An Unexpected Debt – Chapter 25

The vast room of tables stretches out so far, I can’t see the end of them. Oh, man. I may finally be in over my head. Just past the conference room floor is a stage set up to display high scores, the time, and partner matchups. The bright light from the overhead lamps pierces my brain, and the powerful scent of coffee causes me to inhale sharply. My stomach rumbles in response, despite having eaten an hour ago. The sharp clatter of bridge boards being set on a nearby table makes every head turn. The people here are ready to play.

Takemo and I have been talking about bidding strategies for the last two days, and my head is swimming with the amount of information I’m holding onto. It’s not better or worse than flight school, though. Just different. And the next year of my life depends on how well I do here.

I’m wearing comfortable but stylish clothing because there will be a lot of sitting today. Everyone has a lanyard, so it’s easy to identify who should be here and who should not. I touch my own and wonder what the others here think of me. I don’t really care, but I’m curious about how I’ll fit in here. I’m as ready as everyone else. I woke up early, took a walk on the treadmill at the gym, ate a hearty breakfast, and made sure to be on time. I’m going to do my best to show Takemo that I’m a stand-up girl.

Though, I’m not really sure why I care. Usually, I would tell a man like him to go fuck himself. I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again. But I know that if things get rough, he’ll take it out on my mom, and despite how I feel about my mom and her men right now, I want nothing bad to happen to her.

Perhaps I’m nicer than I ever gave myself credit for.

The cool, dry air of the tournament room is a change from the hot and humid day outside. As usual, Rio is expecting rain. I love so much about Rio — the culture, the food, the nightlife, the mixture of languages — but I dislike the humidity. I’m used to dry ship air.

“So, you’re ready for the first round?” Takemo asks, leaning in close as we file through the room to our first table. “This is your last chance to bow out. We can quit now and just say you’re sick. That won’t disqualify me from playing next year.”

“It’s fine. I’m fine,” I say, correcting myself. “I have everything memorized and ready to go. All those rubber hands we played really helped.”

“Okay,” he says, smiling at someone who waves to him. “Then let’s do this. Play should take a few hours, and then we’ll break for a meal. You can drink water, but try not to drink too much. There are not a lot of bathroom breaks.”

“Got it,” I say, nodding. Thanks, Mom. I’ll hold my pee to the next intergalactic rest stop.

“Skylar, darling,” a voice says from behind me, and I turn around to find India Dellis heading towards me. The last time I saw her, I blew her a kiss as I sprinted from the hotel ballroom during that charity event. Today, she looks positively pedestrian, wearing a pair of black slacks and a black knit cardigan sweater over a purple and pink print top. Her hair is in a low ponytail. No tiara today. “It’s so good to see you,” she says, leaning in to kiss me on the cheek.

I produce a smile and try to act like we’re friends, which we’re not. I have no idea what we are, to be honest.

Except opponents. As expected, she’s wearing a lanyard as well.

“It’s good to see you, too. I would say I’m surprised to see you here, but I’m not.” She was on the list of top players that Marcelo briefed me about.

She laughs, throwing her head back. “Well, yes, Richard and I have been playing Bridge professionally for absolute years.”

Richard is her third husband from her relationship network.

Takemo inclines his head to her. “That’s how I met her.”

Right. They’re in business together now. What business? I’m not sure yet.

But seeing as Takemo took my business, and I know India Dellis separately from him, this may be karma telling me there’s an opportunity I didn’t anticipate.

“I’ve never seen you here before, though,” India says, leaning in. “Do we have an interloper in our midst, Takemo?” She bats her eyelashes at him.

“We shall see,” he says, and his tone is a lot lighter than I thought it would be. His shoulders are more relaxed than they were a few days ago, and he seems confident.

Good, good. All things I want right now. No one should suspect a thing.

I pull on a gracious smile. “People say we live in a big universe, but maybe it’s smaller than we think.”

“We should have drinks later, just you and me,” she says, grasping my arm. “We can get caught up on our lives.”

The humor and determination in her eyes does not escape me. She needs to talk to me, though I’m not sure why. “What a splendid idea,” I say.

“I can’t do tonight,” she responds. “Family business. But let’s meet up in the hotel bar tomorrow evening or the next night. I’ll ping you with a time after play has ended.”

“Great. I’d love that.” We both lean in to air-kiss, and she floats away across the room to a tall and handsome man. That must be Richard. I commit him to memory as well.

“You’re not going to invite me for drinks, too?” Takemo asks, his eyebrows raised.

“Nope. Let’s get to the table.”

I keep my eyes peeled as we make our way to our assigned table. I’m wondering if I know more people here, and I’m hoping to see Saif, too. He knows I’m here. I sent him a message in transit two days ago, but he didn’t write me back. The disappointment of it has been sitting in my chest like a stubborn cat who won’t move off its captured prey. Is he already done with me?

Put it out of your mind, Skylar.

I turn around to better understand the room, and my eyes skip over a familiar face. Is that Dominic? I hold my breath as I lean to the side, but the man is gone. Phew. It could have been him, but I don’t think so. I’m being paranoid. Dominic wouldn’t dare show up here. He hates crowds, and he especially hates me.

Takemo and I make it to our table and log in with the recorder. He sits on one side of the blind, and I sit on the other. Though we’re a ‘pair,’ we’re not allowed to communicate with each other during the games. Instead, Takemo and I agreed on bidding strategies that will help us determine which cards we hold and who has what. It’s the best that can be done without cheating.

And I have one cheat in my back pocket anyway that Takemo knows nothing about. I haven’t seen the woman who holds the cards from my prescient dream yet, but she’s here somewhere.

“You may begin,” the recorder says. The North player grabs the bridge board and bidding box and places them on the table. The bridge board has all the cards that we’ll play for this hand, and the bidding box is exactly like the ones Takemo showed me.

The energy in the room is electric as hundreds of people all begin playing at once. I could get lost in the excitement of watching everyone else, but that’s not my job today. I’m here to play.

I’m here to win.

The screen moves down, and we all grab our cards. I rearrange the cards into like suits in an order I’m pleased with and count how many tricks I can take. I look for major suits and keep all my honors together. My goal is to always stop in an acceptable contract, not an ideal one, when it comes to bidding. I have things to watch out for from the other players, and I need to understand when Takemo doesn’t support my hands. I like to play defensive strategies, so that’s what I’m going to stick with. When in doubt, I know which card to play from my longest suit if I have to lead. Throughout the games, I plan to count cards and memorize everyone’s hand along the way, so I’m not blindsided by a trump that comes out of nowhere.

My brain swirls down the rabbit hole of extra trumps, major and minor suits, raising and rebidding, winners and misfits. So much to know. So much to remember. Will I be able to recall every strategy? Or will I fail? I’ve failed so many times in my life that it feels like second nature now. I’ll fail here too; I know it.

I close my eyes for a moment and pull in all my emotions. No, I will not fail here. This is just like flying a stressful flight plan, Skylar. I need to access my calm, cool interior. The one that pushes aside fear and hesitation in favor of confidence and resiliency.

There. I have it. My breathing slows, and my heartbeat comes down to an acceptable pace.

I open my eyes and get to bidding.