Toni and me were not talking. We simply ignored each other. I was singing the blues so hard. I need her love and affection. But I'm not a punk. No matter how much I may love them no one can make a doormat out of Mickey Crimm. Our text wars were full of vitriol.
"Kelly is concerned about you, Mickey"
"What for?" I said to Adrian.
It is the responsibility of the day bartender to count the number of drinks that are served the night before. Kelly is the day bartender three days a week and works two night shifts.
"She says you downed 27 shots of V.O. last night and 24 shots the night before. Why are you drinkin' so hard.?"
"Becaue I feel like it."
"You ain't gonna catch that girl, Mickey."
"Say's who?"
"The guys in this town been after her for years. You're the new kid on the block. You don't know a damn thing about her."
"I know I'm in love with her."
" So what? So is everybody else."
"But you don't understand. I'm the Fremont Street Commando. I don't give a damn where the chips fall. The only thing that matters to me is she knows I love her."
"Have you told her that you love her?"
"More times than I can count."
"So what has it gotten you?"
"We're not talking right now."
"Here's a shot of V.O on us."
I needed a break. I had some decisions to make. I made them. There was something I had to clear up. For a long time I had had a storage unit on Alta and Decatur in Las Vegas. In one of the rollaways I had five figures stashed. I needed a break from this Montana town. I needed time away from the booze to think. I walked down to the bus station and bought a round trip ticket to Las Vegas-then jumped on the bus.
I'll tell you how stupid I can be. I passed on a Circus Circus offer for two tickets to the Nascar Race and four free nights in the hotel just the week before. And the flight would cost me just $118. I passed. Now I'm riding a miserable bus down to LV. But I needed time to think.
I had a 1 hour layover in Butte. I walked into the terminal and quickly noticed a woman who looked so much like Toni it was uncanny. I tried to keep my eyes off of her but it was hard. I noticed she had a cane sitting next to her. When our bus pulled up everyone dashed except her. She grabbed her cane and tried to move as fast as she could but she had the worst hobble. It was easy to tell this woman had the worst of leg injuries. I followed behind her and watched as she had to sit down on the first rung of the stairs to the bus and move her butt up to the next rung, and so forth. They had a seat reserved for her. The uncanny thing to me was how this girl smiled. She always smiled at us.
I sat in the seat behind her. She pulled her shoes off and stretched her leg out on the seats. The bus took off. When we got down to Dillon for a break I woke up and seen her putting her shoes back on. She was sideways in the seat and could see back at me when I woke up. I seen the horrible scar on her leg. She darted her eyes when she noticed that I was looking.
When we got down close to Salt Lake City people were asking if there was a restaurant in the terminal. I told them that there wasn't and I had made this trip many times before and I always took a cab over to Denny's to eat when I had a big layover in SLC. I looked over at the girl and said "Do you want to go to Denny's and eat?"
She said "I can't afford it."
"Don't worry, sweetheart. It's on me. I'm buying."
We carried her luggage in for her and placed it in front of door number 3. I asked her if she could make it out to the cab to which she replied she could. I walked slowly beside her as she hobbled.
We got seated in Denny's and I told her "Anything you want on the menu."
"Thank you."
She ordered a mushroom cheese burger with fries and I ordered the sizzling prime rib breakfast. Then it flashed on me. I didn't even know her name.
"What's your name."
"Jeannie Cousins."
"I'm Mickey Crimm."
"Nice to meet you, Mickey. What do you do for a living?"
"I'm an advantage player and I don't care to discuss it."
"But what's an advantage player?" she asked.
"You would probably call me a professional gambler but I don't care to discuss it."
"Why not."
"Because I could talk to you about it until I'm blue in the face and you would never get it. There are other more important things to talk about. Like what happened to your leg?"
"I got hit by a car last September. It broke my leg in 3 places. I'm lucky to have my leg. It almost severed at the knee."
"Where are you going?"
"To Phoenix to check into a domestic violence shelter."
"Why Phoenix?"
"Because I have experience from it from before. I left my husband but then the accident happened and I had no place left to go when I got out of the hospital but back to him. But he will never change."
"So you are going to Phoenix with no money and a bum leg."
"Yes." It amazed me how this girl could always smile.
We drank a few more cups of coffee and small talked then I called a cab back to the bus station. We loaded up for the run to Vegas. Jeannie had a 4 1/2 hour layover in Vegas. I had 7 hours.
"Jeannie, when we get to Vegas I have to go and clear out my storage unit. Then I will be back to the bus station and if you want I'll take you over to the Plaza to eat." She agreed.
We got into Vegas and I immediately jumped in a cab and went to my storage unit. I made the cabdriver wait. I dumped everything in the dumpster but the rollaway with five figures. Then back to the bus station.
"Let's go eat, Jeannie." I took her to the snack bar as I didn't want to make her walk any more than she had too."
"Is that all you had in your storage unit." she asked while looking at the solitary rollaway I had with me.
"Well, I had a bunch of money in it and it was the only thing I cared about."
She busted out laughing! "This is starting to play like a bad movie. I run into a guy on a bus that's got a alot of money hidden in a storage unit in Las Vegas!!!" she said.
"Jeannie, you don't know much about professional gamblers and it's probably best you didn't."
We finshed our burgers and fries and then I reached into my pocket for my wad, peeled off five $100 bills, handed them over to her and said "Jeannie, I don't want the moey back."
I took out my notebook and wrote down my phone number and email address then handed it to her. "But do me a favor. Sometime down the road call me or email me and let me know how you are doing." The girl that always smiles said she would.
I walked her back to the bus station. We talked for a few more minutes then I said "I have to take a walk on Fremont Street before I leave tonight. I hope everything works out for you, Jeannie."
"Thank, you for everything." she said.
"Take care, girl. Then I walked away.
I walked over to Fremont Street through the Vegas Club, then over to Binions, then over to the Golden Nugget. The clubs were all busy, but I didn't run into one person that I knew. The lights were no long bright to me. Though the mall was packed I felt like the lonliest man on the planet earth. One last blast from the past: I walked into the Golden Gate and got a shrimp cocktail. Then back to the bus station. Jeannie's bus had left. I boarded my bus and took an uneventful 24 hour trip back to Montana.
I threw the gear in my place, went down to the bar and ordered a beer. I pulled out my cell phone and fired off a text "Toni, would you please grant me permission to talk to you?" A few minutes later I got a phone call. I hit the send button and said "Toni, I love you." She started crying and said "I love you too."