Maze

After "The Music Man", I yielded to temptation (E. was along) and went to Cache Creek Casino in the hills west of Woodland, arriving about 11 p.m. I ate a sandwich, and repeatedly ran afoul of a security guard in the nightclub (no food in the club; no pictures, etc.) E. went off to find her favorite "Aliens" slot machine.

At the blackjack table, I encountered a rarity, a solidly-productive table. My $200 soon ballooned to $700, but about 1 a.m., a collapse occurred. I left the table with about $430. I tried to find E. in order to leave the casino.

I could not find E. At all. Round and round, up and down the aisles of slot machines I went, looking for a Filipina sitting at a slot machine. But the building was FULL of Filipinas sitting at slot machines: fat Filipinas, frumpy Filipinas, frowsy Filipinas, foul Filipinas, ferocious Filipinas, flippant Filipinas, fumbling Filipinas, fixated Filipinas, flabby Filipinas, fit Filipinas, fortyish Filipinas, and even some fantastic Filipinas, but no E. There was even a Filipina wearing a tunnel-carpel bandage on her slot machine trigger button right wrist (I wonder how long she had been sitting at that particular machine?) I tried to enlist the help of the security guards, but they just smiled. I left messages on E.'s cell phone, but since she turned it off just prior to the show, it was pointless.

Finally at 2:30 a.m., I gave up. I would never, ever see E. again. I went to the parking garage to get some sleep in the car.

Twenty uncomfortable minutes later, I returned for one last search, and found her there, concerned because I had apparently vanished from the casino (apparently we had both been in search mode for at least the last hour). I yelled at her for dramatic effect. We finally left at 3 a.m. for the hour-long drive back to Sacramento.

So, it was a winning night. A small, ugly win, but aren't they always in a casino? (considering E.'s $40 stake, I ended ahead $192).