Two Minutes to Choose

Two Minutes to Choose

David C. Russell

It was late summer, and fluffy clouds passed through the skyway as I headed toward lower Michigan on a long stretch of highway in the Upper Peninsula. I had spent three days with my parents and siblings in Wisconsin.  Noticing a sign for the St. Noticing the sign informing, St. Ignace Casino, straight ahead, I chose to pull in and drop a few dollars on the slots. The edifice had a basic, warm, welcoming façade. Its interior quaint-looking to my eyes.

As I entered the air had a stale aroma to it, bodies teemed about the various machines with one thing shared in common, hit the jackpot. Bells and buzzers from the machines were heard as a chorus while people pushed levers, pressed buttons waiting for any cash surprise. Of course, the surprises occurred either sporadically or on a gosh-darn whim! Few would heed the advisement to take the money and run, which the casino operators would disagree. Instead, take the money and continue to play.

I approached the reception counter, laid down forty dollars to exchange for machine tokens. A gentleman with a raspy voice raised the glass shield and said, “We do things the old way here. Give tokens instead of imprinted plastic cards,” his chuckle sounded a bit contrived.

“What machine is putting out today?” I questioned.

“They each are,” he said.

“At four o’clock though, we have a magician appearing who will grant purchasers one wish and one wish only. We call him Mr. Mighty. Want an appointment for $15?”

“Yeah, what the heck. It could be fun.”

A good two hours stretched before four o’clock would arrive as too, this supposed genie, Mr. Mighty. I sat myself at a nickel machine and proceeded to do three plays a minute at the cost of fifteen cents each. A staffer brought me a carton of juice, as coffee or soda, caffeinated, would have caused me to be more of a frantic gambler. The old advice, “Know when to hold-em, know when to fold-em.”

I would take a drink, swush it around in my mouth a few seconds, then swallow. The price for the drink was just right, free to casino patrons.

At about 2:30, I took a break and strolled to the lounge and sat near an overhead TV. A baseball game featuring a girl’s softball league was on. The score was tied in the fifth inning with one inning of regulation play remaining. I ordered some sauteed mushrooms with a bagel. This killed close to thirty minutes of time.

Not sure who won the aforementioned ballgame, but the appetizer took the edge off, as breakfast was my previous meal over five hours previous.

Frugality had me move up the gamble grade to the dime machine, a relic at this casino. My first deposit, five dime tokens.. Pressing the button, lights flashed and soon coins started dropping into the tray and a bell rang incessantly. I thought, “Oh shit, God blessed me!”

I earned back the $15 for the wish and an amount equaling the cost of two tanks of gas for my Civic, about $70. Changing the coinage into paper money, a lady invited me to her table to play the card game “twenty-one.” She had an English accent, short black hair, long, slender arms, olive complexion and a lightly scented perfume that smelled like vanilla. Lady Luck was with me, and I won $50 from the two card games played. She invited me to join her for something to eat after 4:30 p.m. I accepted thinking this is harmless enough. I could always continue the drive South early evening.

At a couple minutes past four, the speakers in the main casino played the theme used for the Fox Movie Studio productions. Mr. Mighty was introduced, and patrons who had ordered an appointment lined up to meet with him. Before my turn, ideas were increasingly whirling around in my head.

They included:

Pay off my car or mortgage;

Deposit two grand in my bank account;

Help me find real investments that appreciates in time;

A woman to love who will please her man for good reason;

Good health for the next three decades;

A free pass to visit all MLB parks in North America.

I noticed that appointments ran anywhere from one minute to five minutes. The din made it impossible to hear the transactions expressed by others. Peering behind me, the line was growing.

“I am Mr. Mighty and pleased to meet you Sir Gabe. What is the wish I may grant you and when?” he asked.

I felt to some degree I was in the presence of The Wizard of Oz.

“Come with it, the line is growing,” he encouraged.

“I would like to wish for um .. um .. um..”

“You have one minute remaining,” he said.

“I would like to wish for a compatible woman to love,” I said.

“She is here,” he said.

“In line or where?”

“You will meet her soon,” Mr. Mighty said.

I thought this was pretty cool or pretty lame. My choice may have been better for real estate that would value over time.

At 4:30, I went over to the tables and noticed my card playing woman acquaintance smiling wide.

“Did you have some wins after me?” I asked.

“You could say that,” she said, laughing ever slightly.

Taking my hand in hers, she led us to the casino restaurant where I had been just hours previous and viewing the ballgame.

We took a corner booth and each ordered a dark beer for drink.

“I hear you and Mr. Mighty had a consultation. I did too,” she said.

“I didn’t see you in line.”

“He was here this morning at 11:00. I gave him my wish, pretty simple,” she said, moving to sit beside me.

Her scent was still pleasantly pronounced, and our forearms touched as we sat close by.

“I wished for someone like you,” she said.

“You’re teasing me,” I said. She assured me otherwise, and I admitted the same.

“If you’d like, we can share the evening together but it will cost you,” she said.

“Cost me?”

“When not at the tables, I work as a female escort,” she said.

“So, what does this Mr. Mighty have to do with all this?”

“He’s my boss and part owner of the casino my dear.”

“Let’s enjoy dinner. Here’s another $60 for your time, and I’ll head home after we sip our last beverage,” I said.

“Fair enough, fair enough. Besides, you’re a winner with this moment and many more to remember.”

All in all, I got what I came for, what I asked for, and had an enjoyable commute back to home. Tomorrow, would certainly care for itself.

End