“It’ll rot your teeth. And I don’t have money to take you to the dentist or get braces, so you better take care of your teeth.”
I ignored his dental threat. “Is the fight starting soon?” I asked. “I’m so hungry.”
“I thought you had eaten some popcorn.”
“I did, but I’m still hungry.”
“Okay, wait here,” he said.
I didn’t bother saying anything and continued my drawing of Hollis Ward. While I colored in ‘The Dragon’s’ pants and shoes with the pencil, Dad came back and set a hot dog down on the table.
“Whoa!” I dropped the pencil and picked up the paper tray that the hot dog sat in. I immediately took a bite.
I looked up and saw Dad had already eaten half of a hot dog. I looked around the sportsbook for the hot dog cart. There was a hot dog cart in the sportsbook, and it seemed like on certain game days or fight nights the hot dog cart was open and had someone from the sportsbook working it. The sportsbook usually had free things for people who bet on the games or fights. Tonight, the sportsbook had free hot dogs for the gamblers.
“Thank you,” I mumbled as I ate the hot dog quickly.
“If I win, maybe we’ll save the buffet dinner for tomorrow night,” he said.
I nodded. Maybe tomorrow night we’d eat there; though, something always came up as to why we couldn’t eat there. At least I had something to eat. Dad looked around and then waved over one of the women who wore the tiny dresses and carried the trays around the casino.
“Hello, what can I get you?” the lady asked my dad. We’d seen her before. She was here just about every night we were. She smiled at me when she looked at me.
“Hi, can I have a water and a beer?”
“I’ll be right back,” she said.
Drinks were also free if you were in the sportsbook. I’d seen some people give the women money, but Dad said it was a tip and voluntary. The woman brought the water and beer over and set them on the table next to Dad.
“Let me know if you need anything else.” She stood there for a moment, and Dad felt the front and back pockets of his pants.
“As soon as Hollis Ward wins, I’ll cash in and then find you with a tip,” he said.
The woman smiled and then walked away. I guzzled my water while Dad drank his beer. I glued my eyes to the huge TVs once the fight started. There he was, Hollis ‘The Dragon’ Ward. I smiled as Hollis Ward walked down the aisle wearing his green shorts.Man, he’s so cool. I want to be just like him.
A few minutes into the fight, Dad found another server and asked for another beer. I wished he wouldn’t drink that stuff because it made him talk funny when he’d had a lot of it.
It seemed like everyone in the sportsbook wanted ‘The Dragon’ to win because everyone cheered whenever Hollis made a good hit or kick.
“Get him, Hollis!” I said. If he wins, then Dad wins. Then we can go to the buffet soon.
Hollis won, and everyone in the sportsbook cheered.
“Dad! He won! Does that mean we can go to the buffet tomorrow?”
“Maybe. I mean, we’ll see how hungry we are tomorrow night. Stay here, and I’ll go collect the winnings.”
It was a long line that Dad was standing in, but the line seemed to move quicker than I thought it would. Dad left the counter after he put all the money in his wallet and then came over with a huge smile on his face.
“Dad, we won! We can go to the buffet tomorrow!” I said.
I leaned on the table and swung my feet from side to side without letting them touch the ground. Dad was suddenly no longer smiling, though. When he stopped and stood by me, I noticed he was looking at another man. The man was smiling as he came over and his smile got bigger when he saw me. The other man was huge. He was really tall, muscular, and wore a black baseball cap that had a cartoon character doing martial arts on the front of it.
“Well, congratulations on your winnings, Joel,” he said.
He knew Dad’s name, so they must know each other.
“Hey, Marcos. I had no idea you’d be here tonight.”
