The Girl is broke. She has been hangin' at Seamus' place and she was on a winning streak. Then that fat man, whose name is Fat Bob, died right in front of her. Bad mojo. The winning came to an instant end.

She met Fat Bob the night she first discovered the gaming room at Gabe and Seamus' house. She watched as Seamus helped him up. He apparently has (or had) some sort of inner ear problem. Something about the cochlea not responding properly...Whatever... He was always fallin' down.

Everyone was at Seamus' every weekend: gambling with some of the most important people in town; sitting in some of the finest chairs ever made; drinking some of the strongest drinks ever made. Everyone was having fun.

The Girl realized that She had just been waiting for the game of Texas Hold 'em to come find her. A sharp mathematical mind and the uncanny ability to tell when She is being lied to makes her mad good at cards. The money fell down like rain. She won $7,563.00 in one month, more than She normally makes in four. The Girl was on fire, that is until Fat Bob died.

Fat Bob was a man who earned his name. He was about 5'6" and probably weighed 500 pounds, butt-ass naked. His skin was translucent and almost yellow. What hair he had was baby fine and a yellow three shades darker than his skin. It was as if he were the color of fat. However, Bob's most striking feature, besides his enormousness, was his eyes. They were the palest blue She had ever seen. His eyes were so pale, in fact, that it was hard to tell where his irises began. She tried not to stare, but it was impossible not to. The Girl had never seen him without a drink in one hand and a cigar in the other. Fat Bob was a heart attack on feet, very swollen, angry feet. But it wasn't his heart that got him, it was his inner ear.

Two Saturdays ago she was up $500. Gabe was the dealer. He is such a great guy, smart and charming in a boyish sort of way. Gabe is an expert poker player and it was his instruction (and a little luck) that was making The Girl rich. There were six people at the table. They had been playing for the better part of the night, when Fat Bob lumbered in. The chair let out a frightened little squeal when he sat down. Everyone nodded hello and he was dealt into the next hand. The Girl was given a five of clubs and a seven of clubs initially. She raised the original $20 ante to $50. The first burn revealed an eight of clubs. The Girl hoped that She wasn't sweating. She raised $25. A four of clubs came up. The Girl knew she was sweating and was concentrating on not looking as if She were concentrating. The bet went 'round the table. The pile of chips in the middle of the table was immense. The Girl was trying not to stare...At the chips, her cards, or Fat Bob's weirdly pale eyes. Gabe burned one and was about to deal what She knew was going to be the six of clubs when WHACK! Fat Bob lost his balance and keeled over. Now, Bob was always falling. His inner ear problem was a birth defect and he was pushing 50, so this was nothing new. However, this time instead of wobbling like a weeble, he fell face first onto the finely planed edge of the poker table. The table and Fat Bob's head cracked wide open. All Hell broke loose.

No one wanted to be caught in an illegal gaming place. No one wanted to be caught in an illegal gaming place with a gigantic fat guy lying dead in the middle of the floor. They scattered like roaches in the light.

The Boy, The Girl, Sean, and Harley stayed to help Seamus and Gabe with....The situation. While the men dragged Fat Bob upstairs, Harley and The Girl cleaned up. Cards, chips, money, blood were everywhere. Harley and The Girl talked about anything to keep from talking about the obvious.

It was around four a.m. when the room was clean, Fat Bob was upstairs, a believable story was hatched and the police were called.
The next night it was business as usual at Gabe and Seamus'. Everthing was the same but The Girl. Apparently watching a fat man die is bad luck, because She hasn't won a game since.

The Girl is broke. But She never liked Fat Bob, and although She would never say it out loud, The Girl is happy.