They talked freely about their lives, but strangely, never about mathematics. Nobody referred to Miss Sayer and what they had learned in that strange year. Later, on his way home, Jimmy was to think of this omission. It didn’t matter much; he hadn’t done any maths for years, never even picked up a domino set.
Over the next few weeks he would visit them again, usually on a Saturday night, when a fine meal would be served and vintage wine poured freely. They asked for nothing in return, only his company, which Jimmy was happy to give.
One night, perhaps in early 1978, the post-dinner conversation took a surprising turn. They were talking about finding Jimmy a proper job, one in keeping with his talents. Malthorpe mentioned that the stock markets were based on chance alone, and that so- called experts like himself were only pretending to have knowledge. It was a chaotic system, ripe for exploitation, perfect for a player like Jimmy. Jimmy was all set to protest, if he could find the wine-sapped energy, when suddenly Georgie jumped onto the table, scattering ashtrays and breaking a wineglass. ‘Can we play now?’ he shouted. ‘Can we play now, Max? Play the game?’
A silence came over the table. Susan took in a breath, Hackle shook his head slowly, Malthorpe made a little laugh.
‘Get down, Blank-Blank,’ he said, quite firmly. ‘You’re making a scene.’
‘Can we, Max?’ Georgie continued. ‘Play to win, Max.’
Jimmy was intrigued, because this was the first real excitement these overly civilized dinner parties had generated. ‘Is he referring to what I think he’s referring to?’
Another look passed around the table. ‘Of course!’ cried Max. ‘Let’s play some dominoes. You up for it, Five-Four?’
‘I’m game, Two-Blank.’
Susan went to a small desk, where a finely carved ebony box rested. She brought this over to the dining table, whilst Georgie eagerly cleared the playing area. What a sound they made, those beautiful ebony bones! A sound that Jimmy hadn’t heard since his teens. He was fascinated by the sound, and the sight of all those numbers scattering over the finely polished surface. At the same time, slightly uncomfortable; he’d given up dominoes, and all other games, as politics took over his life. The playing of games was a childish activity, offering nothing to the gallant cause. Did he still have the skill, the expertise? As the bones were shuffled and chosen, it came to him that gathered around this table were four exceptional players. And yet none of them had ever played a championship match, as far as he knew.
The room was tense, silent, only the occasional clack of a bone, a knock on the table. Susan had lit some candles, whose shadows danced over the playing surface.
The first game was over quickly, easily won by Malthorpe. Jimmy was left with a deficit of high-scoring dominoes. The next two games went to Hackle and Susan, respectively. Only Georgie now matched Jimmy’s lack of success. The thin, nervous child-man was twitching with frustration. During their fourth game, he suddenly threw his bones across the table, wrecking the square- jointed snake of carefully matched numbers. ‘It’s not fair!’ he cried. ‘I never win.’
‘Game over,’ said Max, calmly.
Jimmy was glad of the sudden tantrum; he couldn’t have faced another defeat by his once equals. But Georgie wouldn’t be shut up so easily. ‘I want to play the lucky bones,’ he screamed.
‘It’s time the boy was in bed,’ said Susan, ready to lead him to some nursery upstairs.
‘Lucky bones! Lucky bones! Lucky, lucky, lucky bones!’
‘Be quiet, Blank-Blank,’ said Max. ‘You know that’s not allowed.’
‘It is! It is allowed! Play to win, you promised.’
‘Not when we have guests.’
Malthorpe cut in here: ‘Go on, Max. You might as well.’
Hackle thought for a moment. ‘If we must. Susan?’
As Susan left the room, Jimmy began to wonder if this whole episode had been carefully staged, just for his benefit.
She returned some few minutes later carrying another box. This one was quite plain, giving no hint as to its contents. ‘Who will shuffle?’ she asked.
‘Jimmy, I think,’ answered Malthorpe.
She gave the box to Jimmy. He was surprised to notice that it was slightly warm to the touch, as though something alive lay trapped within it. A sliding lid revealed a perfectly normal set of dominoes, carefully arranged in ascending order. He turned the whole box upside down to scatter the bones.
What happened then took him by surprise. Little did he know at the time, he was actually casting the bones of his life.
As soon as the dominoes hit the table their numbers began to change!