He finished the beer and got another from the refrigerator, then resumed his post in the chair beside the sofa. This was his chair, and he alone ever sat in it. That was another of the little traditions he and Janet had. It was the master's throne. He remembered, the Christmas she'd given it to him. She'd somehow managed to scrimp the money together for it out of her clothing money.
"Shit," he murmured in disgust. He was upset with himself. As good as Janet and Penny were to him, then he went and squandered the money gambling.
He'd keep playing just long enough to win it back, and maybe a little more. Then he'd quit it for good and be the husband and father they deserved.
Of course he would. Just like the other times.
He drained the beer and went up to bed, pausing in the bathroom just long enough to empty his bladder. He didn't even notice the once-exciting scent of his wife's pussy on his pillow, or its dampness.
His mind was preoccupied with his wagers.
He even dreamed about them, when sleep finally came.
CHAPTER TWO
Tom awoke to the smell of percolating coffee, the odor spiraling up the stairs, down the bedroom hall to his nose, there to tickle and tease him awake.
He resented the awakening. He had been in a fine dream – Vegas, the big table, riding a streak. The other gambling had stopped and all the customers had come over to watch him. The dealers and croupiers stood at the other tables, lonely sentinels, without even the cigarette girls for company. They, too, had come to his table, for that was where their customers were.
After the fourth straight point – nine – he'd begun letting it all ride. He could feel the power in his fingers, knew that he couldn't miss.
Again and again, he rode, his pile growing geometrically. At some point, he had decided – not hoped, but decided – to break the house, to empty the casino's coffers in memory of all the two-bit games from which he'd walked empty handed. He was going to strike back for all the little guys who'd come to Vegas with dreams and left after forty continuous hours without a cent.