He wiped his hands on a napkin before he removed his cell from his pocket. I added my number and handed it back to him.
“I’ve never had friends before now,” I said.
“For real? How is that possible?”
“I told you, I am a professional poker player—we like to move around.”
His expression said that he doubted me.
“Are you also an exotic dancer named Sweet Clara in between card games?” he asked.
“I’m serious!” I snapped. “I was eight when my mother died. Frank and I went on the road. He taught me to play, and I am very good at it. I was never in one spot long enough to make friends.”
“What about school?” he asked.
“I finished third grade before my mama passed away. The rest I did with homeschooling until I was a sophomore. Then Frank remarried and gave up gambling, but I didn’t. I played at the high school where I went for one semester and won enough money during lunch to strike out on my own. That was fourteen years ago.”
His eyes said that he was doing math in his head. “How did you get into games at sixteen? Don’t they require an ID? Who is Frank?”
“How old were you when you got your fake ID?” I shot back, not wanting to get into a discussion about ol’ Frank.
“Sixteen, but—”
I held up a palm to shush him. “Frank bought mine when I was fourteen—at that point, I could pass for twenty-one with the right clothes and makeup. I took home so much money the first night I sat in on a game that I played every time he did from then on. And so we had twice as much money to blow through until the next game. By the time he remarried, I knew how to read people, how to bluff, and that I had a good memory for cards. I also knew how to live off the grid and all that. Clara Williams is well respected in poker circles.”
“You are serious, aren’t you? You aren’t teasing me.”
“Do you still want to be my friend?” I asked.
“Of course. What about family? Like cousins or siblings?”
“I come from a long line of only children on my mother’s side of the family tree. Frank and his wife, Paula, have two boys, but I have never met them.”
“Why?”
I shrugged and took a big bite of my muffin. I had already shared more with him than I had with any other person. Not even Scarlett and Rosalie knew my gambling name. When I swallowed and sipped my tea, I figuredIn for a lamb, might as well go for the sheep, as the old saying goes.
“I didn’t leave on good terms. Paula found my stash of poker winnings in my room and pitched a fit. She said that to live in herhouse and work in her café, I had to promise to never play again—not at school, where I could get suspended if the principal found out, and certainly not in the backroom games in the seedy part of town that I had been sneaking out at night to go to. I chose not to live in her house, packed up my things into the used car I had bought with my money, and left.”
“Didn’t Frank put up a fight to keep you from leaving? Y’all had been traveling together for a long time, right?”
“We had, and he did not. I believe he was relieved. Paula was pregnant by then, and they would have a family that I wouldn’t fit into. My leaving made life easier for everyone.” I washed the lump in my throat down with a sip of tea. Sure, it hadn’t been difficult to drive away, but the idea that he hadn’t even stood up for me still stung.
“That you have been taking care of yourself for so long is incredible,” he whispered.
I didn’t want to talk about my past anymore, so I forced a smile. “Thank you. Now, tell me about your friends.”
He smiled. “You intrigue me, Carla. I bet you have lots more stories to tell.”
“Your friends?” I asked again.
“I had, and still have, a few buddies from high school, but most of them are married with kids. One even has a son who is a senior in high school. Seems surreal to me that that is even possible, but we all choose our own path. I guess you could call my Special Forces team my long-term friends and family.”
I remembered what Ada Lou had said about having a family. “Do you keep in touch with them?”
“Yes, I do. Since their base is in the States, we have planned get-togethers at least twice a year.”
The waitress brought our food and refilled our drinks. “Can I get you anything else?”
