Poker Games and Movie NightsTitle: Expect The Unexpected
Chapter 23: Poker Games and Movie Nights
Hee, I'm back! Actually, I'm only here for a little while, okay? See, I've got about twenty stories, and while they're unfinished, they're still slightly buzzing around in the back of my mind....and it's been the longest since I've updated this one. So I'm gonna finish it. Soon. Probably next chapter, because not only is twenty-four an even number, it's divisible by three, and my mom's got me doing this numerology thing, so now I'm in the habit of 'if it's divisible by three, everything's better.' So I'll finish this story up soon. It'll happen, I swear. Okay, now, on with the show!!!
Oh yeah, picks up on the same day the last one ended on. Just later in the day.
~~~~
"How many more people?" Lorelai asked at six-thirty that evening as she walked into the Danes kitchen from the back door. Rory looked up from the book she was reading.
"So far, it's just you, me, Sookie, and Karen."
"Hmm. Do ya think they're gonna show?"
"I dunno. Margaret might be forced by Jen, and Lane will almost definitely be forced by Edie."
"I've always liked Edie."
"Yeah, I know. What movie did you get?"
"Movies. With an s."
"Fine. What movies did you get?"
"The best of singers turned actresses and vice versa!"
"Oh, like what? You didn't get any rated R, did you? Cause we have a thirteen-year-old here and a fifteen-year-old coming. And Sookie and Lane don't want them watching certain movies yet."
"Okay. I'll just take a few of these back." Lorelai reached into the plastic bag and pulled four movies out.
"Mom!"
"Don't worry, we've got more."
"How many?"
"Four."
"You got eight movies?"
"I'm taking four of them back!"
"Fine. Just don't get any more. And this time, pick up the pizza."
"Ooh, I knew I forgot something. Okay, I'll be right back." Lorelai left the four remaining videos on the kitchen table and walked to the front door, waving to Sookie and Karen in the living room as she passed them. She pulled open the front door to reveal Margaret and Jennifer Forester. All three were slightly surprised.
"Hey, Lorelai!" Jen was the first one to speak.
"Jen, how're you doing?"
"Better."
"Well...that's always good to hear."
"Yeah."
"So...are we early?" Margaret finally spoke up.
"Uh, no, actually. Rory's in the kitchen, my best friend Sookie and her daughter Karen are in the living room, and I'm just heading out for pizza. Any preferences?"
"Not really," Margaret declined politely.
"Cheesiest crap they got." Jen pronounced proudly. Lorelai laughed and nodded.
"Can do. Why don't you go see Ror? She's right through there." Lorelai pointed, and the mother-daughter team thankfully found Rory.
~~~~
Twenty minutes later, three out of the four mother daughter combinations were sitting around the Danes couch, starting in on the pizza. Rory had pleaded for another ten minutes before they started the movies, and everyone had agreed to wait for Lane for a little while longer. Before long, the front door creaked open and Lane called out.
"Hello? Rory?"
"Lane!" Rory squealed, popping up from her seat on the floor to greet her friend. As Rory ran around the corner and Lane came into view, she realized there was not one, but two Cho daughters walking behind Lane.
"Kim!" Rory threw her arms around the teenager, shocking her almost as much as Lane had shocked Chris days before. "How've you been?"
"Good."
"She's pregnant," Lane muttered.
"What?" Rory was shocked.
"And she just got married last night."
"Well...congratulations, Kim! So what's your name now?"
"Kim Rygalski." Lane murmured.
"Ooh. Uh. Why don't we go into the living room. Movies and pizza and all that." Rory fake-laughed as she herded the females into the living room. She certainly hoped the night went okay.
~~~~
The night did go okay. As a matter of fact, it went great! Karen and Edie really hit it off, despite the slight age difference. Jen was thrilled to death by Kim--she'd gone to one of the band's concerts in a club, and she'd been waiting for their record for forever. Sookie and Lorelai were best friends just like they'd been for over thirty years, and even Lane warmed up to Margaret, who was the sweetest person in the world--until she drank, and then she was the most hilarious person in the world. After the legal, non-pregnant group had gone through two bottles of wine, Margaret had gotten up and started telling jokes. She'd gone on for over an hour, and everyone laughed themselves to sleep.
~~~~
Meanwhile, all the men were going through a similar ritual. Luke, Jackson, Jackson's twin eighteen-year-olds Mike and Mark, Jess, Chris, Chris' best friend Lance, Little Luke, Henry, Henry's twelve-year-old Paul, Dean, and Dean's eight-year-old Jon were gathered in the Mariano apartment to play poker. After about four hours and three twelve-packs of beer, Dean and Jess weren't speaking, everyone eighteen and under had disappeared, Jackson was down two hundred dollars in chips, Luke was down one hundred fifty dollars in chips, and Henry was winning.
It was Luke's turn to deal, so he did, saying as he flipped the cards to each man, "Five card stud. Jacks and Jokers are wild. Last game, and then we can go home."
"You can't," Jess pointed out, picking up his hand.
"Damn." Luke sighed. "Can I stay here?"
"Yeah. You have to open the diner in the morning, though. Three." Jess slid three cards to Luke, who dealt him three more.
"Why not just make Chris open the diner?" Jackson suggested, staring at his hand. It was really bad.
"Good idea, Jackson. You want any cards?"
Jackson shook his head. "I fold."
No one acted surprised. Jackson had folded for the past ten hands.
"Henry?" Luke turned to the fourth man.
"I'll take one," he responded, handing over one card. Luke obligingly only dealt him one card, and Henry's expression never changed as he was handed the one card that could cause him to lose.
"Dean?"
The other four all turned to Dean, who had been silent for a while.
"Uh, two, I guess."
"Okay. And the dealer takes two." Luke finished redealing the cards and everyone stared at their cards, and then at Luke.
"Uh, Luke?" Jess prompted Luke out of his stupor.
"Oh, yeah. Everybody ante."
Everyone excluding Jackson threw a white chip in the middle of the table. Luke started the betting at five, and everyone threw another chip in the pile. The betting continued, but after a while, Luke had to fold. The betting got higher and higher, and before long, Henry had ducked out too. Jackson and Luke were shocked, and immediately stood up to look at Henry's hand. It was really good--one of the highest you could get. They exchanged glances, and then Jackson ran to stand behind Dean and his hand, and Luke stood behind Jess and his hand. Henry offered to check on the younger boys, and left.
"I see your five, and raise you five," Dean said to Jess, staring only at his hand.
"I see your five, and raise you ten," Jess announced, tired of the tiny betting that amounted to a lot. He wanted to get to the chase, and the chase was that he could beat Dean at anything at all, especially anything that had to do with smart know-how.
"I see your ten, and raise you ten," Dean threw his chips on the pile.
"I see your ten, and raise you twenty."
"I see your twenty, and raise you five."
Ha, ha, losing steam, Jess laughed to himself. Out loud he said, "I see your five, and raise you fifty."
Jackson whistled; Luke just smiled.
"Uh, I see your fifty, and, uh, I raise you...." Dean trailed off, and Jess' head started screaming victory. "I raise you fifty." Dean ended triumphantly, and he finally raised his head and looked directly into Jess' eyes.
"I see your fifty, and I raise you--" Jess paused to count. "Four hundred thirty seven."
Dean's eyes widened, and he slowly lowered his cards.
"I fold," he said softly.
"Yes! I win!" Jess jumped up out of his chair, throwing his own cards on the table. "I can beat you at anything, bag boy!"
"What'd you have?" Jackson asked, reaching across the table for the cards. "A pair of twos?"
"Yup. I had a pair of twos."
"What? You cheated, you bastard!" Dean yelled.
"No, I didn't cheat. I bluffed."
"You lied!"
"Calm down! It's just a game!" Luke said in a desperate attempt to get the fight over before it started.
"Yeah, Dean! And I won!"
With that, Dean sprang at Jess, and it was 'just a nice, everyday poker game brawl between friends,' as both men told their wives the next day when they showed up at the diner with double black eyes and bruised lips and faces.
Chapter 23: Poker Games and Movie Nights
Hee, I'm back! Actually, I'm only here for a little while, okay? See, I've got about twenty stories, and while they're unfinished, they're still slightly buzzing around in the back of my mind....and it's been the longest since I've updated this one. So I'm gonna finish it. Soon. Probably next chapter, because not only is twenty-four an even number, it's divisible by three, and my mom's got me doing this numerology thing, so now I'm in the habit of 'if it's divisible by three, everything's better.' So I'll finish this story up soon. It'll happen, I swear. Okay, now, on with the show!!!
Oh yeah, picks up on the same day the last one ended on. Just later in the day.
~~~~
"How many more people?" Lorelai asked at six-thirty that evening as she walked into the Danes kitchen from the back door. Rory looked up from the book she was reading.
"So far, it's just you, me, Sookie, and Karen."
"Hmm. Do ya think they're gonna show?"
"I dunno. Margaret might be forced by Jen, and Lane will almost definitely be forced by Edie."
"I've always liked Edie."
"Yeah, I know. What movie did you get?"
"Movies. With an s."
"Fine. What movies did you get?"
"The best of singers turned actresses and vice versa!"
"Oh, like what? You didn't get any rated R, did you? Cause we have a thirteen-year-old here and a fifteen-year-old coming. And Sookie and Lane don't want them watching certain movies yet."
"Okay. I'll just take a few of these back." Lorelai reached into the plastic bag and pulled four movies out.
"Mom!"
"Don't worry, we've got more."
"How many?"
"Four."
"You got eight movies?"
"I'm taking four of them back!"
"Fine. Just don't get any more. And this time, pick up the pizza."
"Ooh, I knew I forgot something. Okay, I'll be right back." Lorelai left the four remaining videos on the kitchen table and walked to the front door, waving to Sookie and Karen in the living room as she passed them. She pulled open the front door to reveal Margaret and Jennifer Forester. All three were slightly surprised.
"Hey, Lorelai!" Jen was the first one to speak.
"Jen, how're you doing?"
"Better."
"Well...that's always good to hear."
"Yeah."
"So...are we early?" Margaret finally spoke up.
"Uh, no, actually. Rory's in the kitchen, my best friend Sookie and her daughter Karen are in the living room, and I'm just heading out for pizza. Any preferences?"
"Not really," Margaret declined politely.
"Cheesiest crap they got." Jen pronounced proudly. Lorelai laughed and nodded.
"Can do. Why don't you go see Ror? She's right through there." Lorelai pointed, and the mother-daughter team thankfully found Rory.
~~~~
Twenty minutes later, three out of the four mother daughter combinations were sitting around the Danes couch, starting in on the pizza. Rory had pleaded for another ten minutes before they started the movies, and everyone had agreed to wait for Lane for a little while longer. Before long, the front door creaked open and Lane called out.
"Hello? Rory?"
"Lane!" Rory squealed, popping up from her seat on the floor to greet her friend. As Rory ran around the corner and Lane came into view, she realized there was not one, but two Cho daughters walking behind Lane.
"Kim!" Rory threw her arms around the teenager, shocking her almost as much as Lane had shocked Chris days before. "How've you been?"
"Good."
"She's pregnant," Lane muttered.
"What?" Rory was shocked.
"And she just got married last night."
"Well...congratulations, Kim! So what's your name now?"
"Kim Rygalski." Lane murmured.
"Ooh. Uh. Why don't we go into the living room. Movies and pizza and all that." Rory fake-laughed as she herded the females into the living room. She certainly hoped the night went okay.
~~~~
The night did go okay. As a matter of fact, it went great! Karen and Edie really hit it off, despite the slight age difference. Jen was thrilled to death by Kim--she'd gone to one of the band's concerts in a club, and she'd been waiting for their record for forever. Sookie and Lorelai were best friends just like they'd been for over thirty years, and even Lane warmed up to Margaret, who was the sweetest person in the world--until she drank, and then she was the most hilarious person in the world. After the legal, non-pregnant group had gone through two bottles of wine, Margaret had gotten up and started telling jokes. She'd gone on for over an hour, and everyone laughed themselves to sleep.
~~~~
Meanwhile, all the men were going through a similar ritual. Luke, Jackson, Jackson's twin eighteen-year-olds Mike and Mark, Jess, Chris, Chris' best friend Lance, Little Luke, Henry, Henry's twelve-year-old Paul, Dean, and Dean's eight-year-old Jon were gathered in the Mariano apartment to play poker. After about four hours and three twelve-packs of beer, Dean and Jess weren't speaking, everyone eighteen and under had disappeared, Jackson was down two hundred dollars in chips, Luke was down one hundred fifty dollars in chips, and Henry was winning.
It was Luke's turn to deal, so he did, saying as he flipped the cards to each man, "Five card stud. Jacks and Jokers are wild. Last game, and then we can go home."
"You can't," Jess pointed out, picking up his hand.
"Damn." Luke sighed. "Can I stay here?"
"Yeah. You have to open the diner in the morning, though. Three." Jess slid three cards to Luke, who dealt him three more.
"Why not just make Chris open the diner?" Jackson suggested, staring at his hand. It was really bad.
"Good idea, Jackson. You want any cards?"
Jackson shook his head. "I fold."
No one acted surprised. Jackson had folded for the past ten hands.
"Henry?" Luke turned to the fourth man.
"I'll take one," he responded, handing over one card. Luke obligingly only dealt him one card, and Henry's expression never changed as he was handed the one card that could cause him to lose.
"Dean?"
The other four all turned to Dean, who had been silent for a while.
"Uh, two, I guess."
"Okay. And the dealer takes two." Luke finished redealing the cards and everyone stared at their cards, and then at Luke.
"Uh, Luke?" Jess prompted Luke out of his stupor.
"Oh, yeah. Everybody ante."
Everyone excluding Jackson threw a white chip in the middle of the table. Luke started the betting at five, and everyone threw another chip in the pile. The betting continued, but after a while, Luke had to fold. The betting got higher and higher, and before long, Henry had ducked out too. Jackson and Luke were shocked, and immediately stood up to look at Henry's hand. It was really good--one of the highest you could get. They exchanged glances, and then Jackson ran to stand behind Dean and his hand, and Luke stood behind Jess and his hand. Henry offered to check on the younger boys, and left.
"I see your five, and raise you five," Dean said to Jess, staring only at his hand.
"I see your five, and raise you ten," Jess announced, tired of the tiny betting that amounted to a lot. He wanted to get to the chase, and the chase was that he could beat Dean at anything at all, especially anything that had to do with smart know-how.
"I see your ten, and raise you ten," Dean threw his chips on the pile.
"I see your ten, and raise you twenty."
"I see your twenty, and raise you five."
Ha, ha, losing steam, Jess laughed to himself. Out loud he said, "I see your five, and raise you fifty."
Jackson whistled; Luke just smiled.
"Uh, I see your fifty, and, uh, I raise you...." Dean trailed off, and Jess' head started screaming victory. "I raise you fifty." Dean ended triumphantly, and he finally raised his head and looked directly into Jess' eyes.
"I see your fifty, and I raise you--" Jess paused to count. "Four hundred thirty seven."
Dean's eyes widened, and he slowly lowered his cards.
"I fold," he said softly.
"Yes! I win!" Jess jumped up out of his chair, throwing his own cards on the table. "I can beat you at anything, bag boy!"
"What'd you have?" Jackson asked, reaching across the table for the cards. "A pair of twos?"
"Yup. I had a pair of twos."
"What? You cheated, you bastard!" Dean yelled.
"No, I didn't cheat. I bluffed."
"You lied!"
"Calm down! It's just a game!" Luke said in a desperate attempt to get the fight over before it started.
"Yeah, Dean! And I won!"
With that, Dean sprang at Jess, and it was 'just a nice, everyday poker game brawl between friends,' as both men told their wives the next day when they showed up at the diner with double black eyes and bruised lips and faces.