9-Ball

Gail had her tenth birthday party tonight, but her Dad was not there. She loves her dad, and he loves her. He had told her he was bringing her a special present, so why was he so late? Gail thought she knew what the present was; it must be that special custom pool cue she had wanted. Dad must have stopped to pick it up on his way home from work; maybe he stopped at Vicky's billiards to shoot a few games of 9-ball and lost track of time? Gail looks at the posters of the great women pool champions on her wall, Dorothy Wise and Jean Balukas and smiles. A screech of tires outside shakes Gail's attention to the street. As Gail quickly opens her window, she sees a car speed up and stop next to her Dad, as he staggers up the street holding a long package under his arm. Gail waves to her Dad, he smiles, waves back, and blows her a kiss. A man jumps out of the car, runs up to Gail's...