Casino Plot

Tony walked back into the room. The doctor and Emily Parker were right behind him. Emily was wearing a bath robe and looked much cleaner than before. She sat down in a chair and was quiet as the doctor began reviewing his notes.

"Well, it's a good thing you wore gloves. The lady has syphilis and gonorrhea. Not that it really matters."

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?"

"Janice, both those diseases take a few years to do any real damage. This lady will be dead long before that."

"DEAD!! What's wrong with her?"

"Alcohol, mostly. Her liver function is already below normal. Nothing permanent yet. But given the amount she appears to drink, it won't be long. Her kidney function is still normal, but that will degrade shortly, too."

"So, what do we do?"

"You get her to stop drinking."

"That's all?"

"Yeah, that's all. Good luck doing it."

"What do you mean?"

"She can't go more than a few hours without a drink. We gave her a sedative to relax her, or she'd be climbing the walls by now."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Yeah. But if we don't find out why she's doing this to herself, there's no way to stop it. She'll be relaxed and able to talk for a few hours. After that, she'll pass out and sleep for a long time. Probably close to a day. After that, she'll be back where she started."

"Doesn't she know it's killing her?"

"Maybe, but if she does she doesn't care."

"Why do you say that?"

"You've heard the expression, functioning alcoholic?"

"Sure"

"Well, she's the other kind. She can't function at all. She has to have alcohol, and she will do anything to get it. She hates herself, which means death has no meaning to her."

"So, what do we do?"

"You've got about three hours, Janice, before she goes to sleep. Get her to tell you what happened. Maybe if we know her story we can treat her. It's only a maybe, but it's the only chance she has."

"I don't think she's going to talk to us, Doc."

"Well, she said she knew all of you. She also said she had to do what you told her. With the drug we gave her, it will be easier to get her talking. She'll be relaxed, and her inhibitions will be down. I'm going to just sit over there, listen, and take notes. If you can find out what happened, then we'll try to come up with something to fix it."

Janice took a chair over to where Emily was sitting. The general's wife was just staring off into space. Janice sat down next to her and began talking. Emily looked over at her. At least she seemed to recognize her.

"Hi Emily."

"Oh, hi Janice."

"Emily, why were you trying to take our pictures?"

"Not you, Janice, Ruth."

"Why Ruth?"

"I wanted to prove that a real general was a bigger slut than a general's ex-wife."

"How did you know she was here?"

"I didn't. Some friends brought me along to the games. I didn't know the general was involved until I saw her. Then I knew I had to get her picture. I have to prove she's as bad as me."

"Emily, you said ex-wife. What happened."

"Oh, that's a good story. The general arranged our transfer to Italy early last year. I thought it was a career move. No, it was because the son of a bitch had a boyfriend over there."

"A BOYFRIEND?! You mean the general is gay?"

"Yep, his greatness, the defender of all things moral and wholesome is a fucking faggot, as he would call them. Not that I give a shit now what he does."

"How did you find out?"

"I came home a day early from an officers' wives meeting. I found them in our bed."

"What did you do?"

"I screamed and told him to get the fuck out of our house. He left, and then he filed for divorce a few days later."

"I don't remember hearing about a divorce case."

"It never went to court. The army didn't want the embarrassment. So they got us an attorney to share. They were really generous to me. They said if I would give up my claim to his pension, I could come back here and keep the house on base for life."

Jim called Janice over and spoke quietly. "That wasn't generous, she was totally screwed. That housing isn't worth close to what a general's pension would be. They just wanted to protect him, so he could retire and quietly go away."

Janice went back to Emily and sat down again. "Emily, are you still in that house? I don't remember seeing you there."

"No, I didn't have any money, so I couldn't afford to have the maid clean it. And they made me pay the power bills. I couldn't do that either."

"Why didn't you get a job?"

"I don't know how to do anything. I got married right after college. He was an officer, and I just did what officers' wives do."

"So, then what happened."

"Well, when I complained that I couldn't take care of the place, the army let me move into a small apartment. It's only three rooms, and I can take care of it. They also made the general give me an allowance of $500 a month. That was what he always gave me, and it pays the bills."

"So how come I didn't know you were back here?"

"After the divorce, I took back my maiden name. I don't go by Parker any more. Now I'm Emily Bukowski."

Tony quietly repeated it. "Bookowski?"

"No, not Bookowski. Bukowski, like in beautiful. That was the way my mom always explained it." Emily threw her head back, and for just a second there was a glimpse of life and her old pride in her eyes. But it faded in a second, and Emily lowered her head back down.

"Wait a minute, YOU'RE BIG BUTT BUKOWSKI?" Janice couldn't help it, it just slipped out. Didn't seem to bother Emily, though."

"Yep, that's me. I bring the big butt with me wherever I go."

Jim and Tony called Janice over.

"Who is Big Butt Bukowski."

"Supposedly, she's the biggest whore on base. If you need entertainment for a party, you call her. No group is too big. Until now, I thought she was just a story."

"Apparently not. So how did a prissy general's wife become the filthiest, diseased whore on the base?"

"Let's see if she'll tell us."

One more time, Janice sat down next to Emily.

"Emily, why did you tell the doctor you have to do what we tell you?"

"Cause I do Janice. I owe Tony money, so I have to show my holes to everyone and do whatever you tell me."

Janice took a deep breath. In Emily's addled brain, she still had her debt to Tony. Maybe she could use that. The problem was that if her memory was that screwed up, she might not be able to tell them anything. Well, only one way to find out.

"Emily, I want you to tell me everything that's happened to you since you moved back to base."

Emily began talking immediately. Janice knew right away it wouldn't be a problem. Emily remembered everything and she told them all about it in great detail.

"Ok, like I said, I got divorced and moved back into our old house. I couldn't afford the maid anymore, so I moved out into a smaller place.

I tried to find my old friends, but none of them wanted to talk to me. Apparently, a general's ex-wife is not an appropriate social companion for an officer's wife.

Anyway, I heard one day that all the wives were getting together at the casino. So I drove over to join them and try to talk. When I got there, they just glared at me. One of them sneered at me that a casino was not a proper place for a general's wife. After that, they just ignored me.

I didn't know what to do. I was all alone. I couldn't even play anything, since I didn't have any money I could spare. I just wondered around the place until somehow I ended up in the bar.

I remembered that they had that fruit punch that was so good. I also still had my casino club card. I showed it to the bartender, and he said I could have whatever I wanted, so I asked for a fruit punch.

He asked me if I wanted rum in it. I started to say no, but then I remembered that was in those other drinks I had. At that point, I decided that if it made me feel better it was worth it. I told him I wanted rum.

It was so good. I sat at a table and just sipped it. The more I drank of it, the less things bothered me. I ordered another one, and then a third. I was going to have one more, but the bartender said I'd had enough and needed to stop. I figured he was right.

I got up to leave, and the bartender asked me if I was planning to drive home. Janice, right then I did the worst thing I've ever done in my life. I told him that I had come with a bunch of friends and one of them was driving. He said that was fine and walked away.

I left the casino and got in my car. I drove home. God Janice, I was only a block or two from my apartment. A kid on a bicycle crossed in front of me. I couldn't stop in time. I just barely tapped him, but it knocked him down and broke his arm.

The police came and tested my breath. They said I was drunk and arrested me. I spent the night in jail. They released me the next day and gave me a court date. I just went home and cried.

Later, I decided I needed another punch. At least this time I walked to the casino. It was a different bartender this time, and he didn't know me. He made me a rum punch and I spent the afternoon drinking that one and three more. After that, I walked home.

The next day a lawyer called me. He said the army had hired him to take care of my case. We were going to make a deal and the charges would go away. I just said thank you. He said he'd pick me up the next day and take me to a meeting to settle it. That sounded great. It sounded so great, I walked back to the casino and had three more punches.

Sure enough, the lawyer picked me up right on time. He drove me to the courthouse. According to him, the army wanted him to make this go away so that my ex-husband's name wouldn't come up. I didn't give a shit about that, I just wanted it to go away.

The meeting didn't take long. I never did meet the family of the boy. There was just another lawyer there. The lawyers both said that if I would give up my driver's license and agree not to drink, I would be put on probation and that would be the end of it. The army would pay the boy's family some money and they wouldn't fight it. I just said sure.

My court case was set for a week later. In the meantime, I spent every day at the bar. The rum made everything go away. The next morning I'd always feel worse, so I started getting to the bar earlier and earlier.

A couple of days before I had to go to court, I was walking to the casino. For some reason, I noticed this time that a store I always passed sold liquor. I wondered if they sold a rum punch that I could take home with me.

I went in and looked, but they didn't have any punch. They did have bottles of rum though. I wondered if it would work as well, so I bought one. I was tired and didn't feel like walking all the way to the casino, so I turned around and went home.

When I got in, I opened the bottle and poured some. I took a small sip. It burned and didn't taste anything like my punch. I took another sip, and it was easier to drink. It didn't taste as good as the punch, but it still made everything go away. After a while, I just fell asleep on my couch.

I went back to the casino after that. The punch tasted better, and I could just sit there and listen to people while I drank. It was better than sitting all alone at home. On the way back, though, I stopped and bought two more bottles of rum.

The lawyer picked me up and drove me to court. The judge explained that I was not allowed to drive for 3 years, and that I was not allowed to drink. He asked if I understood and I said yes. I didn't really care. I had nowhere to drive, and no one would really know if I drank. The judge said I was on probation for three years and sent me home.

As soon as I got home, I poured myself a glass of rum to relax. Then I went to bed.

After that, I decided I better stock up on rum. If anyone did try to stop me from drinking while I was out, at least I'd have some at home. I went to the store, but when I tried to check out, I was told the base had been informed that I was not allowed to drink and that no place on base would sell me alcohol.

Well, that left the casino as my only choice. So I walked over there and ordered my punch. When I gave the bartender my club card, he told me it had been revoked. I could order a drink and pay for it if I wanted to, but he said I probably shouldn't. One of the cops on duty would arrest me if they saw me drinking.

The bartender was nice enough to give me a regular fruit punch. I just took it back to a table and sipped at it. It tasted nice, but I needed the rum. I didn't know what I was going to do. I had a couple of bottles at home, but how would I get more? I just put my head down on the table and cried.

I don't know how long I stayed there. All I know is that after a while, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up, and a young lieutenant was looking down at me. He asked me what was wrong and I told him everything.

The guy just stood there and listened. Then he told me that was no problem. I could come home with him and he'd give me a drink. I asked him what he wanted from me, but he said he didn't want anything. He just wanted to help. So I got up and went with him. I looked at the name patch on his uniform. It said he was Lt. Barkley.

He was really nice. On the way over, he told me his name was Henry, but everyone called him Hank. I just said it was nice to meet him. I was really nervous but I needed that drink.

We got to his house and he was a perfect gentleman. He poured us each a drink and we sat and talked. We had a couple more, and then he showed me to the door. He didn't even try to kiss me. At the time, I figured I was too old for him.

Anyway, he lived in a nice apartment on base. It was bigger than mine, and only a couple of blocks away. I walked home happy. With Hank as my friend, all my problems were over.

The next couple of days I just stayed home. I opened one of my bottles of rum and just watched TV and drank rum. It was very peaceful.

After that, I called Hank. He had given me his number and said to call him any time. When he answered he said it was nice to hear from me. He said he'd be at the casino the next day. He'd love it if I stopped by so we could talk. And he knew my problem, so he'd be happy to get me another drink.

When I walked in the bar the next day, Hank was waiting for me. He ordered us a couple of plain fruit punches and we just sat and talked. It was really nice, but I was getting jumpy. I really needed a drink.

Hank asked me if I was ok. I told him I was, but he suggested we go to his place for a real drink. I was so glad to hear that. He drove us both over there, and we spent the rest of the afternoon drinking and laughing. By the time I walked home, it was almost dark. I microwaved myself a can of soup and went to bed.

The next time Hank and I got together, he told me I could just stop by his house any time I needed a drink. All I had to do was call and make sure he was home. If he wasn't, he'd tell me when to meet him there.

I felt bad taking advantage of him all the time. I stayed home a few more days. I had no place to go, so I just drank rum, read, and watched TV. When I had to open my last bottle, I decided to call Hank.

Hank immediately invited me over. I walked to his place and he had drinks waiting when I got there. He was in street clothes, and it was the first time I'd seen him out of uniform.

He wasn't anything special. Hank was about average height, and looked a little soft around the middle. He was basically average looking. But he was nice to me and giving me drinks. That made him wonderful.

For the next few days everything went the same way. I'd call Hank, walk over there, we'd have drinks, laugh, and I'd go home. I thought that was the way it would stay.

I remember exactly the day things changed. It was the day after Memorial Day last year. I remember, because the day before while we were drinking, we could hear the parade music outside.

The day started the same, I called Hank and went over there. Only this time, he didn't have drinks ready. This time he hugged me when I came in. I hugged him back. I still thought he was being so sweet. Then he asked me if he could play with me.

I had no idea what he meant. I honestly thought he wanted to play a game or something. But when I asked him what he wanted to play, he just laughed at me. Then, when he explained what he meant, I wasn't laughing at all.

He told me to unbutton my shirt. He wanted to lift up my bra and play with my titties for starters. I didn't have any idea what he meant by for starters. It didn't matter, he wasn't playing with my boobs.

I told him I wasn't doing that and he said that was fine. If I didn't want him to play with me, I could leave. I asked about my drink, and he said I just needed to leave.

I started to go, but God I needed a drink. I asked him to please pour me one like always, but he said no. He said if I didn't want him to play with me, then he didn't want to drink with me. I just hung my head and stood there. I didn't know what to do. I mean, I had to have my drink, right? This totally wasn't fair.

I stood there for a second, and then asked him what I had to do to get a drink. He said I had to do just what he said. I had to let him play with me. I didn't want him to, but I had to have my drink. So I just hung my head and kind of sobbed, OK.

He just snarled at me and asked me, OK what? Was I going to leave, or was I going to unbutton my blouse. God I wanted to leave, but I had to have my drink. I whimpered and told him I would unbutton my shirt. He just said that if that was what I was going to do, I needed to get to it.

I remember there were tears running down my cheeks as I opened the buttons. If he noticed, he didn't say anything. He certainly didn't care. When I had the last button undone, I pulled my blouse open and just waited to see what he would do.

I didn't have to wait long. He walked in front of me, put his hands under my bra, and lifted it up and off my boobs. He left it just hanging around my neck. I just stood there while he played with my breasts, or as he called them, my titties.

He jiggled them and bounced them and squeezed them. Apparently, he really liked my nipples because he spent a lot of time playing with those.

After a few minutes of him wobbling me around and pulling on my nips, he reached down to the snap of my pants. I slapped his hands away and asked him what he was doing.

Hank just laughed and reminded me that my titties were just for starters. He intended to play with all of me. I told him I didn't want him inside me. He just said that was fine, and again I was welcome to leave whenever I wanted to.

I pleaded with him for my drink. After all, I had let him play with my tits, surely that was worth one drink. He just shook his head. He said they were very nice titties, but that didn't change anything. I could either let him play with me, or leave.

I wanted to say no, but I just couldn't. I needed that drink even more now. I told him it was fine. He could take my pants down.

He unsnapped my slacks and pulled the zipper down. I couldn't help it. I let out a little sob as they fell to my ankles. He just stepped back and looked at me. There I was standing with my bra around my neck, my tits hanging out, and my pants down at my ankles. I sobbed even louder.

Hank told me I didn't sound like I was ready for this. We obviously needed to wait until I was. I was stupid enough to think one more time that he was trying to be nice. That didn't last long.

He looked at me and told me we would wait until I was ready. He said that I should just tell him when I was ready for my panties to come down. Well, the last thing I wanted was for my panties to come down, so I just stood there wondering what to do.

While I dithered, Hank walked away from me. He went over to his liquor cabinet and poured a couple of drinks. I prayed that he had changed his mind and realized how mean and selfish he was being. Instead, he just set them both down on the table. He said they'd be waiting for me when I was ready.