         The flop was Ace-King-10, so Jeazy had two pair, but I was holding my breath.  I got the lucky Queen on the river and beat him with a straight.

         Jeazy held a finger gun up to his head and cocked his thumb.  He made a noise that didn't sound like a gun at all - pashoow.  "Out, just like that," he said.  I raked in his chips and he got up to get more wine.

         "Get me some more whiskey while you're up there," I said and handed him my empty glass.

         He poured it and handed it back to me, across Azrael, stumbling.  Azrael scooted his chair out from the table, fast.

         "Christ!" he shouted, "You're spilling that shit all over me."  He began wiping his thigh vigorously. 

         "Oh calm down," Jeazy said, "Don't you know God doesn't like whiners?"  He held up his wine glass and giggled, then took a sip.  I thought I saw Sally roll her eyes. 

         Bub was dealing and nobody said anything so Jeazy took that as a cue to start in again.  "No, seriously," he said, "God hates whiners.  Whiners are whiners and when they get to heaven its paradise, but they still whine.  They're like ‘Where's all the sex and drugs, I thought this was paradise.'  Whine whine."

         Sally looked up.  "So you're saying there's no sex or drugs in heaven?" she asked.  "What if that is somebody's paradise?"

         Jeazy shook his head.  "No no," he said, "paradise isn't subjective.  It isn't an opinion.  Heaven is paradise and that's what defines the word.  Besides, sex and drugs send you straight to hell, so it wouldn't work very well in heaven.  People would show up expecting eternal life in God's kingdom, be there for ten minutes, bang a hooker, and suddenly they're in hell."

         "Well then maybe there are people who wouldn't even like heaven, who wouldn't have any reason to go there," I said.

         "Yeah," Azrael joined in, forgetting about his pants, "maybe hell's not so bad.  What sort of stuff do you get to do down there?"

         "Drink, smoke and bang hookers," Bub said, smiling.

         "Maybe so," Jeazy said, "I don't know.  But while you're drinking and smoking and sexing it up, you're also getting tortured by demons, poking you with blazing hot cattle prods and shit like that.  Probably takes the fun out of the sex and drugs."

         We all agreed silently and kept playing cards.  Bub took Azrael out with three-of-a-kind 7's when he had a pair of Aces.  It was a stupid hand on Azrael's part, but it's hard to fold a pair of Aces.  That gave Bub the most chips at the table, but after ten hands or so we'd pretty much evened the playing field.  I was surprised at how well Sally was doing.

         With only three people left I figured I'd just sit back and let the two of them duke it out unless I got some really good cards.  We'd only played a couple more hands when Sally actually brought up Jeazy's favorite topic.  I heard Bub groan.

         "If you know so much about God," she said, "tell me what really happens when you die.  You know, people say that you get to ask God one question, or you have to ride up a giant, never-ending escalator.  Stuff like that."

         Jeazy was quick to jump all over that one.  "First of all, you do not get to ask God a question," he said.  "Do you know how many people die everyday?  If God answered one question from each of them, he'd never have time for anything else.  If you've got a question you have to write a letter and you'll be lucky if you even get a form letter back, signed by some random angel, saying ‘Thanks for your inquiry but God is mighty busy this time of year.'"

         Sally smiled.  "I think God should answer everybody's questions," she said.  "All of them.  What else does he have to do?  Cause floods and earthquakes and things?  He can do that on his day off.  Besides, he has all the time in the world."  She giggled at her own joke but I'd heard it too many times to even smile.  She started dealing the hand.

         "God has all kinds of things to do," Jeazy said.  "Floods and earthquakes, definitely.  But he also has to do shit like picking Lotto numbers and causing car accidents."  He held up one finger.  "Or preventing car accidents.  You know how many car accidents there are a day?  That takes a lot of work."

         Bub bet five dollars before the flop and Sally called, so I folded right away.  The flop came out 6-8 of hearts and 6 of diamonds.  Bub bet another five dollars.

         Jeazy continued: "The point is that peoples' dumbass questions don't really matter.  There's no reason for people to know the meaning of life or the secret to happiness.  Especially after they're dead.  It's just not important."

         Sally was staring at Bub who was looking down at the table.  "So you mean to say that car accidents are important?" she asked.  "I'd rather have less car accidents and more answered questions."  She called Bub's five dollars.

         "Yeah car accidents are important," Jeazy said.  He sounded incredulous, like Sally was a complete moron for thinking otherwise.  "Car accidents account for a pretty good percentage of population control.  True, natural disasters are good for it, too, but that wipes out a bunch of people all in the same place.  That's no good.  God has to carefully decide how many people to pull from any one geographic location in order to keep balance in the world.  And he uses car accidents, cancer, mine explosions, shit like that.  You know what I mean?"

         The turn card was the Queen of spades.  Bub checked.  Sally stared at him for a moment and then checked, too.  The river was the 3 of hearts.

         "So you know what pisses me off," Jeazy continued "is people who get cancer or get in a car accident and then they sit around whining about ‘Why me, I was such a good person!'  It doesn't matter if you're a good person or not, you just happened to be there when God realized he had to pluck some people from your area.  Don't take it personal."

         Bub went all in.

        "So God doesn't have any sort of selection criteria?" I asked.  "He just picks people at random?"

        "Yep."  Jeazy nodded and sipped more wine.

         Sally called Bub's all in and he turned over the King and Ace of hearts.  He obviously thought the flush had won it for him and he was actually reaching for the chips in the center of the table when Sally showed her pocket 6's.  He paused, one hand still reaching for the chips, the other finding it's way to his forehead in a classic, unintentional ‘I'm an idiot' pose.  Then he brought his fist down on the table, not too hard, but hard enough that I could tell he was genuinely upset.  "Four of a fuckin'..." he trailed off.  He put his smile back on after a second, but it looked even faker than usual.  "You played that very well, darling," he said, and immediately got up and poured himself another glass of Scotch. 

         Sally looked back at Jeazy.  "So by that rationale," she said, "you could avoid death after you were selected, right?  If God's just picking people at random, if you can somehow weasel your way out of harm's way then God won't care.  He'll just take the next nearest person, right?"

         "I think you saw that in a movie somewhere," Jeazy said, "And it's absolutely not true.  Once you've been selected, you're dead.  There's no weaseling out of it.  You can't cheat death."

         "She's right," I said, "If it's just random anyway then why would God give a shit?"

         "It's not a question of giving a shit," Jeazy said, "It's just not an option.  It's not possible."

         I dealt the cards and folded right away.  Sally had twice as many chips as I did so I couldn't play unless I had something semi-good.

         "I think it's possible," I said.  "People beat cancer all the time.  And people live through car accidents."

         "People only beat cancer when God realizes that he's already taken enough people from that area," Jeazy said.  "In fact, the best way to beat cancer is to just move."  He smiled thoughtfully and sipped his wine.  "And the people who live through car accidents?  Those people aren't selected by God.  They're just bad drivers.  They crash totally of their own accord."  He grinned, obviously pleased with himself for that insightful revelation.

         Bub swallowed the last half of his glass of Scotch in one sip.  "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about," he said to Jeazy.  "You think you know all this shit about God, but I know more than you."  His cheeks were bright red, more so than normal, and it was obvious that he was a little drunk.  "We've been sittin' here moanin' and bitchin' about all this God shit all night long and I'm fuckin' sick of it.  Grow the fuck up, would ya?  You're acting like you're..."  He paused.  "Thirty three?"  He asked it like it was a genuine question but after he looked at all of us for a couple of seconds he broke up laughing, and even though it wasn't a good joke, I couldn't help but laugh, too.  I was a little relieved that he'd been able to crack a joke instead of hauling off and hitting Jeazy in the jaw or something.

         Jeazy didn't laugh, but at least he smiled a little.  Sally just stared at Bub, obviously not sure what to think. 

         When he'd finally managed to calm down he looked Jeazy dead in the eye and said: "Seriously, give it a rest, huh?"

         "Oh, my apologies," Jeazy mocked, "What do you suggest we talk about instead?"

         "I couldn't care less," Bub grumbled, losing his jovial spirit quickly.  "The stock market, the flight pattern of the Monarch butterfly, the price of tea in fuckin' China, I don't give a shit.  Just not God."

         "How ‘bout we play some cards?" I suggested.

         Sally took my suggestion and began dealing.  I could see she was a little nervous, shaken by Bub's mood swing.  It was always a shock to them how Bub could go from ultra-sweet to pissed off in the blink of an eye.  Although, if she'd been paying any attention, Bub hadn't been exactly sweet to Jeazy the whole night.  Her hands trembled a little as she dealt me my cards.

         "Yeah," Bub said, "let's just watch the game.  If anybody's got any burnin' conversation topics -" he pointed his finger at Jeazy "besides God - feel free to bring ‘em up."  Jeazy just glared at him.

         Azrael hadn't said anything in a while and I knew he was just upset that Sally would be coming with me tonight instead of him, and even though I wasn't all that happy about the extra work, the bonus would be nice.  I knew it was a sure thing once I peeked at my cards: pocket Aces.

         I was debating with myself how to play the hand to get the maximum money out of Sally, so I was pleased when she raised two dollars before the flop.  I called quietly, hoping to milk it for all it was worth.

         She dealt the flop slowly and when I saw the first Ace I was even more pleased, but when the second Ace came out I just about shit my pants.  Four of a kind Aces?  You couldn't get much better than that.  The only problem was getting Sally to stay in the hand.  I could only hope she had a King, which was the third flop card.  It was my bet first, so I checked.  Sally bet two dollars.

         With a bet like that I figured she had to have a King and there was no way she'd believe I had an Ace, especially after I checked.  I thought about raising but then thought better of it and just called. 

         She dealt the turn card and it was a 6.  Perfect.

         Jeazy came around to my side of the table, obviously trying to take a look at my cards, but I left them flat on the table.  "That's alright," he said, "I know what you have.  Don't worry Grim, you got this one in the bag."

         I wanted to slap him for calling me Grim but I knew he was just doing it to piss me off and I kept my cool in the hopes that Sally wouldn't catch on to my hand.  I looked at her with my best stone cold poker face and she gave me a quarter smile with the left side of her mouth, but when she glanced at Jeazy it became a full-on grin.  I was sure that Jeazy probably did know what I had, but I doubted if Sally did, and I was really hoping that he hadn't given it away.  Since it was my bet first, I bet two dollars on the 6.

         Sally raised it up to four.

        I was delighted.  I figured this was my chance, right here.  I acted like I was thinking about it for a minute, sort of chewing on the inside of my cheek, trying to wrinkle up my forehead as though I was deep in thought, and then I went all in.

        To my surprise, Sally called without a moment's hesitation.

        Bub made a sort of choking sound.  "Good call, darling," he said, but he'd lost the charm.  The ‘darling' made him sound more like a sexual predator than a comforting old man.  Sally just gave him a sly smile.

        Azrael finally piped up: "Let's see ‘em, ladies and gentlemen," he called out in a ringmaster voice.  "Lay ‘em down!"

        I hesitated for a moment, wondering why Sally had called so quickly.  There was no way she could beat four of a kind Aces.  What did she have that made her so confident?  I glanced at Jeazy and he just shrugged.

        "What are you waiting for?" Azrael asked.  "I wanna see old Grimster bag this chick right now!"

        "Hell yeah," Bub said.

        "Oh my God!"  Jeazy said, holding his hands up in the air.  "God forbid Grim Jim doesn't win," and he cackled.

        Sally just smiled.

        Suddenly I didn't care at all.  The teasing from my so-called friends, the unfairness of the game, the extra work during my off hours, it all just added up to a big fat ‘who gives a shit?'  If I lost this hand, so what?  What did I lose, twenty bucks?  Like money really made any difference to me in the first place.  And it's not like these assholes could really fault me for losing Sally's soul since they'd all gone out of the game before me.  Still, there was the pride.  Still, there was the knowledge that I'd have to play poker with these same three dillweeds for years and years to come and if I lost this hand I'd never hear the end of it.  Literally, never.

        But even as I sat there suddenly not caring about winning, I didn't think I could lose.  I mean, I had four of a kind Aces.  I turned my cards over, watching Sally's face.

        She didn't even flinch.  She looked at my pocket Aces and grinned, slowly turning over her cards at the same time.  Jack-Queen.  Spades.

        I looked at the cards on the table.  I hadn't even bothered to note the suits, but when I did, sure enough, the King was a spade.  So was one of the Aces. 

        The grin on Sally's face made me a little nervous, but I was still ahead in the hand.  There was only one card in the deck that could win it for her and the odds of that card coming out were really slim.  But that grin...

        I knew I'd lost before I even saw the card.  Something about her eyes as she was flipping the card over told me she'd gotten the one she needed.  They sparkled a little too much.  There was no nervous anticipation in them at all.  It was just a confident sparkle.  When the grin turned into a full-on smile I looked down at the river card she'd just turned over: 10 of Spades.  She'd made the royal flush, the best possible hand in poker.  And she'd done it when I just happened to have four Aces.

        Jeazy was livid the second he saw the card.  "You cheated!" he shouted, pointing at Sally and practically jumping up and down.  "You cheated!  I know you cheated!"

        Sally just kept on smiling, shaking her head slightly.  Bub was laughing, more of a real laugh than I'd ever heard from him before, a deep guttural sound coming from somewhere in his belly.  Azrael hooked his thumbs in the belt loops of his pants and rocked back on his heels, smiling.

        Jeazy kept going.  "You fucking cheated!"  He turned to me.  "You can't let her get away with that.  I know she cheated."

        "Ah, forget that," Azrael said, "Grimster just got beat by a girl, that's all there is to it."  He laughed.  "Just accept it, buddy.  You can't cut it anymore."

        "Doesn't matter anyway," Bub said, "you can still take her, Grim.  Just take her.  C'mon, do your thing, nobody will know."

        Sally lost her smile when she heard that.  She snatched up the five twenty-dollar bills quickly and headed for the door.

        "Great plan," I said to Bub.  "And then I'll be going home with you tonight, no matter which way she goes.  I've been around long enough to not fall for that one."

        "You won't have to go with him," Jeazy shouted, "because she cheated, you know?  You were supposed to win, you were, so no one's gonna care if you take her anyway.  She can't get away with that!"  He was pissed off, but I didn't see him doing anything about it.

        Sally was halfway out the door, the money clutched tightly in her fist, when she turned around and looked at all of us.  Then she looked Jeazy in the eye.  "You said it yourself: ‘You can't cheat death'."  She closed the door behind her.

        "No, seriously Grim, I know she cheated," Jeazy said.  "She's a fucking dirty cheater."  Then he turned to Azrael.  "Why'd you bring that bitch, huh?  This is your fault for bringing her."

        "Don't look at me," Azrael said, "Grim's the one that went all in against a royal flush."  He began laughing again. 

        The phone rang.

        "Fuck!"  Jeazy looked at the floor for a second.  "That's my fucking dad, and he's gonna be pissed."

        I didn't care anymore.  Maybe Sally had cheated.  So what?  If she did, she was a better player than the rest of us.  Jeazy answered the phone.

        "Well Grim, have fun," Bub said, smiling.  It was a wicked smile.  "I'll see ya next week."  He left, just like that.

        I grabbed my cloak and started heading for the door, too.  "What, no goodbye?" Azrael said. 

        "See ya later, Ass-rael," I said half-heartedly.  I could hear Jeazy on the phone, muttering something about cheating.  As I stepped out the door I was thinking about what Jeazy had said, that you can't cheat death.  Maybe he was wrong.  Or maybe he was right and it just wasn't Sally's time to go.  Either way, I would have to deal with Jeazy's dad in the morning and I wasn't looking forward to it.

        I walked home slowly, mulling the night over in my head, and that one phrase just kept coming back: you can't cheat death.

        You can't cheat death.