Finally it was time to play ‘The Checker Game’. They had talked about this challenge online for months. “King me” was a phrase that they would never forget because it had ended many an email, chat and telephone conversations between them. This one game would be very decisive. Who was going to win? What were they playing for? In the end, they decided that they would bet their pride and self-worth., They both knew the importance of this one game. 

He remembered one specific email that lingered in his mind. It was on February 13, 2010 when she ended an email with, “I think your real fear of coming to visit me is losing ‘The Checker Game’. That is why your rational mind is speaking so loudly against you coming for our rendezvous.” This email made him smile and realize how much he had to listen to his heart and follow the path to this woman. She seemed to know him like they had never been apart.

In a boisterous voice he said, “Are you ready.” She shouted, “King Me” as if leading a thousand warriors in to a battle as it echoed through the house. The tone was set and he was thinking to himself, “This is going to be a cake walk.” She was thinking with a sly grin on her face, “This has been sadistically fun getting him worked up over a game that doesn't mean very much to me. It's like that first time in the dorm room, when I bet him on driving his car so fast. I love seeing all of that passion being displayed with his puffed up chest, arrogance and hand gestures that arise with his desire to win.”

“Are you ready to lose,” he said in a arrogant manner. She said, “I'm ready to say ‘King Me’ till you cannot bear to hear it anymore.” As they setup the board she said, “This is a gift to us from my mother.” It was made out of a light brown cloth that measured about two foot by two foot in size with dyed black squares. The checker pieces were plastic and measured about twice the size of a silver dollar. With a quizzical look he said, “Why did she give this to us?”

“After I told my mother about all of our checker game discussions and that we were going to play ‘The Checker Game’. She must have decided it would be a nice gift to celebrate your return.”

“It is a very nice gift, but if it is some kind of bribe to get me to return 'The Ring'. Tell her that her cheap attempt at bribery won’t work.” Ignoring his comment, she said, “You know my mother was a champion checker player and she taught me to be a ‘Grand Master’. Yes, a ‘Grand Master’, Mister Morgan. So your time has come.” Chuckling he said, “’Grand Master’? You? Come on, you were putting the pieces on the wrong squares while we were setting it up.” Inside she was laughing. She had only beaten her mother once over the years. That one time happened to be this year when her mother came to visit her for Christmas.

She wrote to him describing her victory. “I was taking so long to make my moves that my mother was falling asleep waiting. Maybe she lost her concentration but in either case I won.”

He replied not so kindly, “Even a Grandmaster like your mother cannot play a good chess game under those circumstances. So, in your Mother’s eyes, my eyes, and the rest of the world’s eyes you have still never recorded a victory against her.” “It was a victory and I am still proud of that victory,” she said with a satisfied voice. He shrugged. In an arrogant tone she said, “Remember what you told me over and over about winning and losing?” He paused a minute to think but before he could reply she said, “Your saying is and I quote, “Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser.”

“You always were a quick learner,” he said as a hint of a grin spread across his lips. He had played many checker games with Mickey, his physicist friend and he was sure he was going to win. “Be prepared to lose your pride and self-worth.” ’We'll find out about that’ she thought, staring Randy down with a very a determined look on her face. After a sufficient period of silence she droned , “Debra Lynn is known as the "Checker Lady" to everyone except you.” “Really? And who is everyone?”

“Everyone is all you need to know.”

“The Checker Game” started in grand manner with both of them declaring their superiority. As with all things between them there was banter back and forth over who was going to win? Of course, in due time, the best person would win, but they both talked a good game. They exchanged pieces early on, which is normal in checkers, as the verbal jabs continued. He said, “So you finally beat your Mom but doesn’t it bother you she was falling asleep.”

“I won, that means there is a big 'W' not a small 'l' in the record book and, as I recall, there isn’t an explanation area on why I won. ” she said in a surly voice. “Yes, Yes, Yes. You won then but you are not going to win this time,” he said in a conceited tone. She was sitting cross legged opposite him, oblivious to everything but her next move, so she didn’t notice him putting a round dark chocolate in his mouth. After she made her move he leaned over and kissed her. As they were kissing he bit down on the chocolate and wine filled their mouths. They finished the kiss with the sweet taste of chocolate and wine pleasing them. The moment had finished. They returned to their positions, opposite each other. He removed his hand from the checker piece after his move indicating it was her turn. He instinctively reached out to move his piece back to its original position after he looked at his move.

All he could think was, ‘How could I do that.’ She saw he wanted to take his move back. She didn’t understand how bad his move was and said, “You can take it back and make a different move.” He was frustrated and mad at himself as he said, “No, I made a stupid move and…” as his voice trailed off. This move had given her a double jump and a king which could end up costing him the game. His arrogance had gotten the best him.

In a soft tone she said, “You can take your move back. Really, it’s ok.” He knew she didn’t realize how much this move had helped her. In a frustrated voice he said, “No, it’s OK. Make your move and put me out of my misery.” She took her double jump and with an enthusiastic voice said, “King Me.” She was greeted with an ice cold stare from him. Suddenly, she was up by two pieces and she had two kings. He was disappointed in himself. He said, “I concede. You win,” with a sad look on his face.

She grinned and said, “You can’t concede. You have to finish the game.” With a look that told him she was going savor and gloat every moment of this victory. “Are you sure?” He didn't relish the thought of playing the rest of this game. “King Me,” she said with an over confident voice. His demeanor changed.

He went from a carefree mode to battle mode. His crossed legs began to shake. For him to lose to her, after playing a brilliant world class player would be a crushing blow. She had only played with her mother and her daughter and still victory was knocking on her door. He had to prove to himself that he was still ‘The Master’. His eyes darted across the board and she watched with a big grin on her face. She could see his brain working and calculating on how he could still win this game. Now his legs were shaking faster. She tried to talk to him but all she got in return was a courtesy head nod to acknowledge her existence. He had always been so competitive and now she was witnessing it again. She was playing with ease. Her victory was all but assured. He was still plotting a way to regain control of the game but over confidence on her part proved to be a critical error. As the game progressed her true checker skills were exposed, and they were less than stellar. He moved a piece that forced her to jump him. After her jump, he didn’t move quickly like he normally did. She saw he had a jump but didn’t notice it was a double jump. He just stared at her with that superior look, with those ’know it all’ eyes.

He did his double jump and in a matter of fact tone said, “Now, I’m only one piece and one king down.”

She thought, “He was down two pieces, I had two kings and he had offered to concede the game but I refused because I wanted to rub his nose in my victory. I was going to teach that arrogant bastard that he doesn’t win every time. I hope I don’t regret my decision to continue playing this game. Now I’m only up one piece, a king and his confidence is gaining velocity.” He was setting a trap to even the game and possibly turning the table in his favor. His patience finally paid off a couple of moves later when she jumped one of his pieces and once again he had a double jump. With a faint smile he said, “I was hoping you would make that move. It was my only chance to even the game but you can take your move back if you want.”

He knew she wouldn’t accept his offer. It would be the same as admitting defeat and she wasn’t ready to give up yet. There was tension in the air as their demeanors changed yet again. He was full of confidence and she was hoping that somehow she could still win ‘The Checker Game’. It was her move and the options didn’t look good. No matter where she moved she would lose yet another piece and he already had a clear passage for two more kings. She didn’t want to lose, not this time, not this game but somehow it was going to happen. She looked at him hoping for some relief but he displayed none.

In a cocky voice he said, “I offered to concede but 'NOOOO'. You were going to teach me a lesson. Isn't that what you were thinking?”

“I was going to teach you a lesson but now it looks like I’m going to lose. I should have let you concede and enjoyed my victory.”

“Some things never change. You were always stubborn, just like me,” he said. “You always brought this competitiveness out in me so I blame it all on you. My arrogant Randy,” she said as she leaned over and kissed him. She moved the piece that she knew he was going to jump. He jumped his piece over hers and loudly said, “King Me.” She was losing the game because her strategy was as flawed as his five-year-old son. Get a King, leave him in the back row and not attack. She got two kings but just left them in the back row. Those extra-large checker pieces must have looked really pretty together because she never moved them. It didn’t make sense to him, but this approach assured his victory in “The Checker Game.”

It was a game he should have lost. If he had lost it would have been a crushing defeat. But as the saying goes, “snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.” Debra Lynn had lost when winning was a sure thing. As he took her last pieces and said, “King Me” over and over again she lamented. She had lost her bragging rights that she could have retained for all of eternity, if she had won “The Checker Game.”

She consoled herself with these thoughts, “If he had lost, on his death bed, he would have blamed the defeat on chance. His last words would be that he had made one stupid move and that was the only reason he lost.” Now that, he had won ‘The Checker Game’ his gloating filled the room like a giant balloon. She thought, “I’m not sure I can live with this stench in the air.”

He saw this look on her face and said, “Another game?” She looked at him in disgust, “Yes, but not under duress.”

“Really? How so.”

“Your gloating and shouting 'King Me' are distressing me.” He said, “This game, I will play naked lying on top of you. That way the board will seem backwards to me.” She smiled and said, “That will certainly increase my chances.” They were lying beside each other and their faces were gleaming with satisfaction. As they touched, that feeling of “pure Love” started flowing between them. They were at peace and nothing could change that. In a loving tone he said, “King Me.” Normally, she would have thought he was teasing her, but not now. Not with the peaceful feeling that the “pure Love” flowing between them caused. He said, “If we could bottle this feeling we could make a fortune.”

“This is our special drug.” “For sure, just think what would happen if it was released to the general population. The wars would end. ‘The Military Industrial Complex’ that President Eisenhower warned us about in his 1961 farewell speech would crumble…”

“Enough of your tirades,” She said, “Let’s play again! Don’t forget I’m a quick learner.”

“Ok, game on.” He wanted to get her confidence back up after the stunning defeat in the first game. He made a few stupid moves but instead of his “I’ve got to win attitude” surfacing, he continued to make less than noteworthy moves. She got really irritated with him and said, “What are you doing? I want to win fair and square.” What could he say? He wasn't that into the game. He was intoxicated by her. “What? Did you say something?” With a stern look she said, “Yes, I said something. You are letting me win. I don't want a 'Mercy Game'.” “Ok, I’ll concentrate more,” he said nonchalantly. Then she got really mad when she got two triple jumps in a row. “I told you I didn't want a 'Mercy Game',” she said in an angry voice. Two more moves and she beat him convincingly, but this only made her more upset. “Com’on it’s only game”, he moved closer, “How about I offer you some tips in exchange for kisses?”

“Ok, but don't get too distracted from the thought of my kisses before you give me the tips,” she said with smile. His tip was fairly simple; attack with the kings and don’t keep them sitting in the back row. She rewarded him with a Kings Ransom. Kisses showered down on him from his Debra Lynn. They even came up with another HardMarkCard, “Playing checkers can be mutually rewarding!”

‘The Game’ had been played and the victor crowned. She saw him staring off into space and asked “What’s wrong? You seem distracted even though you won.”

“Sitting here with you again, playing games, makes me think about what might have been.” He asked,”Did you think about me a lot over the years?”

Next Chapter: Chapter 28 Randyland