I'll wait for you

Chapter 4: Down Bad

Jackie had a tough time falling asleep. He tossed and turned for two hours, trying to force himself to sleep. He had a lot on his mind, such as finding a way to pay for his wife's car repairs and rent. Though he had enough money to do both, it would leave him broke. He didn't want to be broke or depend on anyone's help.

Suddenly, a thought crossed Jackie's mind: he could sneak back to The Underground and play Three Card Monte. He looked at the clock and saw that it was 11:36. Feeling like it was still early, Jackie contemplated sneaking out to go back to the club. He knew he had to make a move quickly. So he got up and put on his clothes, took the $1800 he had, and went back to The Underground.

While driving to the club, Jackie thought of a game plan. He would bet $1000 on the first game, win, double up on the second hand, and then leave. It sounded like a good idea in his head.

Once Jackie arrived at The Underground, he walked to the back of the store where the secret entry was located. Tiny came to greet him at the door.

Tiny said, "I see you're back again."

Jackie replied, "The club was good to me last night. I thought I would come back tonight and win some more money."

Tiny searched Jackie to make sure he was clean before saying, "You're all good; come on in and enjoy yourself."

Jackie confidently walked towards the Three-Card Monte Table and the dealer greeted him with a clap, taunting him, "BossMan you back again I see." Jackie laughed and replied, "Yes sire I'm back and I'm ready to take some more of your money!" He put a thousand dollars on the table to show he meant business and said, "well we know what I'm here to do, I got a thousand dollars, I bet I can find the ace."

The dealer, was impressed with Jackie's previous win, so he goaded him to raise the bet. "That's it? Only a thousand. You got to be kidding? Let's make it two thousand. You're in the big league now. Let's make a real bet."

Jackie, feeling cocky, agreed and pulled out the extra eight hundred dollars from his pocket. "I got $1800 is that good enough?" he asked. The dealer smirked and replied, "That's perfect let's go."

As Jackie started singing "Money Money Money", the dealer slowed down the shuffling and did a special move with the cards that Jackie had never seen before. The dealer then warned him, "You won't be walking away tonight with any money."

Jackie's confidence started to go down. The dealer pulled something new and he really didn't have a clue where the ace was.

The dealer said, "It's on you, Boss Man."

Jackie took a moment to think and then picked the middle card. The moment the dealer was about to flip over the card, everything seemed to slow down for Jackie. Once the card was flipped, Jackie's heart sank. It was a Joker.

The dealer let out a petty laugh and said, "It was nice doing business with you, Boss Man. Do you want to go double or nothing?"

Jackie was left speechless. He didn't say a word, got in his car, and drove home. Once he entered the house, he laid down on the couch. He couldn't believe he had lost everything. Jackie had put himself in an even deeper hole, as he had lost the rent money and the money to fix his wife's car.

Jackie worried himself to sleep on the couch, not knowing what to do. The next morning, Michelle woke up for work and realized that Jackie wasn't in bed. She walked into the living room and saw him sleeping on the couch.

Michelle went over to Jackie and kissed him to wake him up. "Good morning, baby. Where are your keys? I'm about to get ready for work. I'll leave a little early so I can stop and grab some coffee." Jackie opened his eyes, realizing that he had fallen asleep on the couch. He handed his wife his keys and turned on the news.

He was trying to figure out what he was going to do. He knew he couldn't tell his wife what happened. Jackie needed a miracle.

Michelle got done getting dressed for work. She woke Jasmine up for school and gave her a kiss. Then she gave Jackie a hug then headed out. As soon as Michelle left, Jackie called Slick.

Slick picked up the phone, "dang bro you up early."

Jackie was still down from last night,"Bro I messed up big time I need your help!"

Slick asked nervously,"What you do?"

Jackie desperately told slick, "I went to The Underground last night and I lost all my money."

Slick chuckled, "What! You too. I lost Three thousand last night. How much did you lose?"

Jackie replied,"1800. And that was my rent money and the Money to pay to get my wife's car fixed."

Jasmine was walking down the hallway when she overheard her dad's conversation. Her emotional outburst startled Jackie when she dramatically exclaimed, "Daddy, how could you?"

Jackie turned around and saw his daughter standing in the hallway. He quickly ended the call, saying "Slick bro, let me call you back."

Jasmine was feeling emotional about what she had just heard and said, "Mama is going to be so mad." Jackie tried his best to reassure her, "Look baby, I know, but I'm going to fix everything. Trust me."

Tears streaming down her face, Jasmine said, "I don't want to see you both fight anymore."

Jackie realized that all the fighting was getting to his daughter, and he knew something had to change. He tried his best to console her and convince her that everything would be alright.

Jasmine quickly gathered her things and left for school. Jackie attempted to call Slick several times, but there was no answer. Jackie hoped that Slick could lend him some money.

Suddenly, Jackie's phone rang, and he hoped it was Slick, but it was the mechanic calling to inform Jackie that he would be there within an hour to pick up the car. Jackie then tried to call Slick back one more time, but still, there was no answer.

Jackie started to get nervous, as it was unusual for Slick not to answer his phone. Just then, he heard someone knocking at the door. Jackie went to check who it could be and found that it was Slick.

Jackie opened the door and exclaimed, "Bro, I've been trying to reach you for the past hour." Slick looked around nervously and replied, "My phone fell into some water. But listen, I have a way to fix your money problem." Jackie rubbed his hands together and asked, "Okay, what do you need me to do?"

Slick said, "I need you to come with me to drop off two cars at my brother's shop in Atlanta. He's going to pay us $2,500 each for doing it."

Jackie was surprised, "That's all we have to do?"

"Yes, Jackie. That's it," replied Slick. "The cars are loaded and all we need to do now is hit the road. Are you ready to go?"

That was just the news Jackie needed to hear, "Yeah I'm down I really need this money. I'm about to call the mechanic and tell him where the key will be so we can get on down there and get back." Slick told Jackie Gone and handle your business.