Dealing

"It's just a taste
Of pick-your-drug
It's a pat on the back
When you need a hug"


"For starters, black jack is a game of chance. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. But it's also strategy. You've got to know when you can take a hit, and when it's better off to stay."
Elise watched her daddy explain the game to his son, wide eyes when he glanced over to the  doorway she was hiding behind. 
"So I'm going to deal and we'll just play a round, the two of us, okay?" 
Ben nodded, sitting up a little straighter in the seat from anticipation. 


Their father dealt the cards, one down, one up, and placed the deck near himself. 
"Want me to hit you?" he asked. 
Ben set his face to confusion for a second, watching Elise shrink back behind the doorway a little farther. 
"I'll stay," he said.
Ben's father nodded, thinking. "But you're trying to get to 21, remember that?"
Ben nodded, giving is daddy the A-OK sign. 


Silently, Elise went back to her bedroom and turned the light on, watching the walls illuminate with a yellow glow. She sat down on her bed and picked up her teddy bear, Grayson, and hugging him tight.
"You can stay," she says. "I'll never, ever hit you."
She hugs Grayson tighter and lays down on her side, pulling the covers up tight, tight, tight as they can go.


Black Jack is a game a chance, and it really depends on the cards you get dealt.