The Book Glasses Page 7

  Billy insisted on shouting her a traditional fish and chips lunch, which they ate sitting at the beach on the sand barricade wall as the locals did. This was followed by a lengthy walk to Shelly Beach via the breathtaking, attention-grabbing, and romantic Marine Parade walkway. At one stage, nearly halfway down the walkway, she got goosebumps when she felt his hand slightly touch hers as they walked.

  The late afternoon sun was still warm when a refreshing sea breeze started to blow. Billy was still playing tour guide. The day had been something out of a fairy tale for Sam. She would never have believed something like this could ever happen to her.

  Where did he come from? she wondered as they walked along talking about silly things like the weather, ferry times and seasonal crowds on the beach. How did this happen to me?

  The minutes had turned into hours when Sam was shocked to notice the sun was casting shadows of the beachfront buildings over Manly Beach. “I need to go now,” she said, wishing the magical day could continue.

  “Do you need to be anywhere?” Billy asked. “If you don’t, how about we go to the Star Casino for dinner?”

  “Where?”

  “Wow, you haven’t been there, awesome. We’ve got to go now.”

  “Is it far?”

  “It’s on your side, so we need to catch a ferry back but instead of getting off at Circular Quay, we get off at the wharf at Darling Harbour.”

  “I know where that is,” said Sam. “Okay.”

  “One small problem—I can’t take you to dinner looking like this.” He looked down at his T-shirt and jeans. “Can you come with me to my place so I can get changed? It’s only a few streets from here. Is that okay?”

  “Yeah, sure.” Sam nodded.

  “I live in a one-bedroom apartment. You probably live in a house?” Billy’s grin left him.

  “No.”

  “It’s a one-bedroom apartment with a separate kitchen, bathroom and lounge but I love its beachside view. It is small, but new and that’s all I can afford.” He looked a little embarrassed.

  “Don’t worry, my apartment is not much different. I have a small bedroom with a tiny bathroom that hasn’t been renovated since who knows when.”

  “That’s great. I mean, it’s not great but at least you understand how expensive apartments are. It’s small but on a positive note, it’s new and I like the views. I’m renting, but one day I would like to buy it when I get the money for the deposit. The ex-girlfriend was not impressed at all when I showed her where I lived. I’m glad you’re not like that, Sam.”

  He let them into his apartment, quickly changed and then proudly showed off his Australian coin collection. Sam was impressed with the great lengths he had gone to acquire the coins, lining up for hours or sometimes even days at Australia Post to purchase collector’s editions of new coin releases.

  Apart from being much newer, Billy’s building and apartment were almost identical to her own and she was impressed with how clean and tidy he kept it.

  On the return ferry ride, Sam let Billy do most of the talking because she was awestruck at the thought that she was going out to dinner with this gorgeous man. She had always imagined her ideal man as having dark hair and brown eyes, but she now thought that blonde hair and hazel eyes were pretty close to perfect. She discovered he was twenty-five years old and an only child, raised by his mother after his father left them both just after he was born.

  Before she knew it, they were disembarking at Darling Harbour. After a brisk walk to Star Casino, they entered the foyer and were immersed in a magnificent atmosphere full of lights, glamour, and movement. Sam had been unaware the place existed so close to both the refuge and her apartment.

  As they walked among the crowd, Billy took the opportunity to hold her hand, explaining that he didn’t want to lose her. They made their way through the thick crowd, wearing matching grins.

  The wing section of the casino was devoted to restaurants and was a sight to behold. Sam was amazed at the variety of offerings from high-end exclusive restaurants right through to eateries displaying ten-dollar steak and chips specials. A little overwhelmed with the selection, she was relieved when Billy shouted over the noise. “Do you like Chinese food?”

  “Yes, I love fried rice,” she yelled back.

  “Great. Chinese it is.” Billy led the way, still holding her hand.

  They both ordered fried rice and shared a main meal of sweet and sour pork and Sam ordered a glass of Chardonnay while Billy requested a beer.

  After dinner, they agreed to try their luck in the casino. Sam didn’t care where they went as long as Billy kept on holding her hand.

  Passing through an even denser crowd, Sam ensured her bag was securely strapped to her chest and clutched Billy’s arm with both hands, loving every minute of the extra contact.

  They watched the roulette wheel, and she was fascinated by the ball bouncing around and landing mostly on black numbers.

  “What do you think, Samantha?” Billy asked.

  “Wow, glitzy, fun, bright and fantastic,” she said.

  She couldn’t believe the noise in the casino. It was deafening, especially from the slot machines. Two main sounds echoed repeatedly and continuously. First, there was the sound of a “three-ping defeat”, followed by some swearing and muttering and eventually another coin flowing through the slot. The second was three pings, a hush and then the jittering fall of coins, followed by a lot more swearing. In the latter case, the swearing was more joyous and energetic.

  Without Billy noticing, Sam whipped on the book glasses to take a closer look at the roulette game to work out, for herself, the expected value of a black number winning or a red number winning. She quickly calculated that red had the probability of winning eighteen red numbers from a total of thirty-eight black and red numbers, which equalled 0.473 or 47.3%. It was a little less than 50% for a win.

  She effortlessly worked out the expected value (EV), which was the weighted average of how much she could win or lose. Therefore, EV–1 (18/38) for red + (-1) (20/38) for black = -2/38 = -0.0526, which meant, on average, she would lose -5.26 cents for every dollar spent at the roulette table whether she put her money on the black or red numbers.

  Next, she focused on the odds for the first-to-twelve odds section of the roulette table and calculated that every dollar on the first-to-twelve section would pay her modest two to one odds. The probability of a two-dollar win was 12/38 and the probability of a one-dollar loss was 26/38. The expected value (1st 12) = 2 (12/38) = (-1) (26/38) = -2/38 = -0.0526 = -5.3 cents, which was a disadvantage on average.

  Turning her focus to any single number on the roulette table, she worked out that the chance of an individual number winning was thirty-five to one. As the probability of a thirty-five win was 1/38, and the probability of a loss worked was 37/38, the expected value was EV = 35 (1/38) = (-1) (37/38 = -2/38 = -0.0526 = -5.3 cents.

  Overall, she concluded that every bet would have the same negative value of -5.3 cents per one dollar bet on average across the entire game.

  Having a better idea of how it all worked, Sam took off the glasses before Billy noticed.

  “I love blackjack, Sam. Do you know what blackjack is?”

  Loving how Billy whispered intimately in her ear, she whispered back, “No.”

  “I’m not very good but I enjoy it. Do you want to come and watch me play?”

  “Sure.”

  They found a blackjack table with a spare seat and Billy said, “Look after this seat for me. I’ll be back soon.”

  When he returned with a heap of colourful plastic disks with numbers on them, she asked, “What are they?”

  “They’re casino chips. You can’t play with real money, so you need to buy casino chips and use them to bet instead. See how the others around the table are doing it?”

  “Okay.” She pulled out the chair to take a seat.

  “No, you can’t sit down, they’ll think you’re a player,” said Billy.

  Sam back
ed away and Billy sat down and put his pile of chips on the table in front of him. “Sorry, I’ll just stand here behind you.”

  Five drinks later, Billy was down to less than half of his five-hundred-dollar pile of chips. Sam guessed that he was embarrassed that she was watching him lose but he grinned every time he turned to look at her.

  Annoyed that his competitors were getting the upper hand, Sam took out the book glasses to try them out.

  As usual, everything became brighter and more enhanced. She was astonished to discover the ability to identify every card, no matter what position the dealer placed them on the table. By this stage, a crowd had started to build, and onlookers were being pushed back by security staff to keep everyone a safe distance from the players.

  With the glasses on, she quickly gleaned an understanding of the game and realised Billy was coming close to losing all his chips. The game is easy, she thought, let the dealer draw additional cards until the hand exceeds a total amount of twenty-one.

  She was confident she could do better than Billy. But how would she get him to let her take his place at the table?

  Out of the blue, Billy said, “Samantha, can you take my place while I’ll go the toilet, please?”

  “Yes, I would love too.”

  “Sorry, but I only have one hundred dollars in chips left for you. Are you okay to play a hand or two while I’m away?”

  “Sure, I’ll be fine,” she said, and he raced off in a hurry.

  After greeting everyone around the table with a nod of her head, she started by placing a twenty-dollar chip on the first card, the five of spades. After going around the table without anyone going bust, that is, the total value of their cards not exceeding twenty-one, all eyes were on Sam and the dealer dealt her next card, which was the six of hearts.

  Matching the bets of the others, she increased her bet by another forty dollars and then put the rest of Billy’s chips on the pile before calling out for the dealer to “hit” her with another card. She felt great saying that after hearing all the players saying it for the last hour.

  The dealer produced the two of clubs and she immediately asked for another hit that ended up being the three of diamonds, making her fours cards now total sixteen.

  Caught up in the anticipation of the game, the crowd went so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Billy returned from the bathroom and she could see he was shocked that she had all his chips on one bet.

  The dealer asked her, “Would you like to stand or have another hit?”

  After tapping her shoulder to get her attention, Billy shook his head and silently but mouthed, “NO.”

  She turned back to the dealer and asked for another hit. Her fifth card was a five of diamonds, totalling twenty-one. She turned back to see the joy in Billy’s face as he called out, “Blackjack!”

  The other players and the crowd waited expectantly as the dealer faced each of the other players in turn and gave them the same choice, to stand or have another hit. All declined another card, except for the last player, sitting on Sam’s right, who wore a black pinstripe suit and sunglasses. He said, “Hit me.” When the king of spades hit the table, he grimaced and then nodded at Sam, admitting defeat.

  Billy let out a whoop. “You just won one hundred dollars on top of the original one hundred I left you with. How did you do that?”

  “It’s a numbers game, plus lady luck has a lot to do with it,” said the player in the pinstripe suit.

  “Yes, a numbers game,” said Sam with a smile.

  “Come on, let’s take our winnings and get out of here. What do you say?” Billy kissed her on the cheek.

  Surprised, Sam nodded. Her heart started beating quickly as she followed him to the bar. Billy ordered a beer and a Chardonnay, then they found a booth and sat opposite each other.

  As he talked about her win, she gazed into his eyes. Her desire for him was building and she didn’t know how to control it. The book glasses couldn’t help her this time and it was driving her crazy. The more he talked, the more she desired him.

  “What’s wrong?” Billy asked.

  “I managed to double the one hundred dollars you left me and all you give me is a peck on the cheek?” Sam said.

  “Say no more, gorgeous, get ready for the best kiss of your life,” Billy whispered. He got out of his seat and went around and took her into his arms. Then he delivered on his promise, right there in the crowded bar.

  They cuddled up in the booth and kissed, and neither of them was going to stop anytime soon. Sam had been waiting forever for someone to enter her life and she wasn’t going to let go now. She held on to Billy as if her life depended on him.

  “Let’s rent a room here, at the casino tonight. What do you think?” Billy asked before again kissing her.

  Sam’s heart raced at his suggestion. But she knew that if this was going to last, she needed to control herself, at least for the moment. She slowly shook her head.

  “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I shouldn’t have asked.” Billy kissed the corner of her mouth and left a trail of wet kisses along her jaw and down her neck.

  Sam pulled back. “I need to go home now,” she said but immediately regretted her words.

  “I’ll walk you home. Please let me walk you home. I promise I won’t come in.”

  “I would love that, thank you,” she said and gave him a crushing hug.

  Billy's eyes lit up like fireflies. He was up in a flash, holding out his hand to her as she clambered out of the booth.

  They made their way out of the casino and onto the street. The city lights looked brighter than usual and Sam was shocked to discover it was now five past eleven. “Where did the time go?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. It happens to me every time I go into the casino. Is it okay if I hold your hand?”

  “I would like that very much,” Sam replied with a large grin.

  Holding hands soon progressed to arms wrapped around each other’s waists, nice and secure, but not too tight. Their conversation dropped off as Sam focused more on the feel of Billy’s arms around her, and their leisurely walk slowed to a snail’s pace.

  “We’re here,” she said abruptly.

  “Already?” Billy looked disappointed.

  “Do you want to come in?”

  “Of course, but no thanks. I wouldn’t be able to control myself so I’d better not. Maybe next time.”

  “Okay, see ya.” Sam started walking to the front door of her building, aching for one last kiss.

  “Wait a minute, wait a minute, you must give me your mobile number… and a kiss goodnight,” Billy said with a grin.

  “What do you want first?” Sam teased.

  She got her goodnight kiss and Billy got her number and stole a second quick kiss. They parted ways, both smiling widely, and Sam couldn’t wait until their rendezvous the following Saturday at noon on Manly Wharf.

  After several text messages back and forth to Billy, she went to bed on cloud nine and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. One of her dreams had finally become a reality and she was beside herself with happiness.

  Making Some Money

  The following morning after breakfast, Sam decided to skip Sunday morning prayers with Sister Sue at the refuge and head back to the casino. She hoped God would understand, even if Sister Sue did not. If she could make some money, she could give up her job at the museum and go to university.

  The idea of winning enough money to allow her to give up her job was appealing, but the challenge was how much she could win without drawing unwanted attention to herself.

  Pondering that idea, she had a shower, got dressed and strolled towards the casino. She dressed inconspicuously in long dark blue trousers with a short-sleeved white lace top and low-heeled black sandals with ankle and foot straps.

  As she walked, she tried to put Billy out of her mind and focus on the challenges ahead.

  It was a bright clear sunny day and she stopped and took a seat on one of many benches alon
gside the water. She calmly took out the book glasses and put them on and headed into the casino. Bypassing the slot machines and the roulette table, she headed straight to the blackjack table after changing one hundred dollars into casino chips.

  The atmosphere was no different from the night before. The table was almost empty, apart from two people on the other side who looked like they had been there all night and were almost out of chips.

  As she placed her chips down, she was amazed to notice the superb light show was just as effective as it had been the night before. She immediately noticed the dealer’s card dispenser was full with a fresh set of no fewer than eight decks of cards.

  From that moment, it was game on for Sam and, in less than an hour, she turned her one hundred dollars into two thousand. An hour later, after noticing a crowd building, she decided to take a break. She picked up her chips and took them to the cashier window to cash them in.

  “Congratulations. Can I have some ID please?” the cashier said. “And I’ll print out your cheque.”

  “Excuse me, but why are you giving me a cheque when I gave you cash?” Sam asked.

  “It’s casino policy, ma’am.”

  Sam produced her ID and took the cheque for five thousand, two hundred and fifty dollars and placed it in her purse. Her stomach growled so she set off to find somewhere to have lunch.

  Taking her time at a salad bar, she kept the glasses on and looked around to see if anyone was following her. This was the first time she had worn the glasses for any length of time, and she had started to notice a transparent ball of lights appearing and disappearing around her. Assuming it was reflections from the extravagant casino lighting, she ignored it.

  As she headed back into the casino, Sam decided to give poker a whirl and converted her cheque back into chips at the same cashier window. She found a game in play and, after observing a few rounds, took a seat at the table. When a new game started, she swiftly placed a five-hundred-dollar pile of chips down to scare the other players right from the start.

  After the first round, all the players folded except a man with a beard who sat opposite Sam. He was persistent, losing almost fifteen hundred dollars in one game, but once the stakes increased to two thousand dollars, he folded and left the table.