Rick, Conman Extraordinaire- We’re Going to Mexico Part 2

Waking up in the hotel the next day felt surreal. We were in Mexico and it was the first time I had been out of California.

After getting up, we all went to the Restaurant in the hotel for breakfast of eggs, coffee and more “tortillas” an ubiquitous staple in this country.

I was super excited. I had ten bucks to blow on whatever I wanted but first, we were going to hit the Race Track to see the Horse Races.

After driving out to Caliente Race Track,  we soon found ourselves sitting in a nice booth with a great view of the horses.

The track was very posh compared to some of the poorer sections of Mexico we had seen so far. It smelled like fresh-cut grass and horse shit. There was a big electric sign that notified bettors of which race was being run and the winners.

Rick began betting and Mom read the names of each of the horses. Whenever she read a name we liked – Mom had Rick place a bet on that one.

Now I don’t remember if we won any races but it was sure exciting, cheering your favorite horse. But I think we won a couple which wasn’t bad considering the way we picked our favorites. 

Rick gave Mom a few bucks if we won. And we’d just use the winnings to bet on another horse. 

Meanwhile, Rick was betting on all the races. And I don’t think he did that well. It was hard to tell how he was doing. He didn’t exult or sulk. 

If he won – he’d just disappear presumably to place more bets. If he lost, he’d just tear up his tickets and drop them to ground. There were a lot of torn tickets lying around him by his seat. Also, he was very closed-mouth about how much he was betting during each race.

At one point while he was away placing bets. Mom reached down and picked up one of his torn tickets. When she read the betting amount, she paled visibly. She didn’t look very happy I can tell you!

A few minutes later, Rick got back from placing bets and before Mom could say anything. Rick jerked his thumb to the left and said:

“Hey Boys, guess who’s sitting in the booth to the left of us?”

Me: “Who?”

Rick: “Doris Day!”

Matty: “Who’s that?”

Me: “Really?”

Matty: “Who’s Dorothy Day?”

We all stared at Matty in amazement, like he had grown a second head.

Me: “Matty, don’t be a dope! It’s Doris Day! She’s a big movie star.”

Matty: “Oh.”

Rick: “Would you Boys like to meet her?”

Me: “Ahhhh…”

Matty: “Uhhhh…”

Taking our responses as an affirmative, he got up and walked down the aisles towards the left of the stadium where we lost sight of him.

Leaving the three of us dumbfounded.

End of Part 2

To be continued…