C3KT

"Anyone home?" Harvey strolled into Nash's apartment early on Saturday morning. He and Nick were planning to spend the day at the race track while Nash caught up on the back log of paperwork that was piled on his desk. "SSH! Nash is still sleeping. He was up late last night and I thought that I would let him sleep in this morning." Nick picked up his jacket and the racing forms as he passed by the couch and joined Harvey at the elevator.   "Are you ready to learn all about the wonderful world of horseracing?"    Harvey chuckled and pulled a folded stack of money from the pocket of his cargo pants. "I just stopped by the ATM and withdrew what I had in my savings account. I have a feeling that today is going to be my lucky day!"

As they drove to the track, Nick read the names of the horses who were entered in the first race. "Personally, I like Snapdragon best. He has placed well in the past few races and I have this gut feeling that today is his day." Nick was excited about being able to place a few bets without Nash hanging over his shoulder advising him to save his money.   Harvey agreed with the elder Bridge's choice and decided that he would trust Nick's instincts. He pulled the blue PT Cruiser into a parking space and the two men walked into the track with high hopes for the day's outcome.

Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed when they found out that Snapdragon had been disqualified from the race.   "Now what do we do?" Harvey asked Nick as they scanned the forms for other potential winners. "There's one choice left" Nick said as he pointed out the name. "Baby's Bouncy Beachball". What'da ya think?"    Harvey wrinkled his brow as he thought. "I don't know, Nick. Sounds more like a nursery rhyme than a winning race horse." Nick put his arm around Harvey's shoulders and led him to the betting window. "Trust me, Harv. Have I ever let you down before."

"Not yet" he remarked and reluctantly handed over the money.   Nick placed the bets and they went to find their seats.   "Isn't this exciting!" Nick exclaimed. Harvey acknowledged him with a nod and under his breath mumbled, "20 to 1 odds. I'm so Busted."

The horses were at the starting block and the gun fired to start the race. Nick was on his feet screaming and yelling while Harvey stayed seated. He just couldn't get excited about a horse with such a silly name. When cigar smoke began drifting into his face, Harvey finally stood up. He didn't know which was worst--breathing the second- hand smoke or watching his savings go up in smoke.
The race was coming down to the wire and two horses were out in front.

They listened as the track announcer called the race: "In the back stretch, it's Zestful Zebra and Baby's Bouncy Beachball. And into the turn, triple B seems to be falling behind."   Harvey fell down into his seat and put his head in his hands. "That's it. It's all gone." he mumbled to himself.   The announcer continued calling the race over the PA system. "And into the final turn, Triple B is pulling ahead of Zestful Zebra. And Baby's Bouncy Beachball is the winner!"   Nick reached down and pulled Harvey to his feet and the two men embraced as they jumped up and down in celebration.

Nick yelled, "Let's go collect our money" and they practically ran to the payoff booth.

Harvey dropped Nick off at Nash's apartment and thanked him for a great day. He had forgotten how much fun spending time with a "dad" could be. As he drove away, Harvey popped in a cassette and found the song "High Time."    "An appropriate song" he thought. He had taken $600 to the track and come away with $12,000.   He smiled and spoke aloud, "Now that's what I call a high time!"

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