Chapter83Mahjong Match
The men took their seats at the table, Matthew and Victor facing each other, with Mitchell on the left and Liam on the right.
Ophelia dragged a chair to sit behind Liam while Willow and Daniel settled between Matthew and Mitchell, eyeing their tiles.
Matthew was on a hot streak, winning several hands in a row and accumulating a tidy sum.
Madison arrived with some freshly washed fruit for the group.
Liam complained with a pout, "Sis, you've got to pull Matthew away. He's been unbeatable since he sat down. At this rate, we're going to go home broke."
"A little money from you doesn't mean anything," Matthew retorted without looking up.
"Then give it back!" Liam demanded unabashedly.
"Win it back if you can," Matthew responded, not even glancing up, his focus fixed on his game.
Matthew tossed a card. "I won!"
Liam blurted out, "Damn it."
Defiantly, as if powered by his setbacks, he rolled up his sleeves with determination, vowing to turn the tables.
Willow chuckled and teased, "C'mon, hustle up. Quinn and I will sneak a peek at Matthew's hand for you."
"No need for that! We play fair and square here," Liam replied with an air of integrity.
He didn't believe that luck was always on Matthew's side. Fortune could turn at any moment, and Liam felt his time was coming.
Victor and Mitchell watched Liam's banter with Matthew, shaking their heads with laughter. It was all good fun for them. Just like Matthew said, losing a bit of money was no big deal.
The four of them started another round.
Madison, who didn't know how to play cards, watched curiously from the sidelines and found it interesting.
Matthew won again, sneakily glancing over at Madison, who was standing at an angle near Victor and Mitchell, observing intently like a studious learner.
Distracted by the young woman across the table, Matthew lost his hand to Liam.
Matthew stretched languidly and called out to Madison, "Hey, Madison, take over for me. I need to use the restroom."
Taken aback by the sudden request to step in for him, Madison hastily declined, "I don't know how to play. Maybe everyone could wait?" She looked around at the group for agreement.
Liam, catching on to Matthew's ploy, loudly protested, "No way, we can't have that. I just won a round my luck is finally here. Next thing you know, it'll head back to Matthew."
"Perhaps Willow can play. I genuinely don't know how," Madison suggested, dreading the idea of losing the money Matthew had won back.
Liam's laugh had a sly edge to it as he said, "Sister, take Matt's place for a round. It's fine if you don't know how. Just lose some cash to us in his stead."
Willow encouraged her as well, "Don't worry, Sis, my brother has plenty of money. Hurry up and take a seat."
By this point, Matthew had already stood up, vacating his spot.
Madison felt tearful. She had only just grasped the basics of the game, and now they were pushing her to join a table of seasoned players. She felt like she was being sent to throw away money.
Madison sensed their determination. Even though she didn't understand why she should lose money for Matthew, she took a deep breath and sat at the table, meeting everyone's expectant gaze.
Indeed, it was like giving away money. Ever since sitting down at the table, he hadn't won a single hand, losing several rounds in a row to Victor, Mitchell, and Liam—with Liam raking in the most by far.
Matthew emerged from the restroom and took a moment to check on the two little ones upstairs.
He pushed open the door to find several people sprawled on the floor. Patrick was engrossed with the kids in constructing a Lego set. By the look of the box, it seemed to be a Disney castle.
None of them noticed his entrance until he cleared his throat softly and asked, "Anyone hungry for a snack?"
"Dad, Mom just got us some fruit. Come see, we have already finished half!" Hannah, hearing her dad's voice, eagerly looked up, eager to show off their accomplishment.
"Matthew, I thought I heard you guys playing mahjong downstairs," Patrick casually inquired.
"Yeah, you want in? I could have Willow come up to watch them."
"Nope, I don't feel like playing. Cards are not really my thing. Hanging out with Quentin and Hannah is far more fun."
Patrick wasn't about to join in the card game with his brothers he'd lost embarrassingly every time, having once even lost a sports car and vowed never to play with them again.
As Matthew thought of the lady downstairs playing cards for him, he reminded Quentin and Hannah to eat some fruit, and then he turned to go back downstairs.
Before he reached the table, he could hear Willow protesting on someone's behalf.
"How could you guys do this? Taking advantage of Sister when Matthew's not around, huh? Sister loses every hand—is that really fair?"
"Yeah, it's Sister's first time playing, and you guys don't go easy on her."
Madison, her head hung low as if she wanted to bury herself in the table, thought it better if they'd keep quiet. Who else could lose every hand but her?
Seeing Matthew's return was like a weight lifting from her shoulders she promptly stood up.
She began sheepishly, "You're back? Your turn to play. I've just got bad luck tonight."
Matthew was surprised to see the pile of cash he had left to play with had dwindled to just a single hundred-dollar bill and some change. He hadn't expected such significant losses, even though he had allowed Madison to join the game out of curiosity.
He wondered, ‘Is it really bad luck?’
Madison's eyes darted to Matthew, noting his flustered look of irritation. She knew it was only a matter of luck that had prevented him from getting the cards he was after, not a lack of skill at playing.
Mitchell teased, "Looks like you're back, Matthew, ready to cough up all those winnings from Sister, huh?"
Matthew's eyebrows shot up, "Shouldn't I?"
"Absolutely," Liam chimed in quickly, remembering how he had been the one winning the most during Sister’s turn at the table.
He turned to Madison, attempting to ease her embarrassment, "Sister, first time playing, and everyone’s got to pay their dues, right? Don't worry about it. We'll have another go at it next time."
Blushing, Madison let out an awkward chuckle, hastily excusing herself to start preparing dinner and making a beeline for the kitchen.
Once in the kitchen, noticing the time, she took out all the prepped ingredients from the refrigerator and started the soup.
Donning an apron, she started preparing the seafood. Despite offers from Willow Nelson and a couple of other girls to assist, Madison, having already handled the washing and cutting earlier, insisted she could manage the cooking alone and sent them off to enjoy themselves.
Dinner was served promptly at 7 P.M. Including Quentin and Hannah, there were eleven guests comfortably seated around the dining room's large round table.
Madison was well aware of everyone's preferences and had prepared a feast of barbecue ribs, buffalo wings, fried chicken, pulled pork sandwiches, grilled salmon, garlic shrimp scampi, corn chowder, and much more—a truly abundant spread.
Ophelia was trying Madison's cooking for the first time, and from the very first bite, she couldn't stop praising it.
The others, having not enjoyed such a meal in a while, didn't pause their eating once they'd started.
Matthew sat beside Madison, his expression broadcasting loud and clear, "My wife's cooking is the best!"
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