Jack Spade - Card Shark - Chapter 2

Jack Spade - Card Shark
Chapter 2

So Jack now found himself homeless, as well as penniless. He left the house with no clear destination or purpose in mind, he was now feeling very depressed and miserable, and the rain though it had eased was still slowly falling, and there were large puddles of water all along the pavements edges. The sky was dark with rain clouds and evening was drawing in. and there was a chill in the air too, and Jack knew he had to find shelter somewhere fast.

Fortunately for Jack he stumbled into Martin whom he knew pretty well from the bookies, and after exchanging a few words Martin asked him what his problem was. Jack felt foolish and embarrassed to tell Martin his issues, but he knew Martin might be able to help him at least for tonight. So he told Martin a half truth that he'd rowed with his wife and she had thrown him out, and Martin did exactly what he knew he might and invited him to stay the night.

They walked the short distance to Martins flat, and as they entered the musky heady smell of weed was overpowering. It crept out of every pore of the flat, and Jack was quite overcome with the smell. Martin was oblivious to Jack's dilemma, and rolled himself another joint, and one also for Jack. Jack had tried it before in his youth, and the mood he was in tonight he thought why the hell not, and accepted the gesture and removed his wet coat and sat on the sofa to smoke and enjoy his joint.

Jack felt the effects of the joint after his first inhalation and his body felt more relaxed than it had for such a very long time. His mind lifted too, with thoughts becoming short and pointless, yet very meaningful to Jack. He carried on until the joint was done, and by that time he was highly intoxicated by the joint, and unable to do anything other than fall into a deep heavy sleep.

Jack woke up at 6am and his head was sore as hell. He was very disorientated, cold and had a massive thirst on him to boot. He found his way to the kitchen and looked for a glass. He saw one that looked a bit dubious so washed it as well as he could then he drank two glasses of cold water straight down, but his thirst still wasn't quenched and his head was banging. He searched the cupboards and drawers and found a pack of pain killers, pushed the blisters on two and swallowed them down with a another glass of water. As he was looking for the painkillers he stumbled across a roll of notes in the back of a drawer. He knew it was Martins drug money, but he also knew it could help him to settle a few well overdue debts. He pocketed the roll of £500 and let himself out of Martins flat as quietly as he could manage. A pang of guilt swept over him for what he had done, but it didn't last very long and soon he had forgotten it wasn't his money.

The weather had improved a little and it wasn't raining now. But at 6.30 in the morning there was a frosty chill to the air. Jack walked about the town and planned in his head whom he would pay with the money, then stumbled across a café that was open and serving breakfast so called in and ordered himself a full English, extra toast and a mug of coffee. He realised he had not eaten since yesterday morning and now he was ravenous. So he could at lest stave off the cold for about an hour in the café whilst the rest of town began to wake up and he could go repay some debts.

Whilst sitting there eating and beginning to feel more human Jacks gaze fell upon a bookies on the other side of the street. They were just opening their doors for business, and he knew he would easily be able to pass a few hours in there and maybe even make himself a little more money into the bargain. He finished eating his breakfast with gusto, swigged the last of his coffee then paid his bill, tipping the waitress generously too.

Jack crossed the street with a spring in his step, now feeling so much better having quenched his hunger and thirst. The flashing lights on the door to the bookies were like a beacon to him, urging him to go inside and try his luck. He wasn't alone when he entered. Several other seedy looking males were already at the counter placing bets. He looked around at all the TV screens and decided today was the day for him,

The wall on the right was a bank of computer screens showing odds for different events and races, whilst on the left wall were large TV screens to wtch all the races live. There were small booths with betting slips on the tables dotted about, and a couple of high roller slot machines singing out in the corner. A couple of the monitors were for video roulette and poker...... Jacks eyes sparkled. He loved poker with a vengeance. Minimum bet was £5 and he knew he could afford to play a few hands, and might even make money back. So he settled down comfortably and began to play.

First few games he was actually ahead, but Jack was never great at judging when to quit. He'd win £20 but lose £40 trying to win it. In little more than an hour he had lost well over £300 and very reluctantly realised he must quit playing before he lost it all. He had just shy of £150 left now and decided it was time to go take a walk and start to make a plan on how the hell he would get through the rest of the day, when it dawned on him tody was his daughters birthday. Maybe he should buy a gift and try his luck back home. He sure could do with a shower.....

So Jack headed back into town to the toy shop and once there he was pretty unsure what to buy for an 8 year old girl. He found his gaze drawn to the section where dolls were aplenty. He noticed that there were age ranges on the packaging so he was a little more at ease. He eventually decided on a large, lifelike baby doll, complete with baby bath, high chair and outfits. He looked at the price and was shocked to see he'd have to pay over £60 for this one doll. But he figured his daughter would love it, and he might even get one of her rare smiles when she opened it. He took it to the payment desk and requested gift wrap too, then left the store with a skip in his step and headed towards home.

September 2016 Jane Shields

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