{"id":1880,"date":"2023-12-13T10:10:12","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T10:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1880"},"modified":"2023-12-13T10:10:18","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T10:10:18","slug":"winning-jack-potts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/winning-jack-potts\/1880\/","title":{"rendered":"Winning Jack Potts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This was it. I\u2019d had my share of bad luck. After decades of caring for my ailing parents and alcoholic husband, then losing all of them, one by one, it was time to put myself first. Midlife, I decided, would be a new beginning. The mid-point of a novel, after all, isn\u2019t the end of the story, but the moment the protagonist takes charge of their own destiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where better to kick-start a change in fortune than Las Vegas?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!\u201d Nina slurred, and we all clinked glasses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t look now,\u201d she shout-whispered into my ear. \u201cHot guys, by the Blackjack table.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I cringed. \u201cWe\u2019re old enough to be their mothers!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, that\u2019s a shame because they\u2019re heading this way,\u201d she said, and before I could protest, we were surrounded. The tallest one made a beeline for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m Jack. We\u2019re from London, on my mate\u2019s stag do.\u201d He launched an outstretched hand at me, which I had no choice but to shake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJill,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJack and Jill? It\u2019s destiny!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I gave a hollow laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m feeling lucky tonight,\u201d he said. \u201cCome and watch Jack Potts win the Jackpot!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSorry, I\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t, I\u2019ll do something stupid like bet all my life savings.\u201d He pouted, a little-boy-lost look settling over his face. Something tugged at my heart. Whatever it was, it carried me towards the roulette table with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By sunrise, Jack and I were picking our way through the gold-tinged city. He had indeed gambled and lost everything he owned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is my hotel,\u201d I said. \u201cBetter luck with the rest of your holiday.\u201d I turned to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWait!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stopped in my tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet me stay with you! I don\u2019t remember where my hotel is. I\u2019ve lost my phone. I\u2019m broke. Otherwise, I\u2019ll sit out here until I die of heatstroke.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jack tagged along with us all week. I was relieved when, finally, we said goodbye at the airport. His flight was the same day- his friends would surely be there with his ticket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was that the wheels on my suitcase squeaking, or was he calling me? Sure enough, I felt a tap on my shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a spare seat on our flight. He promised to pay me back. But first, he needed somewhere to stay the night. The week. Until the end of the month. Or he\u2019d have to rob a bank. Or sleep on the streets. Or borrow from his only living relative, a destitute Grandad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s swindling you,\u201d said Nina. \u201cIt\u2019s almost as though you keep rescuing people so you don\u2019t have to risk failing to rescue yourself. Now, are you meeting me for pizza or what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her words were like ice cubes sliding down my back. Shocking, but undeniably invigorating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going for pizza,\u201d I told Jack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He laid down in the middle of the Euston Road traffic. \u201cBut I want steak!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I let the number 73 bus decide his fate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pizza was delicious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This was it. I\u2019d had my share of bad luck. After decades of caring for my ailing parents and alcoholic husband, then losing all of them, one by one, it was time to put myself first. Midlife, I decided, would be a new beginning. The mid-point of a novel, after all, isn\u2019t the end of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10158782359051062_103813597863211":"","twitter_1225722811282530305_1225722811282530305":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[695,1077],"tags":[56,114,155,95,8,707,283,1088,13,12,1087,568,9,1086,11],"class_list":["post-1880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-695","category-dec-2023-misfortune","tag-after","tag-but","tag-don","tag-had","tag-he","tag-jack","tag-lost","tag-luck","tag-me","tag-my","tag-potts","tag-re","tag-said","tag-vegas","tag-was"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbrNJE-uk","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1880"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1882,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1880\/revisions\/1882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}