It was a busy night at the Haunted Star. Several of Port Charles upper class residents were playing the tables and enjoying the ambiance of the casino. Normally Luke would be overjoyed that his establishment was filled with Port Chuck's wealthiest, however this night he was anything but. As he and Ethan were tending to the bar Luke was sulking about the fact that his other bartender had called off and he would have to stay and work instead of take Tracy out on their weekly date night.
"Man, dodge what am I going to do? Tonight I am supposed to be taking Tracy out to dinner and then we were going to head over to Jakes for a little karaoke. Now that Jimmy called off I have to stay here. Tracy is going to be so disappointed. We have had to skip date night for the last two weeks because one week I was in Vegas on business for the Star and the other week Tracy was in Chicago on business for ELQ. How can I break our date without her being furious with me?" Luke asked as he slumped on the bar.
"Maybe you don't have to. Ethan said as he seemed to have an idea.
"What are you talking about? This place is packed you can't handle all the customers your self. I mean your good but not that good." Luke said as he was trying to figure out what his son thinking.
"Ye have little faith father. Anyway I was thinking that I might know of somebody who could use a little extra cash and is pretty handy around mixed drinks."
"Who?" Luke asked curiously.
"Lulu. She was in here last week saying how she and Dante are planning a trip to Italy and how she could use some extra money for the trip. Why don't you call her and see if she would be willing to help out." Ethan said excitedly as he thought it would be cool to work side by side with his sister.
"Alright I will call her, but I am going to hold you responsible for making sure no drunken dumb-ass tries to pull anything on her." Luke said warning his son.
"Don't worry Luke I will look after her as if she were my own sister. Oh wait she is." Ethan said as he teased Luke.
Luke just gave Ethan a stern glare as he reached into his jacket pocket to pull out his phone. As he was calling Lulu he noticed Tracy walk in and gave her a motion that he would be with her in a minute. As Tracy approached the bar, Ethan was setting her martini down for her.
"Here you go stepmother your usual martini." Ethan said as he was genuinely happy to see his stepmother.
"Thank you stepson. Who is your father talking to on the phone?" Tracy asked as she saw Luke smiling during his conversation.
"I think he is talking to Lulu." Ethan said as he was unsure if he should divulge any details.
As Luke finished his call to his daughter, he walked around the bar to where Tracy was sitting. He turned her stool so that she was facing him and gently put his lips on hers to give her a welcoming kiss. After the kiss broke he sat in the stool next to hers.
"Hi there Spanky. How was your day?" Luke asked her.
"Hi sweetheart. It was hectic. Thinking about our date tonight was the only thing that got me through it. Are you ready to go?" Tracy asked as she could not wait to start her date with her husband.
"Ya, about that." Luke started to explain until he was interrupted by Tracy.
"Oh Luke, your not canceling are you? That will be the third week we missed our date night." Tracy was disappointed.
"No sweetheart I'm not canceling, I'm just postponing it an hour. You see Jimmy called off and there is nobody to help Ethan behind the bar. I called a replacement but she can't be here for about an hour. Is that ok that we wait just an hour? As soon as she gets her we will go. Ok." Luke was hoping his wife would be ok with that.
"I guess that would be alright. Who is this she that is coming to work the bar? Let me guess some floozy you met that doubles as a bartender." Tracy said with a hint of jealousy in her voice.
"No! She is my daughter. Lulu said she could use some extra money for a trip to Italy that she and Dante are taking. I needed a bartender. I called her and she accepted. She has to do a little more work at Crimson and than she will be here." Luke explained to his wife.
"Are you sure about this Luke? I mean don't you think something might happed with one of the drunken fools that hang out here." She said with concern for her stepdaughter's safety.
"I have already told dodge that if anything happens to her I am going to hold him personally responsible. She will be fine. She's a Spencer. She can hold her own in any situation." Luke said proudly.
The bar was getting crowded and Luke had to go and help Ethan tend to the customers. As Luke and Ethan were working and Tracy was finishing up her martini, a man walked into the casino. He was surveying the room looking for a woman that might want to spend the evening with him. He noticed Tracy sitting at the bar. To him she appeared to be alone. The man decided that Tracy was going to be the woman the he would pursue. Tracy was getting board sitting at the bar waiting for Luke so she decide to head over to the roulette table and gamble a little. The man closely watched Tracy head over to the roulette table and decided to follow her. Within seconds he was standing next to her.
"One hundred on nineteen please." Tracy asked the dealer.
"Five hundred on double zeros" the man told the dealer.
"No more bets" the dealer announced
"Good luck." The man said to Tracy.
"A thanks. You too." Tracy said politely.
"Red nineteen." The dealer told the players.
"Congratulations. Nineteen must be your lucky number." The man was trying to strike a conversation with Tracy.
"I guess you can say it is a lucky number for me." She said as she was smiling at the thought of the significance of the number.
"I'm Bob." The man said introducing himself.
"Tracy." She replied.
"So Tracy I noticed that the number nineteen seems to have some meaning for you. Is there a story behind the number?" Bob asked as he is trying to flirt with her.
"As a matter of fact it's my wedding anniversary." Tracy said proudly, hoping that Bob would get the hint and leaver her alone.
"So you're married. Well if you don't mind me asking why is your husband not with you?
"He is finishing up some work. You know what I am going to wait for him at the bar." Tracy said as she started walking away. Bob was really starting to annoy her.
Tracy went back over to that bar and sat back in her seat. As Luke was with a customer he looked up to see that his wife had returned. He gave her a smile and than went back to making the drink the customer had ordered. Ethan placed another martini in front of Tracy.
"Here you are Mrs. Spencer. A perfect martini."
"Thank you Ethan. Umm. Your right it's perfect." Tracy was pleased as she sipped the drink.
"So your name is Mrs. Spencer is it." Bob had followed her to the bar.
"Listen, I told you I am married. I am not interested in you. Please leave me alone." Tracy was starting to get mad.
Luke heard his wife's voice starting to rise and walked to the part of the bar where she was sitting.
"Is there a problem here?" Luke asked his wife
"Listen up barkeep, this conversation is between me and the lady. So go back to what you were doing and leave us alone. Bob said to Luke.
Luke walked out from around the bar. He walked up to Tracy and stood in front of her facing the man that was harassing his wife. Ethan watched his father. He was ready in the case he would have to give any assistance.
"I think you should leave now." Luke said calmly, trying not to cause a scene.
"I'm just trying to get to know the lady. There's no harm in that." Bob was getting cocky
"The lady has made it clear she wants nothing to do with you. So leave before I throw you out." Now Luke was getting mad.
"Who are you, her father?" Bob started to laugh
"No I'm not her father. I'm her husband."
Bob looked at Tracy.
"This is your husband. The bartender." Bob asked confused
"Actually my son over there is the bartender. I am the manager. My wife here is the owner. Now that we have gotten that straightened out, this the last time I am going to ask you to leave before I throw you out.
"Ok, ok. I'm leaving." Bob said as headed towards exit.
As Bob was heading out, Lulu was walking in. Luke turned around so now he was facing Tracy.
"Are you alright wife?" Luke asked concerned.
"Yes. That guy was really starting to piss me off."
"What did I miss?" Lulu asked curiously
"Oh some guy was bothering your stepmother. He soon realized leaving on his own was the best option for him."
"Ok" Lulu said confused.
"Alright, I am going to take my beautiful wife out on our date now. Please don't burn the place down. Ethan you remember what we talked about earlier. Luke said with a warning in his voice.
"Yes dad I remember. Nothing will happen on my watch." Ethan reassured his father.
"Good. Well my dear shall we go?"
"I thought you'd never ask." Tracy said sarcastically
Ethan and Lulu watched as their father and Stepmother waked arm in arm out of the Haunted Star. As the couple was leaving, Tracy told Luke about her win at the roulette table.
"Guess what sweetheart? I was playing roulette and bet on nineteen. It hit, I won." Tracy said as she was excited to tell her husband.
"That's because that's our number baby. You will always win when you bet on us." Luke told his wife.