Page Four

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"She wants you."
Damien finished the rest in a gulp, and let the oxygen and carbon dioxide escape in invisible bubbles from his head through his mouth. He felt his blood pressure drop. It would be a long lunch, much longer than any they had ever had.

They ordered their meals, and plenty of wine, even though Darius whined plenty about the Bordeaux. Mary K. would glance or glare (slightly inebriated, Damien did not know which) while she served them, and she spoke little. Courage rose swiftly as the drinks were poured downward, and Damien found himself speaking to Darius, not whispering.
"So why’d ya bring us here?"
Darius smiled.
"Poker tournament tonight."
"Hold ‘em?"
"Hold ‘em."
"What time?"
"Eight thirty."
"We’re going to stay here until then?"
"Yeah."
"What are we going to do?"
Darius paused before he answered.
"Well, I’m going to meet with a ‘client’ [Darius made scare quotes with his fingers, Damien’s pet peeve], I don’t know what you’re going to do."
Normally, being thus abandoned would have made Damien upset, but he was still mildly drunk, and accepted his fate.
"Where’s the casino?"
"There’s a map somewhere. You’ll find it. Wander. Err. Become a planet. Have an adventure."
Darius was looking at his watch now. It was a much nicer one than Damien had known him to have in the past. Things were looking up for Darius. He probably suckered some high class businessman into gambling or gamboling or gaming. Darius probably became buddy-buddy with said businessman, hence the invitation to such a grandiose country club (that verged on empire). And Darius not knowing what to do with the guest of a guest pass, as he was girl-less and knew no one that liked him enough to join him, suckered Damien into playing at the tournament. So much for spontaneity.

The meal was finished in silence, with Darius glancing at his watch more and more frequently. Damien had lost interest in whatever it was that he had ordered (or had ordered for him) and focused primarily on the wine. He found himself staring uncontrollably at pretty Mary K. whenever she stopped by to retrieve dirty dishes or refill the wine. It might have been the torpor of the stupor, but he could not turn away. She either did not notice or did not mind. His reactions became sluggish. He began to think that he had had too much. Darius looked slightly different through blurred eyes. Movements seemed faster, time seemed slower. Hermes was mercurial, the maidens seemed unseemly. Like Darius, Damien was all smiles. He could not help but smile, and his mind did not mind this situation.

Mary K. brought the bill, hesitated between the two, and, following a nod from Darius, handed Damien the bill.