31_days | [August 6th] [The Wild Wild West] To Steal Away With Every Last Dang Thing

Title: To Steal Away With Every Last Dang Thing
Day/Theme: August 6th - let the day die fast.
Series: The Wild Wild West (specifically, The Poisonous Posey episode)
Character/Pairing: Snakes Tolliver/Chita McCarthy (she's an OC; he's in my icon)
Rating: K/G

Continued from the prior piece.

By Lucky_Ladybug

Chita and me had one big thing in common: we liked to gamble and get money. With that in mind, I taught her a few tricks I'd figured out and then we made a game plan. Oh, it wasn't anything fancy; we'd just go around to different casinos each night and win as much as we could. If she started getting on a winning streak but she wanted to keep playing, I taught her not to put everything she had on the new game. That way, even if she ended up losing, she'd still have something.

We developed a habit of sleeping a lot during the day and being up most of the night earning our bread and butter. Usually we'd wake up in the afternoon and kick around waiting for night to fall so we could start in.

Let me tell you, casino owners love patrons, but they hate big win patrons. Once the word started getting out about us, they started getting wise to our plans and figuring out ways to outsmart us. None of them wanted to risk going out of business because one smart aleck won too much in one night. They'd come up with any excuse to get Chita or me out of there. If we challenged it, we'd be in for a fight. Let's just say we both ended up with more bruises than I'd ever wanted. On the other hand, we also learned how to dish it out pretty good.

We also kept riding the Enterprise and other riverboats. When they'd stop over at port cities, we'd get off there and make do with what we could at any nearby saloons or casinos. A lot of those people hadn't heard of us, so we started getting away with a lot more wins there than in New Orleans.

We were both building some nice nest eggs for ourselves, but we handled our wealth in different ways.

I wanted to save, for the most part. I had big plans for the future, plans that required me to have as much money as I possibly could before getting started. I couldn't afford to spend money on a lot of frivolous things. The more I got, however, the more I embellished a little here and there. After all, to be the successful businessman I wanted to be, I had to look the part. I got another suit here and there, a hat, fancy shoes. But only now and then, when opportunities to succeed came close.

Chita wanted to spend. Her Queens neighborhood hadn't enabled her to have the fancy things she craved out of life, so as soon as she had some money, it got put into furs, gowns, hats, jewelry, and everything else that caught her eye. I had a bear of a time making sure she didn't overdraw her account. And in spite of what I'd told her, I ended up having to bail her out of debt a couple more times.

"We're gonna have as much money as we want someday," I told her one afternoon, "but right now we're not there yet. We need to conserve when we can so we'll have more to plunk down when that big chance comes rolling in."

She sat on the couch and pouted. "And when is that gonna happen?" she retorted. "You should be owning your own place by now! But you're not, and I want to have nice things now, not just years from now!"

I sighed. "It doesn't just magically happen out of the clear blue sky, no matter how good you are. I'm working on something; there's several big-name guys passing through some of the casinos lately. One of them owns a freight business. If I can warm him up enough, I might be able to get him to put that up as the stakes in a poker game."

"You're not getting into the freight business, are you?" Chita made a face. "All those smelly animals. . . ."

"If I have enough to bargain with, I can then challenge a casino owner and see if he'll put up his business as the stakes," I answered. "Taking over an existing successful business is a better chance of victory than building something up from scratch."

"Sure, if you win," she replied ironically.

"That's funny talk for a gambler," I remarked. "We make it our business to win."

"Yeah, and a lot of times if we don't win money, we end up with duds." Chita folded her arms. "That's what keeps happening to people like those Maverick boys who've started traveling all over the country."

Now I was scowling. "They're never gonna put down roots anywhere," I retorted. "They could make something of some of the stuff they've ended up with, if they'd really put the effort into it. Their problem is they just like to keep winning for the thrill of it. They don't think anything about the long-term picture!"

"And you do," she said with a bored nod. "Oh yeah, I've heard it all before. That's why you're so obsessed with holding on to what we make instead of living for the moment!"

"Sometimes I wonder if you would've been happier with a Maverick," I blurted in frustration. "Then you both could've gone for broke together."

What looked like guilt flashed through her eyes. She got up, putting her arms around me. "I'm sorry, Snakes," she said. "I know you're just thinking about our future. I'd rather think about today. But hey, how about if I spend half of what I get and save the rest?"

"It'd be better if you'd save more than that," I said wearily, "but that's probably the best compromise we can come to."

She beamed. "Oh thank you, Honey." She kissed me on the nose before leaping back with a twirl. "The sun's going down. It's time to start painting the town red again!"

I had to admit I was a little amused. I smiled as I followed her out. Maybe someday I could get her to save more than she spent, but right then I was glad for her to save any part of it.

And at that point in my life, I was still glad she was with me and not a Maverick. Later on, I'd wish she'd chose one of them. Today, I wouldn't have wished that even on Bret Maverick.