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Chris turned to Ant. “You’re not eating?”
“I’m not—”
I gave him a look and he quietly took a spoon. Soon we were devouring the whole cake, and the moans coming out of Chris were over the top and hilarious. Once the plate was clean, Chris leaned back in his seat and patted his stomach. “Best thing that happened to me this birthday.” He smiled at me. “Thank you.”
“Glad you liked it.” I glanced at the wall clock, realizing it was later than I thought. Based on my calculation, Jay was supposed to arrive in about thirty minutes, and I had already given Chris the two drinks I was instructed to, albeit with some moderation.
“You guys ready for poker?” I asked.
“Sure,” Chris said. “We’re going for five hundred each?”
I exchanged a look with Anthony, who seemed uncomfortable. We used to play for five hundred bucks, but what seemed like a reasonable sum back then now seemed like plain insanity. I was making a decent salary but still paying back some debts, and Anthony was just getting his business back on its feet.
“Two hundred,” Anthony said, maybe the first thing he said in the last twenty minutes.
“You sure?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Cool.” Chris got up and clapped. “Let’s get the party started, boys. I have money to win.”
*
Chris loved to talk while playing cards, a river of words with no end in sight. It took me a while to realize this was his way of distracting his competitors. Although he never would have admitted it, he was competitive to his core.
I couldn’t care less about the game, but Anthony seemed to have his heart set out on winning. “Can you shut up for a bit?” he said at one point to Chris. “I can’t think.”
Chris seemed surprised, either by Anthony’s angry tone or by the fact that Anthony had just said something directly to him. He nodded. “Sure thing, big guy.”
“Don’t call me that.” Anthony kept his eyes on his cards, but the edge in his voice was clear.
We kept playing in silence, which made me more aware of the slow ticking of the clock. The rain was still pouring heavily outside, and I began worrying something might have happened to Jay. I thought of excusing myself and calling him from the kitchen, but I didn’t want Chris to suspect anything when Jay finally got here. When the moment did come, I’d need to put on an act like my life depended on it, or Chris was bound to realize this was a setup and bail into the storm.
The minutes continued to crawl. I drummed my leg nervously on the floor, and Chris was winning with little competition from Anthony and myself.
Then I heard a car getting close. I was the first to notice; maybe because I was on full alert. Chris and Anthony quickly caught on, and all of us looked through the living room window as the car lights came closer. We were the only cabin in the area, so it was clear the car was heading our way.
“Maybe it’s someone who’s looking for shelter from the rain,” Chris said. He didn’t sound concerned, and why would he?
The car engine died, and less than a minute later, footsteps started to approach the entrance door, followed by a loud knock. I hurried to get up, my heart beating fast.Here we go.
With a held breath, I opened the door. The cold hit me hard, and so did the rain. Jay squeezed his way past me and slipped inside. I hurried to shut the door.
“Damn rain almost killed me,” Jay said and took off his leather jacket. “They started blocking the roads, but I got lucky.” He looked around with a big smile. “Hello, boys. Surprise!”
10
My eyes flew to Chris, who was paler than a piece of paper. He remained sitting by the table, his cards held in his hands. My stomach cramped in anticipation for him to storm out into the rain, cursing us on his way out.
Before Chris had a chance to react, Anthony got up and walked toward Jay. “You said you couldn’t make it,” he said and gave him a hug.
“I managed to change my plans at the last minute.”
“Great.” Anthony smiled at me like he really was pleasantly surprised. His dread seemed to have transformed into excitement, and I wished he could have lent me some.
“Hi, man,” Jay said and walked toward Chris, placing his backpack on the floor on his way. “It’s been forever. Where’s my hug?”
Time seemed to slow down in the seconds it took Chris to get up and hug Jay. He locked eyes with me, sending sharp and bloody daggers my way. I said with my lips,I didn’t know, but I had a feeling he could see through my crap.
