The Woman Who Fell To Earth

Chapter 17

Mercury

David looked stunning in a mustard yellow pantsuit with a striped v-neck t-shirt and brown riding boots. Her perfectly angled hat made her time travel to the days of the romantics. She embodied exactly what the racetrack owners desired in their unwritten dress code. She sat next to Art in the stands, reading descriptions of the racehorses and jockeys, making notes in the margin with a pencil.

"Do you know anything about the odds and betting?" she asked Art.

"Not really," he answered. "I'm not much of a gambler."

"You're kidding," she snarked.

Art made a childish face at her. "I know the higher the odds, the bigger the payoff, but the less likely you'll win."

"Hm," she mused, looking through the names. "Maybe I'll just go by the name."

"That's what my wife does, too," said a voice behind them. The pair turned around to a tall, meaty man with an enormous black cowboy hat and equally enormous black mustache. He was dressed in what some might call western black tie, with black jeans, black ostrich skin boots with silver tips, a black collared shirt and string tie with silver and turquoise pendant at the center. His enormous belt buckle was like the nucleus of his body, a silver phoenix with turquoise embellishments. His forearms were as big around as David's waist, and tanned by long hours in the sun. When he saw David, his face went pale, then red. "Howdy-do, miss." He tipped his hat.

David smiled her illuminating smile at him, and he relaxed like she cast a spell. "I was thinking of going with Blakely's Heroes, it has a nice sound to it."

The cowboy scrutinized the program, cross referenced with his race form and tip sheet. "It depends on if you want to win, or if you want to win big."

"I want to win big," said David.

"Then don't bet on her," said the cowboy. "Here, look." He pointed to a horse in the program. "Lightning Rush is favored to place. It's not going to get a great payoff, but he's consistent and you have a lot higher chance of winning something than if you bet on Blakely's Heroes."

"But if I bet on Blakely's Heroes and she wins, I'll win a lot more money, right?" asked David.

"Well, yes," said the cowboy. "But really, take a look at her in the race form. She's consistently bad."

David thought about this, then looked through the program again. "I have a good feeling about her, though," she said.

The man chuckled. "A woman's intuition trumps the daily race form anytime, I always say. Good luck, darlin'."

David turned back around and spoke to Art. "I think I'll put her down for the win."

"Or for the loss," said Art.

"Oh, not you, too," she said. "And you heard the man – a woman's intuition trumps the odds."

"I don't know if you have woman's intuition," Art stressed, moving his eyes up and down David's body.

"I do now," she said with a satisfied grin. "Now let's see who else I like."

"I'm taking that guy's advice and betting on Lightning Rush," said Art.

David shrugged. "Suit yourself, but I came to win big money."

Art shook his head. "If you're sure about your bet, I'll go get our tickets."