Chapter Thirty-Five
Marshall
It was such an astonishing stroke of luck that for a full minute after the game ended, I sat there in disbelief. I was dimly aware that a commotion had broken out around me and that Nick had risen from his chair, extending his hand in congratulations. I returned the handshake with a numb feeling. The camera lights were bright on my face, and I wanted nothing more than to get back to my room where I could think over what had just taken place.
“Mr. Savery,” came a woman’s voice, “what do you intend to do with your winnings?”
“Did you come here expecting to win, Mr. Savery?” said another.
I fought my way up the red carpet, through the crowd, and upstairs to my room. The second I was alone, I reached into my shirt pocket and turned on my phone. During the match, I had received a number of encouraging texts from Lori. Several of them heaped aspersions on my opponent.
Right away, I called her back.
“Hey, you,” she said loudly. “You would not believe how shocked we all are.” In the distance, I could hear the affirmative, half-drunken shouts of her sister.
“Did no one have faith in me?” I asked in a teasing tone.
“No, it’s not that. It’s just—ten million dollars is a lot of money. A lot, lot.” Her voice trailed off. “Anyway, how soon are you coming home?”
“I’ll be flying out of here tomorrow afternoon. Sean’s picking me up at the airport.”
“Okay.” She hesitated for a moment. “You know I would be just as happy to see you even if you were coming home with no money. I’m just glad to have you back.”
“I know you are, girl. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I hung up the phone and lay down on the bed, my shirt soaked with sweat. I was too tired to climb out of my clothes and into the shower. Anyone who would claim that I had won the money easily obviously hadn’t seen me retching onto the carpet on live television. It was a hard-fought victory, and I felt like the hero of some ancient epic who had just emerged from a cave after slaying a dragon. Right now, all I could think about was sleep. And then tomorrow… tomorrow, I would be headed home to see my love.
***
On the following day at around six in the evening, Sean picked me up at Charleston International. As I climbed into the car with my bags, he gave me a proud pat on the shoulder.
“Million-dollar man,” he said with a disbelieving shake of his head. “How does it feel?”
“About the same as ever, honestly,” I replied. “Which probably means I’m still in shock. I’ll get used to it in a week or two.”
“Yeah, you’ll wake up one morning and realize you won ten million dollars. You’ll text me at six in the morning: ‘Sean! I just won MILLIONS of dollars at an invitational in Vegas!’”
“It would be funny if I didn’t know that’s exactly what’s going to happen. I’m like the guy from Memento: if I don’t get it tattooed on my arm, I’ll forget.”
Sean laughed. “You’re the only person I know who could forget that he had just won ten million dollars. Now, where are we headed?”
“To the bakery, if you don’t mind.”
“You sure? You know it’s late, and Lori probably won’t be there.”
“I know. I want to go by there anyway.”
Sean shrugged as if to say, “Suit yourself.” As we merged onto the highway in the warmth of a southern spring, my heart warmed to the sight of the elms and azaleas on either side of us, the sun like a golden plate burning in the late-afternoon sky. I preferred this over all the excess and opulence of Vegas.
“It’s a shame you didn’t get to see The Killers while you were down there,” said Sean. “They’ve been doing a ton of live shows in advance of their new album.”
“You know, I’m not as big of a Killers fan as I used to be. I think Brandon has outgrown them.” Just then my phone started buzzing; it was Mom. “Hey, Mom. What’s up?”
“Well, hey there,” said Mom. “I want you to know your dad and I were watching the game last night, and we’re real proud of you. I don’t know a whole lot about poker, so your dad had to explain it. The important thing is that you won, though.”
“I did.” It still felt so weird to say. It was going to take a while to get used to. “What did the brothers have to say about it?”
“Darryl just laughed, if you can believe it. I think he’s still in shock. Curtis has been saying for a long time that if anyone in our family was going to be a billionaire, it would be you.”
“I’m not a billionaire yet,” I reminded her.
“No, but you’re a lot closer than any of the rest of us. And your dad says to tell you it’s only a matter of time before you’re richer than King Croesus. Just invest it wisely, and you’ll never have to worry about anything else in life. And maybe help out your brothers sometime when they need it.”
“Yeah. Hey, that reminds me: I know I promised I would help out with the barn whenever I had the money. It shouldn’t be any trouble now. The amount you were asking is a drop in the bucket compared to what I made over the weekend.”
“Well, if you could help us, that would be great,” said Mom. “Obviously I’m not going to force you to spend your winnings on a barn, but I’ll never turn down a genuine offer of help. A generous spirit is more precious than gold.”
In the background, I could hear Dad yelling, “Tell him he still needs to come out here! I’ll believe he has a ‘generous spirit’ when he helps put the barn up with the rest of my sons!”
“Tell him I’ll be there,” I said with a laugh. “And when I fly down, I’ll take you all out to dinner. It’s the least I can do, really.”
Mom seemed to have only the vaguest idea of how much money ten million dollars actually was. “Well, okay. I just don’t want to siphon all your money. Anyway,” she added in a knowing voice, “isn’t there a girl you were supposed to be helping?”
“There is, actually. She’s next on my list.”
By now, it was dusky enough that Sean had to turn on his headlights. In the distance, I could see the strip center approaching. A single lamppost cast a flickering yellow light over the empty parking lot.
“Gotta go, Mom. I love you.”
“Bye, son. See you when you get here.” I hung up the phone and returned it to my bag as Sean pulled up in front of the bakery.