Hey gang. I just got home from dropping Sticky off at the airport, and I have to say, I haven't felt this good in months. It was a great day, and we had a wonderful visit.
First of all, I couldn't sleep at all last night--I just had that gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach that everything I feared about her, and all the rumor and innuendo that all of our adolescent friends casually toss about, might just be true. I must be a bad person, because I was prepared for the worst--that she was gonna tell me any number of unsavory reasons why she and I are no longer as close as we used to be.
But it wasn't like that at all. When I picked her up outside the Luxor first thing this morning, it was a bit uncomfortable as we were driving down LV Blvd. Finally, I said Sticky, I really have to ask you a few things...
It was a most interesting conversation for the next half hour or so as we drove around Henderson (I showed her where my new home was) and made our way over to Green Valley Ranch. Both of us got mildly upset a few times, but basically it just boiled down to lack of communication. We talked things out, and once the air was cleared, it was like old times. We were laughing, talking like rednecks, and trying to make the most of the short time we had together.
We stopped for lunch at the Elephant Bar in The District--service was so-so, but my club sandy was excellent while her steak sandwich was rather disappointing. We finished up our conversation about 'us' while we ate, and honestly, it felt like the weight of the world was off my shoulders, again. Relief was the emotion I was most overcome with--she's a great gal and is doing the right things, even if they no longer involve me. And now I know the whole story, too, so I don't feel like I was abandoned. I've probably said too much already, but typing this out is very therapeutic, and just reinforces my good feelings.
I'm very happy for Sticky, and she'll always be special to me. I hope we remain friends for many years to come...
But enough of that--lemme tell you about our day. I had no idea what she wanted to do with the rest of the afternoon after we got things ironed out. As we finished our meal and paid the tab, I asked her what she'd like to do next. She gave the head bob towards the casino, so we skipped out of there and headed across the street.
I told her that I'm bleeding cash like a no-bid defense contractor this month, and gambling really wasn't on my agenda. But I figured my budget could allow $20 for a slot machine.
We made a beeline to my favorite dollar slot there at GVR--the one I've *never* lost on--sat down, and each put $20 in it. In no time at all, we had it up to $100 and cashed out. Woot! The streak remains intact! I went to give her $50, but she insisted that I keep it, as she was heading back to OCanada today and had no more use for our silly American gringo-dollars. That, and she said she invested the twenty bucks into our 'good time' fund and I was obligated to gamble with that new hundred dollar bill.
So where did we end up next? Why, at the Pai Gow table, of course. We played for a couple of hours, and it was great fun. I told her that it felt like January all over again--we were hitting the cocktails and winning money at the tables, trying to make each other laugh with each hand. We caught a few bonuses here and there, and twice I missed a Royal Flush by only one card. After a couple of hours we finally colored up--me with a $35 profit and Sticky only losing ten bucks.
Once we hit the cage, we bounced around the casino, eyeballing the poker room, but mostly looking for attractive penny slots. We found a few, and played that damn Money Storm for about 45 minutes before finally hitting a bonus round. Sticky ended up making $20 on that one. Before we left, I insisted on hitting my favorite dollar machine again, and within a minute I had doubled up, so I cashed out, having spent a fairly profitable day at GVR.
After our casino adventures were over, we headed over to Target to do some shopping, and then to a smoke shop to load her up on cheap American cigarettes. From there we went to Starbucks and sat in the cool comfy chairs sipping on ice-cold Frappuccinos. We still had a couple of hours to kill, so we drove down to a local bar and sat out on the shady patio sipping a couple of beers and talking like old friends are supposed to. She told me all about her poker weekend, having spent the previous four days living like a poker pro at the World Series. She had dozens of fascinating stories, and her face lit up for an hour straight while retelling them. I could see that she had found her niche, her happy place, and I was grateful that she was sharing it with me.
Much too soon it was time to head to the airport. When I dropped her off this time, it wasn't with a sense of overwhelming sadness like back in March. It's like I dropped off my best friend. I don't know when, or even if she'll be coming back to Vegas anytime soon, but at least now I know where I stand. I'm sure she'll be back at some point, and when she does, we'll get together again. The only difference is that we'll just be good friends.
She'll always be someone special to me and I'll never forget what we had. I hugged her goodbye on the sidewalk and wished her the best.
Her smile made my day.
We'll both be alright.
Mikey
No comments:
Post a Comment