Chapter 1.2 - Valentina
1534 Words
She greets Matteo by kissing both of his cheeks, then introduces herself to Luca. By the way she’s standing, I can immediately tell that her boyfriend doesn’t compare to Matteo in her head.
“What are you doing after this?” Luca asks both of us, even though he’s looking at me.
Before I can answer, Raisa answers for the both of us. “Nothing yet. Why?”
“Maybe we can get some drinks after?” Luca suggests.
Matteo and I exchange looks. I kind of want to, but at the same time, I don’t.
“Maybe.” Raisa teases, then turns to me. “Your father is looking for you.”
I look towards our table. My dad is back, talking to mom about something.
“I’ll go.” I look at Matteo. “Have fun.”
He nods. “You too.”
He seems weird ever since Luca came back, but I need to worry about what my dad wants instead of interpreting Matteo’s moods.
“I’m here.” I tell him once I’m withing earshot. “What is this about?”
“There is a poker game with some of my partners and I was wondering whether you’d like to join us.”
The sentence makes me feel delighted. Finally, something that would actually be fun.
When I was younger we used to play card games, and my favorite one has always been poker. He used to let me win until I was around thirteen and he realized that I could win without any help because I was getting good at it.
We haven’t played in over two years, and I’m happy to participate. Maybe him asking me to join him and his business partners is his way of telling me that he doesn’t see me as a child anymore, and that the past month’s tension needs to be put to rest.
As I follow him through the sea of tables, I spare one last glance in the direction of the bar, but Matteo and Luca are both gone.
The room is in the basement, and I can already smell the cigarette smoke in the hallway.
We enter a dimly lit room with a giant round table that has green upholstery on the top in the middle of the room. A few men whose faces I can vaguely recognize are at the bar, including Luca and Matteo in the corner.
We exchange the same amused but confused looks, just like we did when we saw each other upstairs.
“What is she doing here?” one of the men at the bar asks. I can tell by his accent that he’s a Russian that has been living in America for a long time.
Before I have time to be offended, my dad answers in Russian. “She’s my daughter.”
“Is there a problem?” Matteo asks, stepping closer to the guy.
“No.” my dad and the man answer at the same time, looking at each other without acknowledging Matteo.
The bartender comes out of a backroom behind the bar and invites us to sit down at the table. A woman dressed in formal attire carrying a black briefcase follows him, and I figure she must be the dealer.
“Would you like to join?” my father asks Matteo and Luca once we’re all seated.
“No, thank you.” Luca answers in a very bored tone.
“Sure.” Matteo grins and I watch him surprised as he walks over to take a seat at the table, right across from me. The corners of my lips curl up into a smile when we make eye contact. He raises his eyebrows in a way that says ‘let the best man win’, and I nod. Bring it on.
“There’s a ten thousand dollar buy in.” the man from earlier spits at him, which makes me dislike him even more.
Who even is he?
“That’s alright.”
I don’t even try to hide my smile, just to spite the man even more.
“You’re a security guard and you have ten thousand dollars for a poker game?”
“It’s worth it if I end up taking more home, isn’t it?”
My smile gets even bigger.
“Cash or card?” the dealer asks as she opens the suitcase to take out two decks of cards and the chips.
Everyone takes out their cards except for Matteo and I. He places his phone against the POS when it’s his turn, and dad pays for my chips.
Once the cards are dealt and everyone has their chips, the room goes quiet.
I can feel Luca watching me from his place at the bar. I don’t know why but him and that man make me uncomfortable.
“Small blind is a hundred, big blind is two.” The dealer explains as she shuffles one of the decks before distributing the cards.
Thirty minutes and two rounds of whiskey later, only six out of eight players are left in the game. The two men who pulled out of the game tried the classic ‘bluff and throw money at it’ strategy, which only ended up blowing up in their places. They pulled out when they had a thousand left, which raised the small blind to $200. Matteo, my dad, and I have the biggest piles at the table, and I’m proud of myself.
By the time another hour goes by, there’s only four of us left: my dad, Matteo, the annoying man, and me.
I can tell the guy is stressed because he has a few hundred dollar chips left, while the three of us have at least doubled our investment.
There are two 10s and a 7 on the table, and I know I have a Jack and a 9.
“Yuri, you’re the small blind.”
That name has always rubbed me the wrong way ever since I was a child because of our creepy neighbor down the hall. I remember feeling uncomfortable every time I would see him in the hallway or at the park behind the building. As it turned out, he got sent to prison a few years later for trying to abduct a child from the playground. We had long moved out by then.
We go around the table to match the $400 my dad placed after Yuri.
A fourth card is placed on the table. It’s an 8.
“I raise to $500.” Yuri says.
Everyone matches the bid before the last card is laid out. It’s the Jack of Spades.
“All in.” Yuri decides then, pushing the remainder of his chips into the pile.
“Fold.” Matteo and my dad say at the same time, dropping their cards.
“How much is there?” I ask in Russian.
“Eleven hundred.” Matteo answers in English when Yuri blatantly ignores me to light up another cigarette.
What the f**k is his problem?
“Alright. I’ll match it.”
I’m 98% sure he’s nervous, because he went in for a sip as soon as he went all in.
Yuri turns to the two guys who pulled out at the beginning and asks them to give him their chips in exchange for cash.
“Is that allowed?”
“Yes.” He barks. “Everything is allowed.”
Who is this man, honestly?
“Calm down and just take the chips man.” Matteo speaks up.
“Who do you think you are kid?” Yuri raises his voice.
“Someone who wants to continue playing.”
“Do you think you’re smarter than me?”
“Do you think that?”
“Watch your mouth.”
I look at my dad silently asking him to get the situation out of control. There’s way too much testosterone in the room, and it usually doesn’t mix well when paired with alcohol and pride.
“Yuri, are you raising or not?” he finally asks, looking done with his drunk business partner.
Yuri mumbles something under his breath and places two $1000 chips onto the pile. That’s less than 10% of my chips, so I happily match his bid.
“Alright.” The dealer says, looking as uncomfortable as I am, and maybe a little scared. I try to smile at her reassuringly and she smiles back. “You can reveal your cards now.”
Yuri reveals a Jack and a five. “Three of a kind.” He smirks at me.
I place my cards down, faced up. “Flush. Actually, it’s a Full House even.”
Yuri starts swearing and stands up, his right hand reaching for something in his jacket pocket. Before I even have time to process what’s going on, Matteo is on his feet, hand going under the back of his black suit jacket to reach for his gun.
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Next part will be up on Tuesday!
I created a t****k (ronniewrites), and I'll start posting videos about the aesthetic of the story, the characters, the GWP universe etc. If you're interested, check it out :D
See you on Tuesdaaay!
xoxo,
Ronnie
- Writer
