The Gambler and the Debt Collector

Fate sometimes provides us with valuable lessons that put things into perspective. After returning home, Lynn and I settled down into our normal loving coexistence, and put what had happened with Luke behind us. We talked lots, and I promised that my gambling was gone forever. Not long after my return, one of Lynn's old girl friends from her school days met with tragedy. Her husband had gone to pick up their son after the movies, and their car had been hit by young street racers and they'd both been killed. A few days later, we sat and watched as a friend buried her husband and only son. I will always remember the emotional moment during the service when Lynn put her hand over mine and squeezed it tightly. The message was clear, how lucky we were to have each other.

One night about eight weeks after my return, I answered a late night knock at the door. A hulking man whom I'd not met before stood on our doorstep and held out a brown paper bag.

"Mr McCann said to give you this."

Without another word, he walked away down our driveway. I carried the bag inside and emptied it out on the dining room table where Lynn was drinking a coffee. To both our surprise, out fell a substantial bundled pile of cash. To one side fell a single leaf of light blue paper folded in half. We both looked at the money for some seconds, and then I picked up the solitary piece of paper, unfolded it and began to read it aloud for Lynn to hear.

"I hope I find you both well. Your debt was the first dealings I had with Johnny Elwood, but I got a few more after that. It kind of got me thinking, were these guys really that good at poker that they could win substantial amounts of money? While you might find this hard to believe, I consider myself an honest businessman. The last thing I want is to be is associated with some kind of racket. After a little investigative work, it appears that Johnny and his cohorts befriended players like you. To make you feel comfortable with the situation, they would let you win and lose a little before they then deliberately cheated you out what money they could.

My dealings with you were always above board, and you proved to be an honest man who always intended paid his debt. After a little negotiation, I got Johnny to return the money he cheated from you, and got him to round it up to a nice hundred thousand for your troubles. Johnny and his friends aren't in the poker game anymore, for it's hard to play with broken fingers if you catch my drift. I hope you can overlook the incident with Lynn. It seemed a good idea at the time, but you are nice people and I shouldn't have taken advantage of the situation as I did. Hopefully the return of your money will go some way to compensate for your troubles and forgive my unprofessional behaviour.

Luke M"

I sat down on a dining chair and looked at the pile of money in complete astonishment; I thought it was gone forever. Lynn sat on my lap and placed her arms around me. We looked at each other for a few seconds before our lips touched, and tears began to roll down our faces. You might ask the question, were they tears of sadness or happiness? I don't think either of us could answer that.