Illusion of Luck Read Online Free PDF Page A

address.
    As she rubbed the slippery bar of soap
across her body, she thought about the honeymoon and how much she
loved Greg. Making love to him would be so amazing.
    **********
    “ You come here every night,
don’t you?” Sandy grinned at his old buddy.
    “ Yep.”
    Greg’s red 1965 Pontiac Bonneville was the
only car in the back of Dairy Queen’s parking lot.
    “ Why don’t you put the top
down so we can look at the stars? Isn’t that what you usually do
when you bring Cynthia here?”
    “ Only when it’s warm out.
But either way, it’s nice.”
    “ I’ll bet. But what does she
think about your obsession with dipped cones?”
    “ I wouldn’t call it
an obsession .”
    “ So, you don’t eat them as
often as you did back in college?”
    “ No. I eat them more often .”
    Sandy laughed.
    “ But it’s not an obsession . More of
an addiction .”
    “ Well, I’ve never said
anything, but I’ve always thought the whole concept was crazy. You
put some ice cream in a cone, which you need to eat before it
melts—‘cause otherwise it’s a shake, not a cone. You turn it upside
down and hope the ice cream doesn’t fall out. Then you submerge the
thing in hot fudge. The ice cream causes the fudge to get cold and
hard, while the fudge starts melting the ice cream.”
    “ That’s the beauty of it.” Greg
took another nibble from the top of the hard shell.
    “ And as soon as you take a
couple of bites, the chocolate shell cracks and falls in your
lap.”
    “ Not if you’re good .”
    “ And you know it must have
been a man who invented them. Or a woman with no kids. Because no mother would create
something that she knew would lead to little Johnny
coming home with black chocolate smeared all over his new shirt and
pants.”
    “ Well, just because little
Johnny isn’t man enough to handle one doesn’t mean I shouldn’t—“
    The chocolate shell broke apart and slid off
Greg’s cone.
    “ The only difference between
you and Johnny is those napkins spread across your lap. Because
you know it’s
coming.”
    Greg began to pick up each chunk and eat
it.
    Sandy took a bite of his
banana split. “I’ve got to congratulate you again, Man. Cynthia
is hot .”
    “ Easy—that’s my bride you’re
talking about.”
    “ I’ll bet y’all have been
going at it like rabbits.”
    “ Well, not that it’s any of
your business, but we’re waiting until we get married.”
    “ You’re kidding
me.”
    “ Nope. We made the
commitment and we’ve stuck to it.”
    “ Why?”
    “ Well, for one thing, we
know that morally it’s the right thing to do.”
    “ Sure. But that’s never
stopped me .”
    “ And we’ve both lived
through rough marriages and we just want to make sure neither of us
gets hurt. You know—in case things didn’t work out.”
    “ Big deal. My marriage went
south too, remember. But I’d rather take a chance on getting hurt.
I don’t know how you’ve managed to wait.”
    “ I’ll admit—it hasn’t been
easy.”
    “ You mean, it’s been hard .”
    “ Yeah.” Then Greg noticed
Sandy was grinning at him.
    “ Yeah, I’ll bet it’s
been real hard —every night.”
    “ Well, sure. I am human. But, how
about changing the subject?”
    “ Okay.” Sandy spooned up
another bite of ice cream, banana, and toppings. “You’re off from
work tomorrow, right?”
    “ Yeah. Why?”
    “ We need to sleep in
tomorrow morning so we can be rested up for your bachelor
party.”
    “ What bachelor
party?”
    “ I’m your best man, and I’m
throwing you a bachelor party. So, get plenty of sleep
tonight.”
    “ Well, who’s coming to this
party? You didn’t ask me for a guest list.”
    “ That’s because it’s just
gonna be you and me, Pal.”
    “ Fine. We’ll come back here
tomorrow night and have some more ice cream, and you can give me a
gift, if you like. And one of those silly paper hats.”
    “ Hey—don’t be telling me how
to plan the party. You’re the guest of honor,