The final card (Mark Debrest)

Sitting on the broad terrace of her home and around a round table, white and spacious, Madam Coote, an autumn-coloured lady, elegantly dressed with strawberry-blonde hair, watched her grand-daughter Lisa, a beautiful 20-year-old, blonde and slim, who suffered every so often from sudden temperamental attacks. Her eyes then moved to her grand-daughter's fiancé. His name was Jeff, a handsome young man with chestnut-coloured eyes and a strange look. He trembled a little, most likely with nerves. It was the first time they had been introduced.

"I believe I have invented a new card game, Lisa", said Madam Coote, as she sat between the young couple. "Would you like to play now?"

"Now? A game of cards?" Lisa answered, a little surprised.

"Why not?" replied Jeff.

'With you being so restless? Anyway, isn't cards more for old people?" said Lisa nervously. "Won't it be a bit boring if only three of us play? Why don't we ask Auntie Magda to play, Grandma?"

"She's very old. Let's leave her calm in the lounge. Anyway, I think she's sleeping."

"Well, only three people playing will be very boring," she repeated more nervously than before.

"That shouldn't be a problem. We'll ask Askill, the butler. He likes playing cards just as much as I do".

"I'll ask him", said a relieved Lisa.

     After a few moments, the butler introduced himself. He was a middle-aged man, with rather obvious baldness; however his face, furrowed with wrinkles, made him appear older than he actually was.

"Askill.....would you like to join us in a game of cards?"

"Madame.....I don't know if I should...."

"Oh ! Come on Askill, don't be silly. I know you'd love to play!"

"All right Madam, you are very kind."

"That's the way I like it. Sit down opposite me, Askill."

"Yes, Madam."

     Lisa, who was sat to the left of her grandmother, could see the clock on the lounge wall. At that time, it showed four o'clock.

"Let's play with a Spanish deck. I'll deal five cards each", said Madam Coote.

"Five? , exclaimed Lisa.

"Yes, Lisa, five, although each game willonly be made up of four hands. Now don't interrupt me, dear, or I could get distracted. Well, the game is made up of the following rules: the first player throws the lowest card; the second player must then throw a higher card, the third player higher still; and the fourth player the highest card possible. ln this way, the last player will win. The numbers on each card willthen be added up and the winner will have so many points. If, for example, the second player throws the same number as the first and shows it, his number will not count when all the points are added up. And that is all. Understood?"

"I think so, grandmother."

"And you, Jeff?"

"Perfectly, madam."

"Askill?"

"Yes, Madam."

"Then let's begin."

     Madam Coote dealed out five cards to each player. Her aunt, Magda Peters, observed the reaction of each player from her armchair. Her niece, of disgust; her great niece, of satisfaction; Askill displayed no emotion; Jeff was scared.

"Anyway," sighed Madam Coote, "let's start round one. Take a good look at your cards. Carefully, very carefully.....I'll go first, ok? Then Lisa, Askill and Jeff. ln that order, although whoever wins goes first. Remember that the cards must be placed face up on the table, except the last one."

     The first round went as follows: Madam Coote played the two of clubs; Lisa, the four of diamonds; Askill, the seven of hearts; and Jeff, the eight diamonds. Jeff won with twenty-one points.

     In the second round, Jeff played the six of diamonds, Madam Coote the six of clubs, Lisa the eight of hearts and Askill the nine of diamonds. Askill won with twenty-three points.

     The third round was the shortest. Askill showed the nine of spades, Madam Coote the three of hearts, Lisa the king of diamonds and Jeff the jack of spades. Lisa won with twenty-four points.

     Round four was the most thrilling.

"Now I should win, as you have all won one hand each," said Madam Coote jokingly.

"What a peculiar game," commented Lisa. "When did you invent it?"

     Madam Coote looked at her for a few moments, and then responded in a slow and exaggeratedly theatrical way.

"A very short time ago...on one of those spring afternoons where one finds oneself
alone and doesn't know what to do...."

     Madam Coote returned to normality.

"So, should we continue?"

"Yes, grandmother. This time, I'll start"

     Lisa threw the king of spades, Madam Coote the four of spades, Askill the jack of hearts, and Jeff the queen of clubs. Lisa won once again with thirty-seven points.

     Surprised, she said:

"I've won two hands and I can't believe it. This game isn't as easy as it looks, grandmother. But it's very short. Can we not play again?"

"No, Lisa. Maybe another time. You still have to tell me about your journey to Paris," she said with a worried gesture as she looked at her cards.

"You'll have more luck another day, Madam Coote," said Jeff in an attempt to console her.

"And to think the game is a fruit of my intellect. Next time, I'll beat you all."

     The three of them smiled at what she had said. They didn't show the last card, and between the laughs and the conversation no-one asked why there was no final round. Later on, Askill left the table. Madam Coote spoke animatedly with the two young ones. At about seven o'clock, they said their goodbyes.


                                          *                            *                                  *

     When she returned to the terrace, she found her aunt, Magda Peters, who observed with certain curiosity both the cards which were played and those which weren't. The octogenarian woman was tall, or rather corpulent, with white hair and dressed severely in grey.

"Aunt, later you can explain to me the strange game you invented."

"It isn't strange, Patricia. It is a very practical game for certain observations. It confirms them."

"I don't understand."

"Listen and you will understand. From the lounge I saw how you ate and then played. I like observing people. . . . .ever since I was a girl. And now we'll turn over the cards and I'll tell you what they "say"."

"You don't believe in these things, do you?" she said, worried.

"No, no, dear. I find them dangerous and unnatural. I refer to other much more simple things. You don't have to be visionary as such. ln addition, the spanish deck is inoffensive. The deck you played with was given to me as a present by Michael, your grandson, shortly before Prince Andrew was divorced.....Anyway," - continued Madam Peters, who saw her niece a little impatient - "would you like me to start with you, dear?"

"As you wish, aunt."

     And she turned the first card over.

"The ace of hearts," she said, and immediately pondered. "You gave it your all, eh? Well...hmm...I believe you were setting a trap, although I understand why. All your cards were low."

"I was correct. I should have played it in the first round, but I didn't."

"What I don't understand is why you had to go second. lt would have been more logical that the player to the left of the winner had played next, wouldn't it?" Then, lowering her voice, Madam Peters said, "Don't be offended, but you always have been a little selfish, Patricia."

"That is true, aunt, but you must understand. With the numbers I had, you didn't expect me to make a fool of myself, did you?"

"But it's only a game. You shouldn't take it like that."

"Yes, I know, but I can't help it."

"At the end of the day, what could you do? You really did have a terrible hand. Now let's take a look at Lisa's card - I'm very intrigued."

     She didn't like what she saw.

"I was afraid of that. She left the seven of spades. She could have played it in the second round, you know, but I know why she didn't."

"Why?"

"She has an obsessive phobia for odd numbers. When the three of you were eating, did you not see how nervous she was? I almost stood up to come and join you."

"Aunt, are you trying to make me believe it was just for that....."

"Not only for that, but for many other reasons, dear, for many other reasons. I saw her face today and also during the lunch her Aunt Violet gave a month ago - we were eight, and it was much more relaxed. When the second course arrived and I saw the turkey thighs, I was worried. As you know, she doesn't like them very much, but in order not to upset Violet, she asked for two small thighs and not one, which would have been the most natural thing to do. She wears two medallions around her neck. She doesn't wear a wristwatch. She always eats at even hours, and today was no exception."

"That's true, we ate at two o'clock."

"That's why I didn't eat with you and I apologise. Too late for me."

"But aunt, she must be ill".

"Yes, very ill. I spoke to her mother a week ago. She will soon be going to London to undergo treatment."

"I don't believe it," she said, astonished.

"It is hard, but she is young. I believe . . . . I believe she will be cured."

     Madam Coote thought for a moment about her granddaughter. The truth is she had noticed something strange about her, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. Now she remembered that Lisa had once suddenly taken off one of her necklaces, with pearls, and begun to count them. She was furious when she discovered that there were thirty-nine. She never wore the necklace again and bought another one instead.

"Now it's Askill's turn, aunt," she said, a little sad.

"Yes," said Madam Peters, who saw the caid and went quiet for a few seconds. 'The jack of clubs.... he could've played tha tcard aswell, in place of the jack of hearts in the final round. How he suffered, poor Askill. He told me that he had a very poor, sad and wretched childhood. His mother, who he adored, committed suicide. He has had a very hard life. Poor man."

     There was an agonising silence. The game had started to turn into a nightmare.

"I don't believe Jeff has anything tragic," said Madam Coote, anxiously.

     Madam Peters looked at her sadly. Then, she turned over the final card.

"I should've imagined it. Hearts. The four of hearts. How strange."

"I don't understand anything."

"Maybe you didn't look at his face when you served the drinks with dessert. You served him three glasses of brandy, without realising. He accepted them. Then, almost mechanically, the young man went to serve himself a fourth glass. I think he has drink problems, dear. His hands were shaking, his eyes make him seem ill, he hardly ate a thing."

     She paused, as if she was a judge about to pass sentence.

"The last card is the card which indicates what we are like and how we feel."

"I don't believe in such monstruous things, aunt," said Madam Coote, a little irritated.

"Time will prove me to be right."

"What a strange game. Are you sure you invented it yourself?"

"Yes. . . ." she said with a mysterious voice.

     Madam Peters noticed that her niece had a defiant look on her face. That was what she commented on.

"I ask myself which card you would have left. You are not selfish, nor dishonest. You are not fussy, nor have you suffered much in life, neither do you have a drink problem. You must have some defect!"

"Obviously, as does everyone."

     Madam Coote then asked slowly:

"And which card would it be, aunt?"

"When we play another game maybe you'll find out. But it's obvious. Such a deduction should be easy for you."

"Easy?" said Madam Coote. "Maybe the ace of spades, for a cousin of Aunt Magda was stabbed and killed during some disturbances in lndia. Or maybe the two of diamonds, which could remind you of those two gold coins you had as a bracelet and which you lost a long time ago, provoking such disappointment." The truth is that she didn't know. Nor would she ever know, she was convinced of that.

"And, for example . . . . . what do the diamonds mean, if they mean anything at all?" Madam Coote asked, intrigued.

"Of course they have a meaning," she began to say slowly. "For you, wealth and power. For Lisa, it's just a colour. For Askill, on the other hand, warmth. Did you not see his face when he played the nine of diamonds? For him, they were like nine scorching suns. For Jeff, however, they mean adventure, the search for the impossible. His struggle."

     Madam Coote was taken over by an anxious shivering.

"No, stop. What you are saying is very hard, Aunt."

     Then, in a serious and annoyed tone, she added, "I would prefer not to know what they mean for you."

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     The following morning, Madam Peters went out onto the terrace as usual and found her niece, who was having breakfast. The sky was a little cloudy, as it had been the day before.

"Good morning, Patricia."

"Good morning, Aunt Magda. Would you like something to drink?"

"No, thank you. I had a bad night."

     Madam Coote was worried.

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Much better, thank you. Do you know? I was thinking about what you said to me yesterday, about the card I didn't play. I believe you are a little upset with me, Patricia."

"No, that's not true."

"Yes, yes you are. I've known you for a long time and maybe, without realising it, I hurt people sometimes. The truth is we don't have much in common."

     Then, on purpose, she added:

"I get the feeling you are a little jealous of me."

"And now it turns out l'm jealous!" said Madam Coote, very offended. "And what about you, do you have no defects?"

"See? Do you realise what has happened to us? We've started to argue again. There is a battle between us. I know that sometimes I'm a bit of a smarty-pants, and that irritates you. As a result, you attack me, and I try to defend myself."

     Madam Peters looked her niece straight in the eye.

"Can you guess which card we are dealing with?"

"No, aunt."

     There was a long silence, a tense and mysterious silence.

"We are dealing with. . . . .the two of spades," said Madam Peters.

     She then added:

"I hate arguments, Patricia. I can't bear them. I'm old, I don't have many years ahead of me now. Sometimes, my clever demeanour has caused me more than a few unwanted problems. In addition, I have upset the person I love the most in this world without realising. And that person is you, dear."

     Madam Coote looked at her for a moment and smiled. Then she said emotionally:

" I hope that neither of us ever keep this card, aunt. In relation to that," she said all of a sudden, "next week my nephew Derek and his wife are coming. We could play again, couldn't we? I'm very intrigued to find out which card they don't play."

"Well. . . .you'll see....," stammered Madam Peters.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Yes. Just last night I had an idea for another game, but using the French deck."

"And can you tell me its significance?" she said with curiosity.

"No, dear," she said sweetly. "Wait for them to come, and when we have finished the game and they have gone home, you will know."



                                                                  THE END