CH26
Martha wasted no time in hugging Johanna who looked like she wasn't quite sure what to do. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Then she turned to Jim and gave him a hug.
"I just need to get checked in and find my room and I'm free to go," Martha told them and headed for the lobby. Thanks to stopping to meet them, she was now last in line; it took her an hour to finally find her room.
"Mother I could have gotten you a better room." Rick was looking around. It was small, like really small. It had a single queen sized bed, a bathroom with a tub and shower head, and that was just about it.
"Nonsense dear. Our entire troop is staying here so I should be close. And besides we've stayed in worse and did alright," Martha countered. She found a place for her suitcase and decided that was enough. "Where shall we go? It's only 6:30," she stated after looking at her watch.
"Well tomorrow I was thinking we could spend the day in Lake Tahoe, as for tonight we could find a good casino and see if we get lucky," Rick suggested.
"Excellent idea dear. I've always loved Nevada. I can't wait to get to Las Vegas and see what's changed." Martha was in.
Jim and Johanna along with Kate simply followed behind them. So they found themselves back in a pair of taxis headed for the Eldorado Hotel and Casino.
81,000 square feet of Casino space. "Oh yes, this is the place." Martha was happy and headed for the cash desk to get some cash and or chips, with everyone else falling in behind her.
"What do you mean you can't accept my card? It worked perfectly yesterday and I haven't used it since," Martha yelled at the man on the other side of the glass. "I don't understand. I have plenty of money. I even just got my paycheck before coming here and put it in the bank the same day." She tried to reason with him.
"Mother?" Rick was closest. "They won't accept my card Richard," Martha stated, very upset.
"Have you got the right card? Do you have another one?" Johanna asked having overheard Martha's problem. As had anyone within hearing range.
"I only have the one card. It's all I've ever needed. It gives me access to all my money," she replied.
"Martha, does your husband have access to your account?" Kate questioned.
"My ex-husband dear, and of course he had access, we were married," Martha commented, not seeing what that had to do with anything.
Kate took Martha's card and whispered into Rick's ear. "I'm going to go talk to B5. Offer Martha your card or she can have mine." She kissed him. "I'll be right back Martha." She headed for the closest women's restroom and found one with 3 empty stalls, picked the one in the middle, and pressed her gem embedded in her palm.
"Just use mine Mother. I'm sure we can straighten this out." Rick handed over one of his took it reluctantly since she was positive she had money. "I'll pay you back darling," she said forcefully and ended up with $3 thousand in chips along with 50 $1 dollar coins.
"Now where's Katherine?" Martha didn't want to play without everyone.
"How is Katie going to find out anything? Isn't there going to be some security password or PIN number?" Johanna whispered to her husband just as Kate came striding back and took Rick off to one side.
"Her account is empty Rick. Everything was withdrawn in a lump sum by someone named James Hanson," Kate said.
"Mother's ex-husband." He was starting to get very angry. "He cleaned her out babe, your mother doesn't have dime," she told him.
"Katherine?" Martha questioned as she, Johanna, and Jim approached them.
"James canceled your card mother. We'll get this straightened out when the bank opens in the morning," Rick offered as a way to handle the problem.
"Canceled my card? Why would he do that?" Martha didn't understand.
"I'm sorry Martha, we didn't know you were divorced." Johanna gave Martha her condolances.
"It's nothing dear, I've been divorced before. It takes more than a divorce to get a Rodgers woman down. …Now shall we start with the dollar slots?" Martha wanted to gamble.
Jim went to one window to get some dollar coins while Rick did the same with Kate right behind him. "What are we going to do babe?" She had ideas, but this was his mother.
Rick got his dollars. "We have a new mission to go on tonight after we go to our room. We're getting my mother's money back. And hang him by his balls from the Statue of Liberty," he stated quietly but sternly.
Kate smiled since Rick had said WE. She suddenly hugged him and kissed him for it.
Martha, it turned out, was lost in her machine leaving the others to play a little and talk a bit. "What happened?" Johanna asked Kate, referring to Martha's credit card. "Martha's ex-husband canceled the card on her," she answered. "Has she actually signed the divorce papers and is sure that they have been filed?" Johanna inquired. "I don't actually know Mom. Rick?" She turned to him and watched him shrug his shoulders. His mother being divorced was a surprise to him too. And Kate hadn't thought to ask B5 about it.
"That would be important information to know," Johanna pointed out. They went back to playing their dollar slots.
Martha had won a little and mostly lost. She put in her final dollar and watched the bandit eat it. "Well, easy come easy go." She wasn't affected by it much. "Evil machine, probably hates me," she commented as she got up to leave. "Not anymore Mother, since you fed it," Rick quipped, causing Martha to laugh a little.
It took a few minutes before there was space for Martha to step into a craps game and start placing bets. She kept betting that the shooter wouldn't make it and she was actually starting to gain some ground. The others simply stood back and watched her. For all her eagerness to play, she wasn't a big better.
"You two want to try black jack?" Rick asked Jim and Johanna while handing over $1 thousand in chips to them and pointed to an open table.
Rick stood behind his mother while Kate went with her parents and waited behind them as they started to play. Johanna, it turned out, was even stingier than Martha. Jim, however, was betting bigger. "You're going to run out of money fast honey if you keep betting like that," Johanna cautioned her husband. "If I'm going to win I want to win something. Not just enough to buy a pack of gum," Jim retorted.
Kate couldn't stay out of it and kept giving both of her parents her opinion on what to do. Johanna wasn't listening. "I told you Mom," she said as Johanna lost. "Go help your father," Johanna snapped as she waved her daughter away.
Jim gave Kate some of his chips and had her sit down and play her own game. Johanna was playing and mostly losing while Jim was keeping himself entertained with his occasional win.
Kate was getting into it more than her parents were. She started out doing pretty well before taking a nose dive. Still she nursed it long enough for her parents to run out of money and decided to leave the table with her last chip.
Walking back over to Martha and Rick, they watched Martha throw the dice. Kate stepped up to Rick and saw all the chips in front of him. "WOW babe!" She was impressed. "Has Martha been that good?" she questioned.
"Richard has been betting against me actually. My own son," Martha complained as she threw the dice and lost again while Rick won a little. Jim and Johanna chuckled behind them.
"Dinner?" Kate suggested since none of them had eaten anything all day because of their trip to the Casino. "Good plan. Come on Mother. You can try again tomorrow," Rick said and got her to open her purse. He dumped all of his chips into her purse with the intent of forgetting about them.
"Let's see what's available here before going somewhere else," he proposed and they headed for the closest board that told them what kind of dining this hotel/casino had.
"Roxy is steaks and chops. La Strada is Italian. Prime Rib Grill," Rick emphasized that restaurant since it interested him. "Buffet, Shushi Sake, Beer Place, Drinks with Desserts, a gelato shop, and a coffee shop," he finished. "Any votes?" he asked. "We know what your vote is babe." Kate patted his shoulder. "I don't mind it either, though the Buffet has the most options." She gave her 2 cents. Martha voted for Italian but didn't seem committed to it. "What do you think Jim, Buffet?" Johanna looked at her husband. "That or Prime Rib Grill," he answered.
"Buffet it is then." Rick caved and they headed for the Buffet which wasn't anywhere near where they were. In fact it was quite a walk.
After looking at all of the food choices, Kate ended up with Chinese, Martha and Rick chose Italian, Johanna selected more American fare, while Jim found carved ham as his favorite.
Rick and Jim went back for seconds while the women went looking at deserts. Not finding what they wanted, the ladies were drinking coffee while the men kept eating, though be it slowly. "How long have you been acting Martha?" Johanna was curious.
"I started out in high school actually. My parents made my costumes for me. I found that I loved being up on stage in front of an audience. Reciting my lines, doing a little dancing, maybe a little singing. I couldn't get enough. I did some church plays in those days also. Anything I could find actually. My parents weren't the richest of people so getting into an acting school was out, still I listened to everyone I came across and did the best I could."
"I've done some TV episodes along with some commercials in my time. I find that I prefer a live audience - Broadway or traveling productions like this one."
"Some of the places I dragged Richard through were questionable, but he never said a word." Martha placed her hand on Rick and smiled.
"Any TV shows I would know?" Johanna asks.
"I had a few weeks on Temptation Lane before I was killed off." Martha comments.
"Seriously! I loved that show. We need to talk, seriously talk." Johanna didn't remember seeing Martha on any of the shows. Still it was possible.
"I hated moving him from school to school while I chased acting jobs. We lived in some of the worst places so I could afford to keep him fed and clothed. Kids grow out of clothes so fast, and then Richard hit a sudden growth spurt. It was all I could do to keep up."
"Now he's a handsome, strapping, young man, and I'm so proud of him. He found something he loved to do and it has made him good money. He doesn't have to live where we did when he was little."
"It was fine Mother, I wouldn't change a thing. I always knew that I was loved even if we moved a lot. Who needed friends when I had the entire backstage filled with people?" Rick covered his mother's hand with his.
"He is a handsome man, you've done a good job with him. Katie couldn't have picked anyone better to be engaged to," Johanna said.
"RICHARD!?" Martha glared at her son and then turned to Kate. "Rick proposed in our room after we dropped my parents off at their room." Kate held up her left hand to show off the diamond that she was wearing.
"I KNEW IT, I JUST KNEW IT! How marvelous. Have you two set a date yet or even picked a location?" Martha was beaming.
"I'm trying to talk Rick into getting married here in Reno before we leave, but he's probably right that we should wait. Enjoy being engaged before getting married," she said, trying to be agreeable.
"Nonsense dear, you do what your heart tells you to do. Doing what your head tells you to do will only lead to trouble. You'll start second guessing yourself and make yourself miserable. You stick with me, between us we'll have you married in Reno before the end of the week. Right Johanna?" Martha went looking for support.
"There has to be a hotel around here somewhere that can handle everything. Maybe in Lake Tahoe," Johanna suggested.
"We can go shopping for a gown. I've always wanted to go wedding gown shopping. Oh this is going to be so much fun! We'll have you two married in no time. We'll leave it to you two to plan the perfect honeymoon. Maybe a nice secluded island beach somewhere. Who needs swimsuits?" Martha was absolutely giddy.
"MOTHER!?" Rick was not amused. Kate, however, was smirking.
"Oh don't be such a stick in the mud, dear. We all know that no matter where you go you two will never leave the bedroom," Martha countered and waved her arm to show that the conversation was final.
"Can we trade mothers?" Rick asked looking at Kate. "RICHARD!" Martha was not amused.
"Don't worry Mother, I wouldn't trade you for anyone." He lifted her hand and brushed a soft kiss over it. Jim and Johanna were getting a peek at just how these two worked and it was eye opening to say the least.
"Tomorrow we can look for bridal shops and take Katherine shopping when I'm off. And since I still have Richard's card, if we find the right gown we can buy it. Oh, I love shopping!" Martha was so excited.
"Especially if it's other people's money," Rick moaned. He can just imagine his mother finding Kate a $60 thousand wedding gown. He suddenly sat up straight. What was he thinking? It was his idea to wait! He gave his mother a death glare for inserting herself into their engagement which looked like it was going hold the new world record for being the shortest.
The ladies decided to check out the hotel's gelato shop so they got desert to go for everyone.
Rick made sure to get Martha a taxi to her hotel. "We'll join you for breakfast Mother and go from there," he said. "I look forward to it dear. It's been a pleasure to meet you, Jim and Johanna."
"You too Martha." Johanna replied, a little shocked by this woman.
Martha's taxi left as Rick flagged down another pair of taxis to return to them to their hotel. "What did you think?" Johanna asked her husband as they rode in the taxi. "Martha? She is vibrant and sure of herself. Just not in an overly conceited way." Jim shared his opinion.
"She certainly has no problem speaking her mind that's for sure. Still she is pushing them to get married while they are here... I know Katie wants to, why so suddenly I don't know. Something we're going to have to quiz her about tomorrow," Johanna said, looking for support from Jim.
Jim didn't miss the WE part in that sentence and knew his wife expected him to help get answers out of their daughter. Tomorrow was looking to be a very long day for him.
The two couples said their good nights on their floor and walked different directions.
"B5?" Rick asked as Kate took hold of his arm and nodded. It was time to get his mother's money back and give this Hanson guy a token "thank you for being an ass" gift.
"Should we be pushing these two to get married?" Johanna asked her husband as she slid under the sheets after changing, washing her makeup off, and rubbing in her skin lotion.
"Rick seemed concerned that getting married here was rushing it a little," Jim stated.
"But he did ask Katie to marry him, surely he's ready to get married. Though I'll admit most people have some kind of engagement time. Even we took 3 months, we're not even giving them a week." Johanna felt bad about that.
"So we're not going dress shopping tomorrow?" Jim prayed, since he had no interest in going wedding gown shopping.
"You're not, no. You're staying here with Rick and you two can entertain yourselves. Just don't get arrested doing it. It wouldn't look good on your resume," Johanna warned him.
"Is this your way of telling me you won't come bail me out?" he questioned.
"Oh I'll bail you out alright, right after I let you stew in jail overnight and let you think about how you're going to make it up to me," Johanna replied.
"Perhaps I should do some preliminary work to increase my chances," Jim suggested as he started kissing her bare skin. "I like the way you think counselor," Johanna answered with a sigh.
It took no time at all for Rick and Kate to find where James Hanson was staying. The idiot used a credit card with which to book his hotel room.
Kate had Hanson's wallet and his briefcase filled with papers. "Be right back, he's yours to deal with." She kissed Rick's cheek and disappeared, ending up in front of B5.
Rick rubbed his hands. "What do I do with you?" Doing what he had done to the guy who had bought Kate came to mind. But Rick wanted Hanson to know he had screwed up so that meant he had to keep his mind. Which was a pity.
"Well I'm not leaving you here, so where do you go?" Then Rick got an evil idea. "I wonder if you speak Chinese or Korean?" He started smiling. He had taken someone from North Korea, might as well give them someone back in return.
"First let's make you look drunk," he said to himself and placed a finger on Hanson's sleeping head followed by stripping him naked. "Okay big guy, let's go." He teleported both of them to Kim's viewing area for rocket launches and placed Hanson in the big chair. He arranged for one of his hands to have broken fingers, except for the center one.
"There, all comfy?" he asked him. "You just stay right there and take a nice nap. The guards should be along soon and give you a new place to stay until Kim tires of you." He teleported back to their hotel room, picked up Alexis, and teleported to their kitchen.
Kate was just finishing up working with B5 to relieve Hanson of every penny since he was certainly not going to be needing any money. She was positive Rick would take care of that.
"How did it go?" she asked just after he and Alexis showed up.
"North Korea now has a new resident, though his tenure is likely to be short." Rick snarked as he got out Alexis's crystal dish and a can of Turkey and Rabbit cat food. He popped the top, which enticed Alexis to jump up on the island countertop in seconds. He sprinkled a little dry food on top and let Alexis eat.
"I hope he enjoys being someone's unwilling bitch." Kate was never going to get over what they had done to her. No matter how her life went, she had lost 5 years of it.
"My Mother is happy, Alexis is happy, I'm pretty sure your parents are happy. Now what does it take to make my fiancée happy?" Rick brushed his lips across Kate's.
"Let's find out." Kate took his hand, lead him to their bedroom, and allowed Rick to make her very, very happy.