WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS REFERENCES TO GAMBLING ADDICTION.

"Damn machine," Penny hissed. Her eye lid quivered. She pushed the poker machine play button harder. Surely doing this would make the machine aware of her disapproval.

"Is everything all right, Ma'am?"

Penny Macy looked up to see an attractive young Indian attendant smiling down at her. "Oh yes. It hasn't been my night."

"Sometimes it's best to take a break when luck's not with you." He pointed toward the lounge. "We have a very nice coffee bar here, madam. The cheesecake is especially delicious."

Penny didn't particularly like cheesecake but put a piece of moist mud cake in front of her and she was lost to the calories. "Thank you. I think I'll take your advice. My favourite machine is being used by someone else."

She glanced at the carousel, where the Adam's Family poker machine was being played by a woman in clothes, which were far too young for her. Penny wondered if the woman owned a decent mirror. Surely if she did, she'd realise the body-hugging black mini tank top, short black skirt, black lacy stockings and high-topped boots made her look like a tightly-squeezed over-cooked sausage, whose skin had burst, spewing fat along its length.

Hissing the words, "Black cat is very fat," Penny's top lip flinched. She grinned sheepishly at the usher, and then glanced at the woman. "I'm sure it's why I'm losing tonight." When she looked back at the employee, she wasn't sure how to read his expression.

She put it down to his race. He did have a lovely face, and the black pants, white-collared shirt and red bow tie made him look very distinguished. He took her arm and helped her down from her stool. Penny was grateful, because sometimes after sitting for so long in the same position her legs cramped.

*

There was no mud cake tonight but cheesecake, as the attendant had suggested. Pavlova and carrot cake were also on the menu. Penny ordered the carrot cake and a black coffee. She needed her wits about her and had a lot of playing to do if she was going to win back her money. With a quick twitch of her head she uttered, "Wads of cash in a dash."

When she sat down in the comfortable armchair she looked around. Many of the patrons appeared to be her age. Penny wondered what their life stories were.

She had always been interested in people's stories. Mainly because she felt she didn't really have a story of her own. She took a sip of her coffee and decided that wasn't completely true. She had a story, only it had begun much later in life for her than for most people.

Having looked after her ailing mother her entire life, Penny's story had to be put on hold until her mother died three years ago. That death had been a breath of fresh air. Oh, the things she could do with her freedom. She'd planned to travel, to spend her well-earned inheritance on fine clothes and jewellery.

She hadn't.

Her first outing to the casino had been her undoing. She knew that now but it was too late to turn back. The money was gone. The addiction remained, and no matter how hard she tried to fight it, it always won.

Penny thought about her story, if she could call it a story. She wondered how it would end. There were numerous possibilities. She could kill herself. Go out with a big bang. Who would notice her passing? Mercer, Sally. Jack perhaps. They wouldn't grieve, and would most likely say, poor old Penny we knew she didn't have a life. No, she couldn't kill herself. After all, she did have some dignity left.

Perhaps she might meet an illustrious high roller who would fall madly in love with her, offer to marry her and clear her debts. Wouldn't that be nice? Could she give a man what he'd expect in return? Penny often wondered what it was like to be with a man. She had thought about this a lot when she was younger. Her mother always made it sound like the most revolting grotesque act in the world. Eventually Penny stopped wondering. Wrenching her head and darting her eyes this way and that she snarled, "No life, never a wife."

Of course, there was the chance of her winning all of her money back. It happened. Surely it did.

Penny took a bite of her carrot cake. Delicious. Just the right amount of carrot, and the lemon cream cheese frosting was divine. Perhaps she should have been a baker, because she had a rare gift of being able to recognise the many ingredients in most of the food items and dishes she ate. She savoured the cakes taste before taking another sip of her coffee.

What was another possible ending to her story? She could go to Gamblers Anonymous. Would her pride let her? No... she didn't think so. Was her current solution to the problem a satisfying ending? Well, it wasn't an ending at all, but a continuance. One which had been working reasonably well, until Sally Parks started making insinuations.

How could she resolve that setback to her bigger problem? Penny supposed she could kill Sally Parks. However, she didn't have access to Sally like she'd had access to her mother.

She smiled. Penny had always prided herself on being a tolerant woman. Hadn't all the years of waiting and caring for her mother proved how patient she was? She just needed time. Listen and observe. That was her motto. Many of her past problems had settled themselves by being patient.

She wiped her hands and mouth with her serviette and headed back to the poker machines. Good, her favourite game was vacant. Her patience would pay off. It was the way of things, and all she needed to do now was to play carefully and methodically until, Thing, appeared in the winning combination. The size of her bets would ensure the bonus would be large, and then Penny could go home a happy woman.

If you know of someone with gambling addict please seek help.

Image taken from Youtube.