It’s All In The Cards
Paramedic John Gage sat at the table in the dayroom. He was involved in a game of solitaire by himself. Only this wasn’t any game of solitaire. He placed the cards in the shape of a pyramid, each row growing until he laid a total of twenty-six on the table.
Chet Kelly walked in and glanced over at what the dark-haired paramedic was doing. “What’s this?”
“Nothing,” Gage replied as he turned three cards face up under the pyramid. Finding three that played he moved the cards from the pyramid and the home row, over to a discard pile. Beginning again he turned three more cards face up from his pile of cards that hadn’t played yet.
“You can’t tell me it’s nothing. What is it?”
The dark haired paramedic sighed as he moved more cards. “It’s called Pyramid Solitaire.”
Chet pulled out a chair and sat down. He watched intently as the paramedic moved more cards until the table was clear. He wrote some numbers on a pad of paper and began shuffle the cards again. Looking over at the stocky fireman he smiled, “I just won again.” He got ready to deal the cards out again.
“That looks pretty easy, Gage. Let me try.”
Johnny quickly explained the rules as he passed the deck of playing cards over to Kelly. The stocky firefighter shuffled the cards a couple of time and began to lay them on the table in the pyramid shape. He began to play looking for two card combinations adding to thirteen. His smug look fell as he realized that he’d just lost.
“How could you win and I lost? You must have set the deck!” Chet accused, as he gathered the cards and shuffled again.
John eased back in his chair and cocked an eyebrow at his sometime tormentor. “You think I’d set the deck? Why Chester, I’m shocked,” the paramedic spoke in a mock hurt tone.
Kelly brushed his mustache for a moment. “Well, I might have been a little hasty in accusing you.”
“A little hasty?” John asked as he reached out to take his cards away from the man beside him.
“Look, I’m sorry,” Kelly quickly apologized as he took the cards before the paramedic beside him could lay a finger on them. He played the game again and again without even clearing a hand.
Gage rose from the table, he didn’t want to be in the same room and watch a grown man cry if he couldn’t win at the game. As he reached the doorway he heard Chet call out to him. “Hey! Where are you going?”
“I figured I’d leave before you lost another hand.”
“I’ll bite, what’s the secret?”
John turned to look back at his shift mate. “There is no secret to playing Pyramid Solitaire. Either you can or you can’t.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
A smirk crossed John’s face. “It’s all in the cards, Chet. It’s all in the cards.” With that John turned and strode out of the room, leaving a dumbstruck co-worker behind.
“Did he just get me with a prank? I think he did.” Raising his voice, he shouted hoping the younger man could hear him. “The Phantom will get you for that!”
The End
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