Heads I Win, Tails She Loses

Lauren turned away from him, the tears spilling forth, unbidden. She reached for her glass, and drained her drink, flipping it upside down. "Hit me, Gina."

Gina got up, and started preparing the next salvo in getting the poor girl blitzed.

"What's next for us, Jack? You gonna give me even a modicum of hope? We had three great years. I love you, and I know you still love me."

"I have the divorce papers. I thought we could go over them later. I'm not sure you're up to it now." He sipped his bourbon. "I should warn you, you're not going to walk away with much."

She nodded absently. "What is it? 60-40 split? 70-30?"

"No, 50/50, but there's not much to share. I got fired last week, so there's no income for alimony. No kids for child support. Our bank accounts are nearly empty. The deductible on the repairs of the house will drain any last cash. We have maybe 30K in the house, but after repairs, and Realtor fees, we'll be lucky to clear anything."

"You were pretty thorough, I guess. I take it you've known for a while? Plenty of time to prepare to burn my stupid ass." Lauren sighed.

"You'll get your car, but it still has two years of payments. Whatever you want from inside the house, but I imagine your wardrobe is gone."

Gina placed the latest drink in front of Lauren. "Dead Bastard. Nothing left but the burying. Go slow on this one, it packs a punch."

Lauren took a hit off the latest drink, then turned back to Jack. "Seriously. How'd you do it? Obviously you have a hell of an alibi."

Jack opened the table, and showed her the video feeds. Six smaller images on the side of the screen, each could be selected to view nearly full screen. Two of the bedroom, two more of the front of the house. One of the entrance, and another of the bedroom hallway.

"Ok," Lauren said. "So you had us on video. How were you two places at one time?"

"The big vent in the hallway? It's now home to two massive speakers." Jack pulled up the menu and started playing the pre-recorded messages. Luuucy, I'm home!

"That was it? A recording? We almost killed ourselves over a recording?" Lauren downed half her glass.

"That and a few preparations. Changed the alarm codes and garage code. Locking the place down. Gluing the window shut. Moving all my belongings out of the master bedroom." Jack leaned over and snapped one of the buttons on her jacket closed, before it exposed any more of her body.

Lauren turned to face her husband. "I should have told you. You always were the smartest man in the room. You would have figured out something, wouldn't you?"

Jack nodded. "I would have. I swear. I would never let anyone hurt you."

She snorted, quite unladylike. "Except for you. You didn't seem to have much trouble destroying me."

"You destroyed me first, Angel. I've never loved anyone like you. You tore my heart out and shredded it, when you said those things to that bastard, in our bed. How big, he was, how good he was. How there was nobody like him."

Lauren turned a bright red. "I'm sorry you heard that. I was just trying to get him to finish as quickly as possible. Stroke his ego, so he'd get off and leave me alone. I don't think we ever spent more than 15 minutes in bed. That was why. It's no excuse, I understand, and I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I figured that out eventually, but the first few weeks, it destroyed me. Utterly destroyed me."

Gina spoke up. "She didn't ever put you down, did she, Jack?"

Jack shook his head, a little surprised by the interruption. "No. That's a big part of how I figured it out. That and the way she acted in bed. I know my wife well enough to see she wasn't enjoying it. It only confused me that much more."

Lauren was getting wobbly on her chair, the alcohol hitting her hard. "One more to go," she said to Gina, waving her empty glass. "The Suffering Bastard is dead and in her grave."

Gina felt sorry for the woman. Mixed feelings, actually. She was intrigued by the idea that Jack might be available, but she saw him differently now. A dangerous man. Someone you wouldn't want to get on the bad side of. Cold, calculating and deliberate. She prepared the final drink, and watched Jack scoot his stool next to his wife's, straightening the bottom of her jacket, which was showing a lot of thigh, and putting his arm around her.

Lauren felt the arm around her waist, and leaned against him. "I've ruined everything, haven't I, baby?"

"You have, Lauren. Crushed our marriage like a grape. Made a mockery of our vows."

"What am I supposed to do now? Where will I go?"

Jack had meant to dump her. Destroy her utterly. Now he was having second thoughts. That phone call. The damned phone call. Her standing there naked in the front yard, the only thing on her mind making sure he was Ok and covered. Why'd she have to go and do that?

He pulled out his coin. "Call it, Angel."

She watched the coin flip through the air, wondering how much of her future was tied up in this random act. "Heads," she said.

Jack caught the coin, and laid it flat on his forearm, exposing it slowly. "Heads it is."

"What does that mean?" she asked nervously.

"I'll help you get back on your feet. I'll take care of the asshole, you can count on that. You can stay with me tonight. Tomorrow we'll move back into the house, and I'll start repairs. You'll find a job. You're going to need to support yourself."

"When you say stay with you..."

"I've got a hotel room. Separate beds. You certainly don't think I'm going so sleep with you after you've been with that bastard? You weren't planning on giving me sloppy seconds again, were you?"

Again? "I... I would never do that, Jack. I always cleaned up thoroughly. I swear."

"Every fucking time, Lauren. Every single fucking time," he growled.

She started crying harder. "I'm so sorry. I needed it. I needed your loving, to erase the horrible feeling of being with him. I didn't mean to disrespect you, baby. Never."

Jack was having a hard time controlling his emotions. "You hurt me, Lauren. Hurt me so bad. God, I didn't think anything could hurt that bad."

A drink appeared in front of them. "Mai Tai. Phase 4. 'Out of this world'. Time to send the Dead bastard to his just rewards." She leaned over and grabbed Jack's arm. "It's her drink, but I think you get to choose the final destination. What's it going to be? Hell, Heaven, or Purgatory?"

Jack pulled out his coin and looked at it.

"What the fuck, Jack? Seriously? You're going to flip a coin over this woman's life?" Gina almost exploded.

Lauren sat up and glared at the woman she saw as her opponent. "It's a better chance than I deserve." She turned to her husband. "Can I call it?"

Gina stared at the two of them. "Why the coin, Jack? Seriously, I have to know."

Jack placed the coin on the bar and spun it on its edge. "It seemed like I'd been making a lot of bad decisions. Starting with my marriage. I decided to let chance have its way. A flip of the coin, brought me into this place. It made me act out my revenge from a distance, instead of actually walking in that room with a shotgun. It's governed every step that got me this far. I guess it's a crutch. Easier to live with every decision if it's not my fault. Let the Gods decide."

Lauren sipped on her final drink. "Is this hemlock? Or ambrosia? What are my choices, Jack?"

"I don't want to get your hopes up, Lauren. The marriage is over. I'm considering the path there and the aftermath," Jack explained.

"So it's Hell, no matter what?" she pouted.

Jack flipped the coin, caught it, and slapped it onto the back of the his arm.

"What's the choices? Please?" Lauren begged.

"Heads, I win. Tails, you lose."

He exposed the coin. The classic features of the woman's bust on the Morgan Dollar seemed to stare directly at his wife. "Heads."

"But what does it mean?" Lauren whined.

Jack gave her a squeeze. "Purgatory for you. No Hell. Not if I can help it. But let's face it. Our little piece of Heaven is lost." He turned to Gina. "Check?"

Gina felt as confused as Lauren. She totaled up the last drinks, and gave Jack the bill. He signed it, opened up his wallet, and dropped a C-note on top of it. "Thanks for being here for me Gina. If I'm still welcome, I won't be a stranger."

Gina nodded slowly. He was an odd one. She pocketed the Benjamin, and slipped the signed receipt in the cash drawer. She walked around the bar, while she watched him stand and help his wife to her feet. Gina grabbed Jack's arm. He turned toward her, and was shocked when she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. "Don't you dare torture that woman. I like you, Jack. In spite of this insanity, I think you're a good man. Don't prove me wrong."

Jack smiled. He pulled his favorite bartender close, and kissed her firmly. "I'm not going to hurt her. I'll be divorced in a few months, and I'll be available. I hope you don't mind, but I'd be interested in seeing where things might go between us."

Lauren had started heading toward the door, but she turned back and saw her husband kissing the tall, stunning woman. She felt her heart shatter within her chest. She stumbled forward and grabbed his arm. "Don't! Not yet! You're still mine, until the court says differently!"

Jack shook his head. "No, Angel. You decided otherwise. In my mind, I'm no longer married to you. Until we're divorced, I won't sleep with any other women, but you have no claims on me."

"So that's it? I'm out of the picture?"

Jack pulled her in close, and gave her a hug. "Our marriage is over. We'll be divorced in three months. I'll be starting over."

"I'm not going to give you up, Jack. No way. I'm going to change your mind. I love you and you love me, and that's that! I'm gonna win you back!" she argued.

Jack grinned, and leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. "Maybe you will. You did it once. You might be able to do it again. But you're going to have competition this time."

Lauren stared at him, trying to absorb his words. She shrieked and threw her arms around him, hugging him desperately. "I have a chance? Really?"

Jack nodded. "Purgatory. A time for purification, and a chance to achieve grace. No Hell for you, my little Angel. You'll get your Heaven eventually. It just may not be with me."

"You're wrong about that, Jack. We're destined for each other. I fucked up. Fucked up big time, but nobody could ever love you as much as me." She looked over at Gina, and gave her a chilling smile. "Game on."

Gina watched the two of them turn and walk out of the bar, Jack steadying his gimpy drunken wife. She sighed. She knew that her chances of winning that competition were slim and none. The ignorant little cheater was down for the count, out of the game, and had managed, with one stupid call, to clear the boards. Damn it.

She'd be hard pressed to explain why she did it. She ran to the door, and caught them only a few dozen paces into the parking lot. She grabbed Jack, almost knocking him down, and kissed him again, pressing her body against his, making her own claim. When she pulled away, she grinned. "Game on."

Lauren was about to explode when the Amazon turned and hugged her. "I hope things work out for you. I do. But if they don't, I swear, I'm gonna take him, keep him, and never let him go. You have one chance. So don't fuck this one up!"

Gina turned back to the bar, to retrieve her stuff and head back to her lonely apartment. In the bar she saw that Jack had left his silver dollar on the bar. She picked it up, testing it, feeling its weight. She flipped it into the air, caught it, and checked the results. Tails. I wonder what that means?

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I know, there will be some of you who will insist this story isn't complete. I like it the way it is, and hope that most of you will as well. This one's been rattling around the working pile for a while, so I polished it off and here it is. Thanks for reading.