This is the first of a series of “Rumors about the Neighbors” stories brought to you by aamora’s featured artist of the week, Caroline Penris:

Before the accident she had been working in the biggest casino in town, so she knew all about cards and roulette and had taught him the ins and outs of each game. They often played ‘home casino’ together to fill their evenings but he’d never managed to beat her.

When the doctors told them she could never work again, or even move or talk again, it really felt like the end of the world. Only very expensive surgery in a special Swiss private hospital could be a chance on any recovery but they didn’t have the nessesary resources.

Therefore, she was placed in a home where strangers in white took care of her. He visited her at the home every day and sometimes brought the cards and roulette board so he could play them in front of her for “old times sake”.  At those times, he often saw a tear roll from her eye and he’d stroke her soft cheek and whisper : “I know my love, I know.” But he didn’t know.

He didn’t know that she wasn’t crying over the way things were, she was crying because he played with real chips from the casino without even knowing it. As a good croupier, she had built a serious reputation as “lady luck” and had collected hundreds of chips over the years, all given by rich winning players as a reward for the luck they thought she’d brought them. She had never told him about it because he could be a jealous husband but she had saved them and had been using them for their ‘home casino’ games. They were worth a fortune. They could be the end of her misery, but she could’t speak or move to let him know about it. Nice “lady luck” she turned out to be! 

[story written by Norma van der Horst]

Caroline tells us: This is an ongoing photo project about The Neighbors. I invited a few people to write short stories or captions to my photos. I’m working on a book about The Neighbors: a selection of photos and stories.

Find out more about the neighbors HERE