“You’re getting too tall, kid. Maybe we can find a magic bean stand here at the fair and stunt your growth a little,” Trey said while lifting Bethany intoa huge hug and blowing a raspberry into her cheek, causing her to squeal in delight.
“Trey,” his brother tried again. “Is Cat coming?”
He gave his brother a casual glance while setting the kid back on the ground. “Oh. No. She has some…work things to catch up on.” It was a convenient excuse he employed a lot lately.
His brother eyed him in suspicion, having already heard this cover story before. “Whatever you’ve done, just say it was your fault and apologize. Trust me. You do not want to jump back into the dating scene. It’s rough out there.”
“What have you done to Aunt Cat?” Bethany asked while taking Trey’s hand and swinging it back and forth.
He smothered a grumble because he wasn’t in the mood to get into it. Besides, Treyhadalready apologized a hundred times at this point. And who wanted to have a serious conversation about the state of his marriage between a funnel cake vendor and a stand selling giant inflatable hammers? He already felt like a clown.
His brother, though, lacked tact and replied to his daughter, “Beth, honey, it pains me to tell you this, but your Uncle Trey doesn’t always make the wisest decisions. If he was, he’d get his shi—uh, stuff figured out.”
Whether this was true or not didn’t matter. It still bothered him. “Everything is fine.”
John shook his head. “Beg for forgiveness and treat her to something special. I’m telling you. If youdon’t, someone else will.”
His brother's words hit him in the gut. The problem was Trey had already done as his brother suggested—Well, he’d at least begged for forgiveness ever since the affair accusation had flown from his mouth. It had been a reckless mistake born out of frustration on his part. Even though Cat had responded to his apology withForget itat the time, it was clear she wasn’t planning on getting selective amnesia anytime soon.
But, perhaps, his brother was right. He hadn’t made enough of an effort to treat his wife to something special. The problem was there wasn’t much money left after all the bills were paid. Living in Southern California on the combined income of a substitute teacher (him) and a fundraising manager for a non-profit organization (her) meant their belts had always been tight due to student loans and everyday life. And while he frequently told himself he needed to get serious and get his full teacher’s license, he kept putting it off because he enjoyed bouncing around to different classes. But the fact of the matter was that things were and would always be tough even if he did get his license. In fact, their two-bedroom apartment was shared with another couple, Cat’s cousin and her boyfriend, making their situation even more tense during a fight. When it came to treating his wife, he’d have to get creative.
That’s when he saw the booth.
A bright orange banner, advertising a raffle for afreefour-day, three-night stay at an all-inclusiveresort in Cancun, revealed itself when a large group of fairgoers parted like the Red Sea. The young woman working the booth waved him over as though a mythical siren. Trey barely heard his brother asking him where he was going.
“Is this really a giveaway for a free vacation?” he asked, excitement buzzing in his gut at the lucky coincidence of it all.
“It sure is,” the woman responded, flipping her long shiny ponytail off her shoulder. “It’s for two people. And the resort is four-star rated. All you have to do is fill out this form on my tablet. Simple.”
“What are you doing?” John asked. “Don’t just give some random company your information. You’re going to end up on a bunch of spam lists.”
“Look, give me a little credit.” As much as Trey wanted the chance to win a free, surprise vacation for Cat, he wasn’t about to do it without some kind of due diligence. “What company is doing this?”
“Oh, um, it’s right here.” The woman pointed to a spot on the form. “It’s Vacations4Fun.com. They’re doing it in connection with the fair. I’m told they’re going to select something like forty winners.”
He didn’t know the exact mathematical percentage of being picked, but forty must mean the odds were great. He might have a significant shot here. Being able to bring home good news like this had to buy him a little forgiveness and was worth the risk of ending up on a dreaded spam list.
“This is partially your doing,” Trey told John as he filled in his basic information.
“What? How is thismydoing? Did I tell you to enter random raffles?”
“You said I needed to treat Cat, and this vacation will definitely treat her.”
“Yeah, I didn’t mean something that’s a long shot. I meant to treat her to a fancy dinner or flowers or something.”
“We don’t have the money for something like that. Besides, this vacation would be all-inclusive, and I’m pretty sure that means it includes food, so this is even better. It’s like four day dates and three night dates.” Trey had never had a vacation like this and wasn’t sure if all-inclusive actually meant food was included, but he hoped all the same.
“Sure, fine, whatever. You’re not going to win. And the provider is called Vacations4Fun? That doesn’t sound sus to you?”
“Daddy, I want ice cream,” Bethany said, pulling on one of his hands impatiently.
“Just a second, honey. Your uncle is in the middle of making another bad decision.”
“See?” Trey replied. “I bet it was that negative attitude that got you—Wait a minute. Why is this form asking me to select a range of my yearly income?”
The woman twirled the end of her ponytail as she appeared to consider the question. “Oh. Well, um, I think it’s because they want to make sure all the winners actually deserve the prize and aren’t people who are already wealthy and can afford it.”
John snorted beside him and said, “Yeah, sure, they are. I’m telling you, you’re going to end up on alist. I’m just trying to protect you since Cat isn’t here to do it.”
