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I glance up to see our boss standing in the doorway. “Why?”
“We’re celebrating,” Sam says with a wide grin. “We just landed a huge contract with the school board. I’m treating everyone.”
That is excellent news for our small landscaping company. It will require travel to nearby counties for the grounds team, but it will keep us in the black for the next couple of years. “Let me finish up, and I’ll join you.”
“You can finish on Monday. Let’s go.” He turns away, but not before giving us the ‘I’m-the-boss-do-as-I-say’ glare. He really is the best. Unless he’s trying to force me to take vacation, that is.
We follow Sam out the door, wait for him to lock up, then cross the road and walk up the street to one of the two pubs in town. At five o’clock on a Friday evening in June, the sun is not quite as warm as it was mid-afternoon, but hot enough bare arms and shorts are more than adequate.
Not surprisingly, the restaurant is packed. We shoulder our way through, stopping to say hi to everyone we know. By the time we make it to the bar, my throat is dry, and my face hurts from smiling. The rest of the crew is already there waiting for us.
Sam leans over the bar and calls to the server. “Free round for my entire crew, Lindy.”
The young blonde gawks. “Wow, must be celebrating something special.” She takes the orders and gets to work.
While we wait, I look around the room, taking in the heavy wood décor, the square four-seater tables, and the green vinyl booths. The overwhelming scents of grilled meat and fryer grease swirl through the air. They make the best burgers here. Partner it with deep-fried pickles and a banana shake and yum—my favorite meal.
Lindy places our drinks on the bar. “Hey, the fifty/fifty draw closes tonight. You still have time to get tickets. Half the money is going towards a pool table for the back room and some pin ball machines if we make enough.”
“Oh, I’m in.” Margo fishes her wallet out of her purse. “Come on, Kaitlyn, fork it over. This town could use a good games room.”
I request three tickets from Lindy as she works her way down the bar collecting for the cause.
Two hours, two drinks, and a mouth-watering burger later, Lindy rings the bell to quiet everyone down so she can call out the winning ticket.
“Call my number, Lindy and I’ll buy you something special.”
“Call my number, Lindy and I’ll ditch my wife and take you on a trip.”
“Call my number, Lindy and I’ll ditch myhusbandand takeyouon that trip.”
We all laugh at the comments from the peanut gallery in the back.
“Okay, guys. First, thank you to everyone who contributed to the draw. We managed to raise twelve thousand, six-hundred and fifteen dollars over the last month. I amsoamazed. Thank you. That means somebody in this town, maybe even one of you here tonight, is going to walk out that door with an extra six thousand, three hundred and seven dollars and fifty cents in their pocket.”
Oh, that would be such a healthy start to my new savings plan.
“And the winning ticket number is five, three, seven, two, two, zero.”
She repeats the number.
I dig my tickets out of my back pocket. Five, three, seven, two, two, two. Five, three, seven, two, two, one. And the last one, five, three, seven…holy fuck. I double and triple-check the last three digits.
“Anybody here have that number.” She repeats it a third time.
“Me.”
Nobody hears my squeak. I raise my voice and my arm, with the tiny white ticket clasped tightly in my fingers. “I won.”
Beside me, Margo jumps up and down. “Oh my God. Oh my God. Seriously? You won?”
I hold out the ticket for her to confirm.
She screeches.
People pat me on the back as I make my way to the bar, where Lindy congratulates me and hands me a check. I glance down at it, and my mouth goes dry.
“Now you can go on that vacation.” Margo, God love her, refuses to give up.
