The year was 1966 and they were heading to Las Vegas so Beth could compete in the U.S. Open. They had both grown up, Beth was now 18 and Emilie was 20.
The plane ride over was pretty quiet. Beth was contently playing on her little chess board, Alma had the company of her Gibson cocktail, and Emilie had her sketchbook. She was currently drawing a picture of her sister and mother. She was quite good at getting it to look just right, the proportions and all.
After the plane had landed and they got to their hotel, Beth looked around and seemed right in her element. They had gone shopping for something to wear tomorrow, mainly for Beth but Em also got something there too. On their way back, Beth ran into who Emilie assumed was an old friend or someone who caught her interest, either way, they went by Townes. He seemed polite, after excitedly saying hello to Beth he introduced himself to Emilie.
If there's one thing she could do pretty well, it was read a room, so the older Harmon broke off from the trio letting her sister talk with him more. She went to go sit at a table, near a bar.
"One rum and coke?" She grabbed her drink and sat down at a table to look at her older drawings. Looking at the world she had put on paper before, and up at the world around her to see what she could put next. She looked back at some quite old drawings. A lot of them were of her mother, sister, and ex-boyfriend. She drew the people she was around a lot, the varying expressions. Then there was a chunk of drawings of the same person, Benny Watts.
As she looked down at that face, you'd never guess who's face she'd see when she looked up.
"I thought that was you Harmon," She slammed her sketchbook rather quickly.
"Didn't mean to scare you," he chuckled slightly. Before getting comfortable, leaning back slightly in the previously empty chair in front of her.
"You didn't scare me, simply startled me," she said, trying to get her stoic composure to front again. She tucked her hair behind her ears.
"You grew up," he said, stating the obvious.
"You got old," she snapped back.
"Ooh way to really hit me where it hurts, I'm only 26," the sarcasm as clear as glass.
"For a second I thought you escaped the nursing home," she looked him up and down, putting on the most judgy look she could muster.
"What says, "might have broken a hip to you,""
Her eyes moved to his mustache
"Is it the fucking mustache?"
"It's the fucking mustache,"
"Damn, now that's. where it really hurts," a round of laughs passed between before the silence settled in again.
They tried to break the silence at the same time.
"How's New York?"
"How's your sister,"
"She's good, last time I left her she was catching up with an old friend. She's playing tomorrow,"
"So am I,"
"Oh." It was short. She was literally conversing with her sister's opponent. That revelation stopped the small talk in its tracks.
"What were you draw-"
"Wanna play speed chess?" Emilie cut in quickly.
"Uh... you literally stopped talking to me because- Harmon?" Emilie ducked down to hide from an emotional looking Beth who was probably just walking back to the hotel room but looked like she was on a warpath. Guess the thing with Townes didn't work.
"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
"Emilie what the-"
"Shut the fuck up Watts!"
"Jesus," He looked around trying to find what the hell is making this girl hide. Then, he laid his eyes on Beth Harmon who was now rounding a corner putting her out of sight. "If you really want to know, she's gone now,"
"Thank god,"
"You're embarrassed to be seen with me, that hasn't happened since I was like 14 and hormonal,"
"Well it's doesn't look good when-" Benny cut Emilie off as she tried to smooth her hair and dress
"Don't worry, 'bout it," Benny took something out of his wallet, flattened it out, and began writing on it.
He stuck the piece of paper in her sketchbook, having it stick out slightly.
"I really should go,"
"It's fine. Chess will just have to wait,"
"Okay then, see you in another three years Benny,"
She put her sketchbook in her shopping bag to make it easier to carry and got up to leave. As she walked away, he yelled,
"This is Vegas baby! Enjoy it while you're here!" He finished her rum and coke, that she ended up not finishing.
When Emilie returned to her room, she found a dejected Beth and a tipsy Alma. She went to go look at her sketchbook again. She found an old, folded up piece of paper.
"What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," was messily scrawled on the back of the drawing. It was a really old one from Cincinnati. It wasn't signed, but she didn't need it to be to know who it was from. She stared at it for a while.
With a sigh, she started a new project with a certain face being the main part.