THE HOUSE ALWAYS WINS

“Finally,” Mark said as he pulled into an open parking spot far away from the entrance of the carnival.

“You could at least act like you’re having fun while we are here,” said Jane with a flushed face, not from makeup, but from anger, annoyance, and recent physical contact.

“I’m sure we will fall in love all over again.”

“Oh, I’m sure we will.”

The couple walked through the decrepit rental fences toward the sign attached to a lectern that read ‘Tickets’. A man dressed in a clown outfit with a large smile, face-painting, and a name badge that read ‘Homey’, stood ready to take possession of the couple’s capital.

“Please sign here,” Homey said, pointing to the bottom of the last page of a multi-page packet that read ‘Waiver’ across the top, sandwiched between a macabre-looking house and a skull and crossbones. “How many tickets would you like tonight? Just $1 a ticket after dark!”

“Fourt—,” Mark started to say while signing the document just as Jane’s elbow connected with his ribcage.

“Eighty please,” Jane replied to Homey. “We plan on staying a while.”

Mark begrudgingly ponied up the cash and took the tickets. Before they could walk away, tickets in hand, Homey had a surprise for them. “Here,” said a smiling Homey, hand extended with a strand of tickets. “Some free tickets on the house.”

The smell of funnel cakes and spent cooking oil filled the air, luring the couple to the concession stands. Terribly unhealthy food in hand, the two made their way around the field, partaking in the festivities. Down to just ten tickets, they came across the ‘Dunk House” dunk tank.

“Let’s see what you got, big boy! Bet 10 tickets on the house you can’t dunk me,” said the professional heckler to Mark.

“I still want to ride the Ferris wheel,” Jane said, trying to stop him from spending their remaining tickets.

“And?” Mark said condescendingly, reaching into his pocket to fetch his remaining tickets. The free tickets appeared in hand, neat and folded. “Oh yeah, almost forgot about those.” He slid the free tickets into the slit of the little house collection box and picked up the game ball. Wishing for an expedited end to the night, he looked at the heckler, then the bullseye, and let loose the ball. The ball struck the backstop, missing wildly, making Jane cackle that he’d missed, and she wondered if Mark was aiming at the heckler instead of the bullseye. She knew his temper all too well.

The fare paid to the attendant, the door creaked open and shut behind them as they entered the cabin of the Ferris wheel. It was getting late, and the park had all but emptied.

“Well, this is it,” said Jane, looking out among the lights of the park.

“Thankfully,” Mark said.

“There’s something I wanted to talk—”

“Don’t bother, I already know.”

The Ferris wheel cabin was nearly at the 12 O’clock position when the warnings from friends and family about Jane's recent malicious gallivanting raced through Mark’s mind. He raised a balled fist as the cabin reached its peak, the clock struck midnight, and the creaking bolt atop the cabin snapped.

Roland Charles Thomas Jr. studies Media Communications at Full Sail University. While not working full-time or attending college, he can be found spending time with his amazing wife and children. Slinging dice with friends on the tabletop is his hobby of choice.