Hard pressed to share – Trifecta post

30 Comments

Divorce existed in their near future.  Her words still hung heavily in the air and pummeled his eardrums with the weight of their meaning.  It had finally been uttered aloud and it was no longer an idle threat that they were reaching the demise of their relationship.  The reality suffocated him.  His gambling had driven a wedge between them and he refused to get help for a problem he didn’t think defined him.

As he entered the casino, the familiar sound of bells and machines soothed him.  He was home.  He had never felt more at ease than he did in this concrete tomb of cacophony.  Each of the dealers knew him by name but he only took that to be a sign of professionalism and not a reflection of addiction.  The Craps table beckoned and he succumbed to its welcoming embrace.

The dice were magical.  His fours ‘hard-ways’ hit over and over and the stack of chips increased exponentially in front of him.  New rollers took their place and his stack continued to grow.  Luck was certainly being a lady tonight.  After what must have been hours he asked dealer to color him up, he collected his chips and cashed them in.

casino cash

He was given the high-roller suite and stood on the balcony with the wad of bills.  He didn’t want the cashier to tell him how much he had won when he cashed out.  The wind tousled his hair and in one swift movement he cast the money over the edge of the balcony.  The rain of bills spread swiftly through the air and littered the ground below.  The crowd preparing to enter the casino pecked at the bills like chickens at their feed.

She may have taken half of his life, but she wasn’t getting half of his winnings.

~

Written for the Trifecta challenge (and the photo was taken on my one and only cruise – I didn’t win the money, but my friend did!)

On to this week’s one-word prompt which, this week, is inspired by the recent arrival of the Hong Kong monsoons and the start of April in general.rain (transitive verb)
1: to pour down
2: to give or administer abundantly <rained blows on his head>

Please remember:

  • Your response must be between 33 and 333 words.
  • You must use the 3rd definition of the given word in your post.
  • The word itself needs to be included in your response.
  • You may not use a variation of the word; it needs to be exactly as stated above.
  • Only one entry per writer.
  • If your post doesn’t meet our requirements, please leave your link in the comments section, not in the linkz.
  • Trifecta is open to everyone. Please join us.

Good luck!

30 thoughts on “Hard pressed to share – Trifecta post”

  1. I love love love “concrete tomb of cacophony” (: Although it seems quite stupid of him to toss away half of his winnings when he’s already tossing it away in gambling!

    Reply

  2. Poor misguided soul!Sad that he does not see what his problem is but then who knows,maybe his wife was a real witch!Great job,as always:-)

    Reply

  10. I have a sister who lives in Las Vegas, and is on the verge of a divorce. The husband is addicted more to alcohol than to gambling, but that’s in there too. Well told story that could actually occur in the near future of my sister’s life. Sad, but true.

    Reply

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