"Then why are you still married?" Amanda asked.
"Why indeed?" Laura took a much longer sip of her drink. "People do things, stupid things they can't undo, no matter how much they want to. We're trapped, Mathew and I, and we both deserve to be…I suppose."
Feeling like a third wheel, Teresa lowered her eyes. Yet, a long silence between the two women made Teresa look up again, and when she did, both were staring at the floor as if neither knew what to say next.
"I have always been curious about something," said Laura finally. "Does Mathew win or lose most often?"
Amanda wasn't sure she should answer that question. "You don't know?"
"Well, he hardly shares his news with me - good or bad. I take it from your expression, he loses and quite heavily. If I were you, I'd not take up with a man like that…unless you can afford to support his expensive little habit. I can hardly manage it myself. Come to think of it, perhaps I should let you have him. I would be much better off for it."
"Mathew has plenty of money. He won two million just last week playing a slot machine."
"Well, good for him. His luck has certainly changed. Of course, he'll spend it trying to win more, you know."
"Are you saying he is a gambler…and not a salesman?"
"I am afraid so. He goes from casino to casino. Occasionally, he races his greyhounds, but then, he does that here in Denver. Once, I saw him two nights in a row. That was when we were first married, you understand."
Amanda was steadily becoming irritable. "I still don't believe you."
"I'm sure you don't. You only have my word for it. Does Mathew know you're here?"
"No," Amanda answered. "Are you going to tell him?"
"I tell him even less than he tells me. Coming to see me is a big mistake on your part. If he finds out, you will most likely never see him again. How long has he been with you?"
"Six months."
"Ah, well it's about time then. At the six-month mark, a woman wants more than a man like Mathew is willing to give. Are you married?"
"No."
"That's odd, he normally prefers them married. The risk of getting caught by an irate husband is more exciting for him. Plus, a married woman is less likely to come see me - unless she has left her husband, that is."
"If what you say is true, I…"
Laura took another sip of her drink. "Amanda, have you seen that horrible scar on his arm?"