Jackpot! by Dean FrechThe constant dinging of the slot machines gave Jack a headache. He reached in his pack for some Advil and swallowed two tablets with the last of his lukewarm coffee.
“Another?” the bartender asked from behind the bar.
Jack glanced across the floor of the casino at his mother, Lydia. “Yeah, looks like we’re going to be here a while.”
“You sound thrilled.” The bartender grabbed the coffee and walked around the bar.
With a cigarette in one hand, her own cup of coffee in the other, Jack’s mother tapped the slot machine buttons and laughed with the old man who sat next to her. “Looks like she’s having a good time. Hate to spoil it. You know?”
“Yeah.”
Jack nodded. “Thought so. Hope you stay longer than the last three on this shift.”
“I’ll do my best. Heard they had a
