6.3: More Games

Lexington, Rebecca and Robert sat around a table in the loft of the safe house, playing poker while waiting for the truck from the estate to arrive with Yvette and the others in it. Rebecca said as she accepted a card from Robert, the dealer, "Next time, remind me to bring the Roborally game in from the estate. That's a much better way to pass the time!"

"Because you actually win those games more often than not, whereas we already know I'm going to win all your pennies," Robert said matter-of-factly as he picked up his cards. "Besides, those Roborally games always last at least half the night, and from dusk to dawn if you have more than a few players. Yvette and the others will be here in less than an hour to take Lex's measurements and talk about designs, and I thought you wanted to go out on the town afterwards."

"Well, yeah, but I'd still rather play Roborally than poker. And it's not just because I usually lose; I won a hand just last week!" Rebecca said peevishly.

Lexington gave her a look of sympathy that didn't quite hide the merriment in his eyes, then stage-whispered to Robert, "Can't bluff her way out of a paper bag, huh?"

"She's got more tells than I've got tail-hairs," Robert stage-whispered back. "Watch her brow ridges…"

Rebecca immediately slapped a hand over her brow ridges, then glared at the two males. "Ha ha, very funny," she growled at Robert. "Next Roborally game, I'm going to go postal on your 'bot, and kick you all over the board!"

"So that's a really good game, then… Roborally, that is?" Lex asked. "I've heard some buzz about it online…"

"It's a great game!" Rebecca said enthusiastically. "When we've seen all the sights in the city and head back to the estate, I'll show you how to play it. I guarantee you'll love it!"

"How much longer are you planning to play tourist, anyway?" Robert asked Rebecca. "Other than the steamboats and waterfront attractions we're going to visit tonight, I think Lex has seen just about everything interesting that we can sneak into or glide over. The city's actually pretty dull right now," he said in an aside to Lex. "If you folks stick around until Christmastime, things will get a lot livelier. And right after Christmas, there's the Sugar Bowl if you're into football. And after that, everyone kicks into high gear preparing for Mardi Gras…"

"I was figuring just one more night after this one, to check out the stuff on the south and west sides of town," Rebecca said. "Then we'd head back to the estate, and go hunting in the bayou. I still have to show Lex how to catch a gator for dinner… Did you want to come along, back to the estate with us?" she asked Robert with a trace of anxiousness.

After a brief pause, Robert slowly nodded. "It's about time I headed back anyway. I have a question to ask Goliath, about how many perches he has open…"

Rebecca gasped, and stared at him hard. "Y-you're gonna come? Really?"

"Yes, assuming that the rest of--"

But the rest of Robert's words were cut off as Rebecca threw her cards in the air with a whoop, then bounded up and over the table to give Robert a rib-crushing hug. "This is great! You'll love it in New York, I promise!"

"Uh, hey, did I miss something?" Lex asked plaintively, after dodging the cards and pennies that had been sent flying everywhere.

"Oh, sorry; this is what I was talking to Robert about, after we came back last night," Rebecca said after somewhat reluctantly letting go of her rookery brother. "I want Robert to come to New York with us! It'll be great for your clan, really; Robert can put his paintings and sculptures on display under his own name, and show the world that gargoyles can be not only civilized, but great artists too! And maybe after the general public accepts us, Robert can find a mate up there; I've heard that New York has an active gay scene…"

Lex blinked, and looked at Robert. "You're gay?"

Robert gave Rebecca a reproving glance as he muttered, "You've really got to stop trying to protect me; it always backfires." Then he turned to Lex and said with deliberate calm, "Yes, I'm gay. I know Rebecca told you I had a human mate, but she didn't say his name was Philip… Your rookery brother Brooklyn said he had no problem with my sexual orientation, and neither would your leader Goliath. But do you?"

Lexington half-chuckled as he gave a small shake of his head. "No problem here! In fact, I'm--"

"See, Robert? It'll be great!" Rebecca interrupted, nearly shouting in her excitement, though part of her euphoria was from sheer relief. In the few seconds between Lex's question and his reply to Robert, her heart had nearly stopped; she'd forgotten to tell Lex the full truth about her rookery brother and his mate. But now that it turned out everything was okay, she wanted to dance around the room for joy. Having a mate to herself and her favorite rookery brother with her in New York would really be the best of both worlds!

"Ah, just one word of caution," Lexington said with an upraised talon. "We may have the P.I.T. on our side now, but that hardly means all of New York has come to accept us. And there's still a lot of prejudice against those who aren't strictly hetero; not as bad as prejudice against gargoyles, but we've all seen the signs, and they can get pretty ugly. Once the population finds out you're gay…"

"Don't worry; I'm not going to come gliding in wearing a 'Gay Pride' T-shirt and holding a rainbow flag in my talons," Robert said dryly. "I can be as discreet as necessary, as long as necessary. Believe me, not everyone down here is tolerant, either… So I long since decided that I would never make a pass or even show interest in a male unless I'm pretty damn sure he's interested in me first."

"He'll be great, honest!" Rebecca insisted. "After he saved Philip's life in a boating accident and became friends with him, it took almost six months for them to actually get intimate!" She turned to Robert and said teasingly, "Philip told me he had to almost bonk you over the head and drag you back to his house by the mane, to convince you that he was serious..."

"Gee, thanks, Becky. Does that mean I can bring up some of your more embarrassing moments in front of Lex now? Because you know I've got plenty of ammunition," Robert said warningly.

"Hey, let's keep it friendly, okay?" Lex said with a note of alarm in his voice. "It'd be a shame to ruin our night of fun before it even got started… Weren't we playing a game of poker?"

"He's right, we were. Pick up your cards and get back to your seat, sis," Robert said as he waggled a talon at her. "Time to lose all your pennies again…"

Rebecca growled at him as she picked up her cards and handed them back to be shuffled and re-dealt, but she couldn't keep up the grumpiness. She was just too happy! Everything was working out right, everything would be just fine…

Of course, those are famous last words. To be continued…