“You mean you gambled on a football game?” Hannah’s eyes grew wide. “Like…a real bet?”

“Well, I placed a bet with this bookie, a friend of my brother. Later this week, depending on how I do today, I’ll either get an envelope of cash or give an envelope of cash.”

Phil didn’t know why he was telling her any of this. He felt ridiculous.

“You have a bookie?” Hannah asked. She was grinning now, and riveted.

“He’s not a real bookie,” Phil said. “Like I said, he’s a friend of my brother.”

“That’s kind of exciting,” Hannah said, staring at the television.

She brought her bloodshot eyes back to his face. She seemed to be waiting for him to say something, so he continued.

“It’s really more like a game than anything else. It’s just something to do.”

“And if you don’t have money for the bookie…is it like the mafia? Will he kill you?”

Phil liked her, he decided, although he couldn’t tell if she was making fun of him.

“I do have the money, and if I didn’t, I’d just owe him and pay him later. He’s a nice guy.”

“And you’re going to lose? For sure?”

Phil glanced at the television screen. He saw the California Golden Bears on the sidelines with their helmets off, embracing. He shook his head. This was bad, but thankfully he was distracted.

“For sure,” he said with a half smile. “It just happened. Thank you, Oregon, for not doing a goddamned thing for me today.”

“What are you going to do?” Hannah asked sympathetically, after taking a sip of water.

“Nothing,” Phil said, shrugging. “I’ll take the hit. I’ll give an envelope to Hank. It’s either that or I bet on the Rainbows and go to bed.”

Hannah tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. “Is that a gay joke? Betting on rainbows?”

“It’s what people say,” Phil responded, turning away from the television as the bartender changed the channel back to ESPN. “It’s something we gamblers say.” He put emphasis on the word “gamblers,” mocking her initial shock at the word “bookie.”

“The Rainbows,” Phil explained, “are the football team at the University of Hawaii. The guys who gamble on college sports have this saying, that if you’re in the hole for the week and you want to make one last bet to try to cover your losses, the Hawaii game is the last college game you can bet on because of the time difference. So people who gamble—my brother, Mickey, and his friends, at least—they always say that if you’re in big trouble, you may as well just put all your money on the Rainbows on a Saturday night and just go to bed. You sleep it off and hope you wake up to a win.”

“Or you wake up further in the hole,” Hannah said. “If the Rainbows lose.”

“Well, yeah,” Phil said. “It’s just a saying. I’ve never bet on the Rainbows, at least not to get out of a hole.”