FAT SALLY

#36 - Fat, as in "has money"

     FAT SALLY 

Friday 3 p.m. 

Sally isn’t fat. The only thing fat about Sally is her bankroll. She’s loaded.  

She got that way by playing some of the best hold’em poker in this part of the state. She’s a regular at private games, casinos, and internet poker sites. “Fat Sally” is her online screen name.

 She is a beauty. And smart. And plain out likeable. Somehow, I never felt bad losing my money to her. It’s the craziest thing. Other guys tell me the same thing. 

We’ve played many of the same tournaments and she always manages to do better than me. Well, I did best her once, but I got lucky. Sally has an instinct for the game. She’s a killer at cash games.  

There is an invite only game of thirty players tonight at Tommie’s. An all-nighter if it lasts that long. This is its third year. It’s a $3000.00 entry fee up front to reserve your seat. If you get down to the felt (bust out) in the tournament, cash games and side bets will be available if you like.  

A good sum of money will be on the premises, so hired security will be inside and at the gate. Food and drink start at 6 p.m. and the game begins at 8. 

Tommie owns a construction company. He has a big family. He built his home. It has a pool, tennis courts, a chipping and putting green, and an outdoor kitchen on three acres down at the lake. Tommie is living large. Goes to Vegas often. 

I live across the lake from Tommie. I’m going by boat. It’s only about fifteen minutes away. 

I spoke with Sally. She’ll be at the game, and she told me she was looking forward to seeing me! We get along well together and have shared a few dinners while at tournaments. I like her. A lot. I think she likes me, too. 

I want to see her away from the gaming tables. You know, a movie, or a real dinner date. Tonight, I’m going to ask her out. 

She’s from Kinder, north of here in Allen Parish, and raised on a small farm. Without a lot of money early on, she has now built homes on the farm for her parents and herself. Pretty much a “rags to riches” story. 

She doesn’t spend her money frivolously. She drives a thirteen-year-old RAV4. 

She’s never been to college. Before she started making money at the tables, she was a hostess and dealer at the Indian casino. She started playing and just got better and better and started winning. 

This week has gone by so slow. I’m really looking forward to tonight! 

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Saturday 8 a.m.  

Well, I would have arrived at Tommie’s last night by six but I ran into some difficulty. The motor on my Jon boat conked out a few minutes into the ride. I figured it was the spark plug. I took off the cowling, scraping my knuckles as I always seem to do, pulled the plug and cleaned it as best I could. It looked okay to me, and I reset it. I put the cowling back in place, and gave the starter rope a pull. It snapped on the second pull throwing me off balance. I almost fell overboard. In doing so, I managed to knock my cell phone out of my top pocket and into the lake.  

Then, I realized my paddle was back at the dock. I used it to knock down a wasp nest on my dock and in running from the wasps, I dropped it in the yard and forgot to put it back in the boat.

Not one other boat came near enough for me to wave down. I was dead in the water. Yes, I was not happy.

So, I didn’t make it to the game. I lost the $3000.00, my cell, and didn’t see Sally. 

I spent a warm moonless night on the lake under the stars. It was a long night though as I have no onboard lights and need to watch for any oncoming boats that might run me over. Except for a few mosquitoes, it wasn’t bad.  

I couldn’t get Sally off my mind. Was she the one? Was I the one for her? Was I even in the running? Was there someone else? It was a maddening repeating chorus of certainty and doubt and what if this and what if that.  

By sunrise, a slight wind had pushed me back to the shore a couple of miles from home. I got a tow back to my dock from a couple of guys who were out fishing.  

I called Sally from my house landline. The games were just winding up. She told me she was worried about what had happened to me.  

We’ve got a date tomorrow night.  

I’m going to eat something and go to bed. 

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