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I stare ahead at nothing in particular. “I won. Me, the unluckiest person ever, won.”
“Honey, you deserve this.” She grabs my hand and squeezes. “Like I said yesterday, you had to wait out your storm. It’s your time to shine.” My thoughts jump to just Ann. How I wish I could thank her for adding to my horrible day, enough to push me to buy a lottery ticket. “Have you thought about what you’re going to do with it? What are your dreams?”
“I haven’t gotten past the part that this small piece of paper”—I hold up the ticket—“is worth four million dollars.” We lean our heads against each other’s and stare at it in silence. My mind slows, and everything I’ve ever wanted comes within reach. I exhale and tilt my head toward her. “I’m going to college.”
She jerks back, and her lips pucker like she popped a lemon in her mouth. “College? Sugar, you should be dreaming about what beach you’re goin’ to be on, drinking one of those fancy cocktails out of a pineapple, and lookin’ for a sexy man with a fancy yacht.”
I laugh, shaking my head, not surprised at all that her dream includes a man. “I’ll travel someday. Not now. I’m going to move to Austin and go to college. Buy a new car. I want to experience the life I missed out on. Traveling the world will come after.”
She rolls her eyes. “I guess if that’s what will make you happy,” she says in a breezy tone. “So, Austin, huh? You goin’ to look for Mr. Pie Guy?”
“Not him again,” I say, elbowing her in the side. “Austin is a big city. I doubt I’ll ever see him again.”
“If it’s meant to be, it’ll be,” she singsongs.
It’s my turn to roll my eyes. Despite all her failed marriages, she still loves love. I’d expect her to be bitter, warn me to stay away from the heartbreak, but she’s a romantic at heart.
I jump up, running to the kitchen, watching my steps, so I miss the broken ceramic pieces from the lamp. I’ll clean it up later. There’s no better reason to pop open, or rather, twist open, a bottle of wine. I giggle when I grab two red solo cups—a millionaire at her finest—and pour a heavy amount into each cup, taking a heavy whiff of one while walking back to the living room. I swirl it around, practicing the movement for the future. I’m almost certain all millionaires drink wine like this.
“Cheers, friend,” I say, handing her a cup.
“Cheers to a new journey,” she replies, tapping my cup. We both take a long drink. The wine’s warmth spreads through me. A new journey. Suddenly, nerves tickle my tummy. The idea that everyone will find out about my winnings makes me finish the wine and pour another cup. I down that one too.
“Whoa there, Nelly.” She laughs, taking the bottle from my hand and filling her cup up. She places the bottle on the side table. “This is a celebration. Not a race to see who can throw up first.”
I freak out and pace the room. “I don’t want anyone to know.”
“Why not? You need to be more like just Ann.” I chuckle when she refers to her like I do. “Go rub your fortune in their stuck-up noses.”
I shake my head. “I just want to leave town without all the hoopla. I don’t want to be the center of their gossip. They’ll all act like my friends, making up stories about knowing me, or worse yet, start telling the world about my parents dying and the road I had to take to get here. I am not giving people a chance for their five minutes of fame.” People I looked at for help at my lowest—who looked the other way—don’t deserve to have a part of me at my highest.
Or richest.
She sighs but then nods. “Can I at least watch you quit? Tell Roberto to shove the job up his ass?”
“You’re horrible. Roberto is not that bad.” Roberto could be a stuffy jerk, but mostly, he’s been a decent boss. After all, he hired me when most of the town looked the other way when I was searching for a job. The five-thousand-dollar insurance policy my parents left me when I turned eighteen didn’t stretch too far, but it allowed me to find a place of my own. “I’ll give my two weeks. My story is going to be that I’ve saved up enough to move.”
“You’re a much better person than me,” she teases. “I’d be shakin’ my hiney while I was wavin’ around hundred-dollar bills and high-tailing it out of this crappy judgmental town. Peace out, bishes.” I laugh, imagining Pearl doing just that.
Her questions about dreams stir up a memory. “Ladybug, you can be anything you want if you follow your dreams.” My mom’s words come back to me, and there’s a warmth inside me. It’s been a long time since I’ve remembered her words. We were lying on a pool float, staring up at the sky, when a plane flew right over us. I told her I wanted to live on a plane and fly all over the world. “That sounds amazing. Just make sure to go to college first.”
Mom, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
CHAPTER 4
Kali
Four days before I was taken…
Do you know how hard it is to keep a million-dollar secret?
A million times hard.
Sleep became a distant memory. Nothing could silence the relentless churning of my brain. Counting sheep turned into a bizarre dance of dollar bills with arms and legs, illuminated by disco lights and the song “She Works Hard For the Money” by Donna Summer playing in the background. Basically, I hosted a rave in my head all night. I should be a zombie this morning after a night of insomnia, but the adrenaline coursing through my veins is like an IV drip of caffeine.
Yesterday started out with a bad wine hangover, then I ended up spending the afternoon at our small local library searching the internet. From searching how to claim the prize to colleges in the area to compiling lists of the top ten things lottery winners buy, my notes filled page after page. By the time I finished, I was in a mountain of debt.
Might have to cross some things off.
