3 Sin City Hunter

by Maddie Cochere

  His eyes were shining, and I could feel the love for her emanating from him. I reached over and touched his arm and said, “Dell, that’s wonderful. I’m happy for you.”

  He pulled out his wallet and opened it to a picture of an attractive girl with coppery red hair. She had a sweet, girl-next-door look about her. “She’s very pretty,” I told him.

  “She’s more than that,” he said. “She works with special needs children, and she’s wonderful. I’m ready to settle down, and I hope she says yes.”

  “Dell, I barely know you, and I would say yes,” I told him with a big smile. “She’s lucky, too.”

  We both had a moment where we basked in our own happiness before I looked at my watch and said, “I have to go. My parents will be here soon, and I want to be at the hotel when they arrive.”

  “I should run, too,” said Dell while taking care of the bill. “I’ll try and catch up with the guys downtown and see if I can win some of my money back. Now don’t forget, Susan, we have a game tonight, tomorrow, and one more on Tuesday. If you want tickets for you and your parents, let me know.”

  “I will, Dell. I’ll ask my dad and see what he says. Thanks.” We gave each other a friendly hug, and walked to the lobby where we went our separate ways. I was glad I had run into him and thoroughly enjoyed the time chatting.

  I walked out the front entrance and around the corner to stand in front of the fountains. The current show was nearly over, but I was able to see some of it before it ended, and I was instantly enthralled. The water dancing to the music was mesmerizing. I could see why some people said they came to watch the fountains more than once each day when they were in Vegas.

  I looked around at some of the other people watching the show and was somewhat startled to see Dudley down near the end of the viewing area. He was standing in one of the areas recessed inward toward the pool of water, so he was easy to spot.

  I don’t know if he saw me, as he wasn’t looking my way, but I didn’t want to stick around to find out. I turned away from him and quickly started on my way back to the hotel. I had time to take the walk and wanted to enjoy more of the beautiful day.

  I crossed the street at the Paris Hotel. It was beautiful from the outside, but I didn’t want to be late meeting Mom and Dad, so I resisted the urge to run in and shop for fashions from France.

  As I was walking up to the front entrance of the MGM, my eye caught a parked ’67 Chevy Chevelle. It was a beautifully restored Super Sport like mine. My dad had restored the bolero red car and had enjoyed it for quite a while before giving it to me for my 27th birthday shortly before he and mom moved to Texas. This car was even sweeter. It had a metallic, black cherry paint job, a white convertible top, and I could see the interior was white. The trunk was open, and I simply had to ask the owner about the restoration.

  The trunk lid slammed down, and my mouth hung open. “Mom! Dad! Where did you get this car?” I asked with my eyes open wide in astonishment.

  “Well, hello to you, too,” laughed my mom.

  I gave them both hugs and kisses. Dad had a devilish grin on his face, and I asked, “Did you restore this? Is this yours? It’s sooo beautiful. Where did you come up with that paint color? Do you love riding in a convertible?”

  “Susan, slow down,” he said laughing. “Yes, I restored it. I would have shown it to you at Christmas, but it wasn’t done yet. When we knew we’d be coming to Vegas, we thought we’d show you the finished product when we got here.”

  “But I thought you had already made plans to fly in,” I said.

  “All part of the deception, dear,” my mother said. “Now help me and your dad get these suitcases inside. I swear he packed more clothes than I did.”

  Dad valet parked the car, and we carried the luggage in to the front desk. “Change your room reservation to a room on the 13th floor,” I told them.

  “Susan! That’s bad luck,” my mother scolded me.

  I laughed and said, “Trust me, it’s not. I’m on the 13th floor, and you’ll be close by that way.”

  Dad was able to get a room across the hall and three doors down from mine. I sat on one of the beds while they unpacked. We ended up hanging out in their room for nearly two hours talking about the restoration of the car, the holidays, how excited they were to meet Mick, and the wedding. Mom had a conniption when I pulled over $8,000 from my purse and threw it up in the air.

  “Susan Elizabeth Hunter!” she exclaimed. “Why are you carrying around that much cash? Why isn’t it in the hotel safe? Isn’t there a safe in your room?” She was completely horrified, but Dad was laughing.

  “It’s fine tucked away in the zippered compartment of my purse,” I told her. “I read in a magazine that room safes can be broken into, and less than $10,000 is considered walking around money in Vegas, so I’m sure I’m fine.” Mom was still dubious, but Dad’s humorous outlook on it probably helped to allay her fears my money would be lost or stolen. “Besides,” I told her, “what if we go shopping, and I find the perfect wedding dress, and my credit card can’t handle it? All of my cash in a hotel safe won’t help me then, will it?” I smiled at her as I gathered up all of the hundreds and put them back in my purse.

  “Let’s quit hanging around the room,” Dad said. “We have a couple of hours yet before dinner, so let’s go do some gambling!” He rubbed his hands together like a kid in a candy store.

  Mom and I laughed at him, and we all headed out of the room and downstairs to the casino. Dad’s game was poker, and he quickly made his way to the poker room. Mom and I decided to sit together at a couple of slot machines and chat while we played. As we made our way to a cluster of machines, I noticed Dudley out of the corner of my eye. He was leaning against the wall by the high limit slots room. I refused to make eye contact with him, and realized it didn’t bother me to see him now that I was with Mom and Dad. I felt safety and comfort in their presence.

  Two women moved away from two Betty Boop machines, and Mom grabbed my hand. “Come on,” she said hurriedly. “Betty Boop just opened up!” We rushed over and slipped into the vacated seats. “I was reading online before we came, and this is one of the most popular games in Vegas right now,” she told me excitedly. “Betty Boop’s Love Meter. We’ll get to see how hot we are, Susan.” We both cracked up laughing.

  The machines were tall with a lot of red color, bright lights, and fun sounds. The game revolved around Betty Boop and her lovable dog, Pudgy. It was a penny machine, paying one penny for each credit, and it looked like fun. To be eligible for the progressive slot win, you had to play a $3.00 maximum bet each spin. Mom and I each put $20 into the machine to start with 2000 credits each.

  Mom hit the love meter on her first spin. She had to put her hands flat on the machine so it could read her hotness. She was Romantic for 900 credits. We both giggled like little schoolgirls. It had been a long time since Mom and I were silly together, and this was going to be a lot of fun.

  A waitress came by to take our drink order, and Mom said, “White Russians for both of us. Don’t those sound good, Susan?”

  I nodded my head in agreement and hit my spin button again - nothing. It wasn’t but a few moments later, and Mom hit the love meter again. This time, the lights ran up and down the tower and stopped on the Beautiful Betty Jackpot! Mom won 100,003 credits for $1,000.03. She was off her seat and dancing around behind me. We were both laughing again.

  I kept working my spin button, but my $20 was dwindling fast. I landed on Betty’s purse and grabbed $33 and then caught five free spins for $22.50. It was just enough to keep me playing. Mom in the meantime was hitting all kinds of bonuses and caught the love meter again. Unbelievably, it landed on the same Beautiful Betty Jackpot for another $1000.78. Mom was out of her seat again, making whooping noises, and we were laughing like hyenas.

  My money was finally gone, and I slipped another $20 into the machine for a new round. Meanwhile, Mom was unlocking Betty’s heart for $270, opening Betty’s purse for $33, and bare
ly losing anything; her credits kept racking up.

  My new round of playing landed me on the love meter, and I hit Light Up Betty’s Life for $115.20. My total was unsteady with hits and misses. I landed on the love meter again. The lights went up and down the tower and stopped on the Beautiful Betty Jackpot for $1,000.34. Mom and I were out of control making a lot of noise and dancing around our chairs. When I next landed on the love meter, It was my turn to have my hotness evaluated. It landed on Smokin’ for $75.00. Mom and I simply couldn’t stop laughing, and my side was aching.

  Eventually, the machines cooled off, but we had wins and losses to hold onto our big wins easily. We were having so much fun, it seemed as if we had only been playing a short time, but we were at the two machines for over two hours and for three White Russians.

  Dad quit playing poker and found us at the machines. He was all smiles, excited, and said, “Guess who’s lucky today? Me! I won $600 playing poker. How do you like me now?”

  Mom and I burst out laughing. Mom’s credits were 283,542 equaling $2,835.42, and my dollar total was $1,290.30. Dad’s jaw dropped when he saw how much money we had on the machines. He leaned in front of Mom and said, “Let me give it a try,” and he pushed the button. You could have knocked us all over with a feather when the love meter came up and dad landed on the Beautiful Betty Jackpot for $1001.34. Mom was laughing so hard, she was crying now. Dad couldn’t believe it. He looked at me and said, “Let me try yours.” He reached over and pushed the button. He hit the love meter on my machine and ended up with 15 free games which the machine played for me. Total winnings from the free games - $60.60.

  I looked at both of them and said, “Let’s go eat. Aunt Charlotte would tell us we need to quit while the quittin’ is good.”

  Dad nodded his head and said, “I agree. Charlotte’s usually right, and I’m starving. Where do you two want to eat?”

  Mom and I closed out our machines and took our cash vouchers. It was almost like musical chairs there were so many people trying to take our vacated seats. I slipped my cash voucher into the zippered compartment of my purse. I was still under the unspoken $10,000 limit for walking around money, so I wasn’t worried about the cash yet.

  “Let’s try the Lebanese restaurant Tom and Bitsy recommended,” Mom said. “That sounds really good to me for a change. What do you think, Susan?”

  Tom and Bitsy were friends of my parents who lived in San Antonio. “Ok by me,” I told them. “I love stuffed grape leaves. Do you know how to get there?”

  We were walking by the front desk, and Dad said, “I’ll find out.” He walked up to the clerk, and said, “Hi, I’m Earl Hunter in room 1310. I hear there’s a Lebanese restaurant not too far from here. The Desert Oasis. Would you be able to tell me how to get there, or find the address for me?”

  The clerk brightened and said, “It’s one of my favorite restaurants, and it’s right out by the airport. She grabbed a piece of paper and drew a quick map. It appeared we would only need to travel on two roads. Dad thanked the clerk, retrieved the car from the valet, and we were off.

  Mom let me ride in the front seat with dad, so I could bask in the glory of the restored Chevelle. “Dad, I think this is the nicest car you’ve done to date,” I told him. “Where did you do this? Do you have a garage available to you?”

  “Your mother hooked up with a new bridge club,” he said. “One day, while the ladies were playing, the husband of one of the women invited me to lunch. We got to talking about cars, and it turns out Bub has a garage where he works on old cars. When he found out I was into restoration, we started working on a couple of projects together. I couldn’t believe my good luck when I found the Chevelle on Craigslist. It was pretty rough, so I got it for a song. She turned out good, didn’t she?” he asked.

  “She sure did,” I said softly. I was in awe at the work my dad could do.

  We pulled up in front of the restaurant, and Dad used the valet service for parking. The restaurant was warm and inviting. The walls were brick with lighting to highlight their brown and red tones. The wood flooring was a medium brown color with a lighter grain running throughout the wood. The booths were upholstered with brown and green. The wood tables almost perfectly matched the floor. We were seated by a crackling fireplace, but it wasn’t too hot. The atmosphere was perfect for winter dining.

  After the White Russians at the hotel, I decided to drink iced tea with dinner. For appetizers, we ordered stuffed grape leaves, hummus, and baba g’noush to eat with warm pita bread. We each had a Greek salad, and we ordered lamb and beef shish-kabobs over rice pilaf. Dinner was fantastic, and I loved having this time with my parents.

  I was soon stuffed, but Mom insisted we share dessert – baklava and cheesecake – and both were sinfully delicious. I looked up from my plate and saw Mom was staring at something over my right shoulder. She frowned, and her mouth dropped open as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. I whipped around quickly to see, and I mirrored her expression. Dad started laughing, and I let out a loud squeal.

  Chapter Four

  “Where did you come from?” I asked with delight as I stood up and threw my arms around Darby.

  He was adorable, as usual, and all smiles as he said, “You left Friday morning, and by Friday night, I realized I didn’t relish the thought of a week without companionship. My work is caught up right now, so I decided to fly out and see your mom and dad and make sure you stay out of trouble.” He kissed me on my nose.

  My mom had stood up, and Darby gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek and said, “You look beautiful, Lilah. How are you doing?”

  “I’m doing great,” she said excitedly. “It’s so good to see you, Darby. This is such a nice surprise.”

  Darby reached across the table to shake Dad’s hand. “Earl. Good to see ya,” he said.

  “Nice to see you, too, Darby,” Dad said with a warm smile. “Have a seat and help us finish off some of this dessert.”

  I sat back down and scooted over to make room for Darby in the booth. “How in the world did you ever find us here?” I asked him.

  “The desk clerk at the MGM,” he said. “I knew that’s where you were staying, so when I asked at the front desk for you or Earl Hunter, the clerk said she knew where you were and gave me directions. I rushed right over in hopes of catching you before you got away.”

  “Fantastic!” I said happily. I leaned into his arm and said, “I’m glad you’re here. You can go shopping for wedding dresses with me and mom, and I want you to take dad over to the Gold and Silver Pawn shop. He’s got an old comic book he wants to try to sell.” I smiled at my dad. He knew I didn’t want to go with him and be embarrassed when they laughed at him for bringing in an old worthless comic book. What if they put his visit on television? I didn’t want any part of it.

  Mom chimed in and said with a frown, “Darby doesn’t want to go shopping for wedding dresses. Why would you think he’d want to do that?”

  “Oh, I definitely want to help pick out her dress,” he said. “I’ll be looking for something with big poofy sleeves, and a really high collar, and it should be fully covered with heavy lace.”

  Dad was laughing, but mom was confused. I punched Darby on the arm. I knew he was teasing. “Stop it,” I said laughing. “I know you and I will agree on the dress, and I want you there for confirmation.”

  “Oh!” he said as though remembering something. “Nate’s flying out in a couple of days.” Nate was Darby’s significant other. He had met him in St. Petersburg, Florida last year, and they had been back and forth to see each other several times.

  “That’s perfect!” I told him. I looked at my parents and said, “You’ll really like Nate. He’s nice, he’s funny, and he gets along with everybody. If he’s here in time, he can help us look for the dress, too!” I laughed at the thought of me and mom with two gay men shopping for wedding dresses.

  Mom still looked confused. Dad noticed the look on her face and said, “Lilah, Darby and Nate are a
couple. They’re gay.”

  “What?!” she practically shrieked it. It took a moment, but the information finally seemed to connect in her brain. She burst into laughter and said, “Oh, my. That’s so funny.” She was having a hard time talking through the laughter. “Darby, I’m sorry to be laughing, but I’ve been pestering Susan for the longest time to make moves on you, so you would start dating her. You two are like an old married couple anyway, and I could never understand why you never hooked up.”

  I looked at Dad and asked, “How did you know Darby was gay? I never told you.”

  Dad smiled and said, “I knew the first time you brought him to the house.”

  “You did not!” I snapped at him with a laugh. I had always been so frustrated that I had known Darby for over a year before I found out he was gay. Everyone knew it or suspected it but me. Mom and I obviously didn’t have the gaydar gene at all.

  Mom was still giggling. I glanced at Darby. He was obviously amused at all the hoopla over his sexual orientation. I asked him, “Have you checked in already? Where’s your room?”

  “I’m not checked in yet,” he said. “I only checked my bags with the front desk. I wanted to get a cab over here to find you guys as soon as I could.”

  “Oh, good!” I told him with a little squeal. “I have two queen beds. Stay with me until Nate comes and then you two can get a room. Mick won’t be here until Friday night. And,” I said with a devilish grin, “we’re all on the 13th floor.”

  “No way,” he said laughing while shaking his head. “Don’t you know that’s bad luck?”