Four Strangers

"Fellas, I'm beginning to think-"
"Shut up and deal, Frank.
So Frank dealt.
They were four strangers, from different parts of the world, but tonight they were friends. They sat around the table, four gentlemen with nothing to lose. There was a bottle of brandy in the centre, warming both their bones and their spirits, and a haze of cigar smoke surrounding the table like a fog.
Renee, the Frenchman, folded as soon as he looked at his hand. He was on a losing streak.
"What about you, Frank?
"I'm in. He tossed his watch into the pot.
It came to Lawrence, the London lawyer who was travelling to New York to meet a prospective client ' a reputably wealthy and notoriously crooked businessman whom had been drawn more to Lawrence's unscrupulous reputation than his business credentials. He stared at his cards for a few moments, at one point looking as though he was about to fold, before placing a pair of gold cufflinks into the pot. "I'm in.
Jack Brown, the Texan, took no time at all in waging his bet: a folded up photograph of a woman that caused the other three men to raise their eyebrows all at once.
"Who's the pretty lady, Jack? Frank asked, leaning forward to get a better look.
Jack blushed. "She's my sweetheart, Rose. She is beautiful, isn't she? She lives in Texas, back in my hometown. I've been away from her for far too long¦ but I'm going to propose to her, this time. I'm going to get down on one knee just as soon as I see her! Here, take a look at this¦ He fumbled around in his jacket pocket for a few moments before pulling out a small ring box. The contents sparkled as he opened it.
Renee's mouth fell open. "Wow, look at that diamond!
Jack beamed. "Twenty-four carats, if you please. It was my grandmother's; it's been in our family for generations.
"She's a lucky lady, Jack, Lawrence said ' mentally evaluating the ring's worth and considering how he might go about stealing it.
In the distance, the sound of violins. The plaintive notes of "Orpheus drifted like a lullaby into the room, settling tenderly in all of the men's hearts. The atmosphere turned from gaiety to one of sad reflection, each of the gentlemen pausing to regard their own personal losses and regrets, the journeys that had led each of them to here.
Renee spoke first, setting his cards down on the table. "I had a good woman once, as beautiful as Jack's Rose¦ more beautiful than any woman I've met before or since. But! I lost her, God as my witness¦ I let her slip through my fingers as though she was nothing! She has haunted me ever since¦
Frank nodded. "I know how that feels, my friend. I have achieved precious little in my thirty-four years, except to squander the small fortune that my father toiled ceaselessly to provide me with, as well as allowing everything else of any value to slip through my fingers as though, like you said, they were nothing! And now¦ well.
"But you can change! Jack exclaimed. "We all can. Renee, I am quite certain that you will find renown in New York! Your paintings will sell for millions, I guarantee it, and one day a woman will fall in love with your art and demand to be introduced to the artist! You will love again, have no doubt, and you will be loved. The ghosts of the past will let you be!
Renee smiled, closing his eyes and playing the whole dream out in his head, his smile widening the more he considered it. All of a sudden it was all that mattered to him, his past and his failures sliding swiftly away. He was there! He could already see it, taste it, feel it! His father would be so proud! For that moment, as he closed his eyes and imagined the smile on his father's face, it didn't matter a single little bit that it would never happen. In his mind, it was real ' and tonight, sitting where he was, that was plenty enough.
"And Frank, you can start again. It only takes a day to turn your life around! If you have achieved nothing as yet, then you have nothing to lose! If your father could do it, then so can you!
Jack's optimism was infectious; it wasn't long before each of the men were closing their own eyes and playing out their own impossible fantasies, their smiles widening as the dreams warmed through their hearts. And all the while the violins, the happy-sad cadences of "Orpheus flowing through the room, dancing with the smoke¦
Their eyes snapped open in unison. It wasn't that they had grown tired of their dreams; it was just that there was a game of poker to play, and there would be plenty of time for dreaming after it had come to an end.
"Shall we start again? Lawrence asked.
The other men nodded. They had time. They each threw their starting bets into the pot:
Jack tossed his ring in.
Lawrence gave his wallet.
Renee picked up the watercolour-set that his father had given him for his fourteenth birthday from the floor and set it down with the rest.
Frank smiled. He had nothing left to give, but the other men just rolled their eyes and said that that was alright.
Once again, it was his turn to deal. He had the deck in his hands, his fingers ready to shuffle, when something on the floor caught his attention: something nudging at his feet. He paused for a few moments, leaning over to inspect it. What he saw caused a wry smile to spread across his lips.
"Fellas¦ he began.
"What?
"I'm beginning to think¦
"What?!
"That this ship isn't unsinkable after all!
"Shut up and deal, Frank.
So Frank dealt.