Masters And Lovers 1-4 novel Chapter 63

*****

The group sit around the table, cards flicking down to each of the players in turn. Al slips a look at his cards. “What are we starting at?”

“Minimum five,” says the dealer.

Al sniffs and smiles. “We can make it more interesting than that.” He slides his chips forward. “Twenty.”

*****

“Another one?” says Al.

“Didn’t you say you needed to be getting back?”

“Yeah, sure, but not yet. The night is yet young.”

“You’re almost out anyway.” His companion nods down to where a substantial stack of chips has dwindled to nothing.

“I know,” Al shouts over his shoulder. “Hey, can I have another two hundred here please.”

*****

Richard

“What do you have there, Charlotte?” She’s reading through a stack of letters. Some have that pre-printed look. Others are handwritten. Her lip curls as she speaks….

Contempt?

“Chaser letters,” she says, “from casinos and game houses….” She pushes a couple towards me. “They’re asking for payment, some politely, some not so politely.” She snorts. “The amount of money he just…. threw away….”

James’ eyes rise to mine. Of course, he knows better than any the lengths Charlotte went to raise the money she needed.

And she hates waste of any kind….

To her, a real sin….

*****

Forty-Two Years ago

“Please, Mr Kimberley, sit down.” Abe Goldman offers him a seat, his expression neutral. “I asked you to call by today to discuss your position with the bank.”

Al fiddles with his pen. “Yes, I know I’m a little late with the payments, but I’ll have caught up by the end of next month. Everything’s under control.”

“You’re sure of that? The fact is that you are not ‘just a little late’. You have missed two monthly payments and the next would be due at the end of the week. Are you saying that you will have made good the deficit by the end of next week?”

“Um, no, but by the end of next month, definitely.”

Goldman’s expression remains bland. “Can you explain to me how you come to be late with the payments? When the bank forwarded the funds to you, you were quite positive that you could handle the repayments.”

Al shifts in his seat. “Oh, some unexpected expenses. You know how it is. We had some storm damage to the roof, and then Shelley, my daughter, she needs school uniform and….”

“School uniforms are not an unexpected expense Mr Kimberley. And it is my experience that children become more expensive as they grow older, not less.”

“I’ll have it settled by the end of next month. Guaranteed.”