Lucky Charm

He mother grinned. "From the way he looks at you, I think he likes you as more than just a friend." I shrugged, as cheeks burned, not sure what to say.

Though they kept telling me to sit down, I wanted to help. So, I grabbed a bread knife and cut up a big, round, crusty loaf of bread and put it into two baskets.

"What else can I do?" I asked, as they were dishing everything into serving bowls.

His mother smiled, nodding towards the big dining room. "You can carry in the bread, and take a seat at the table with Remo and Luke."

We all bowed our heads as his grandmother said grace, before everyone dug in. Remo watching for my reaction, laughed when I had my first bite of lasagna, and my eyes popped as I whispered, "Wow."

Everything was absolutely delicious: the pasta, salad, chicken cutlets, fish, biscotti and the marinated fruit, it was all so good, I could hardly believe they ate like this all the time.

As the family talked and laughed over lunch, I decided Remo was lucky to have such a warm, loving family.

After we cleared everything up, I liked that Remo and his brothers offered to take care of the dishes, since the ladies had done the cooking.

Luke was pretty excited to get outside, and realized why, when Remo was showing me around the farm, and a pair of big, beautiful German Shepherds came running up wagging their tails, one with a bright pink Frisbee in his mouth, ready to play.

Remo and I were laughing along with Luke as he threw the disc as far as he could, and the dogs kept bringing it back, eager for him to throw it again.

"This is the kind of place I've been saving for," he said, nodding at the apple trees and the empty fields, that would probably be brimming with vegetables in the summer.

"So, you want to live in the country?"

"It's not that far from the city, and I could still get to work in under an hour." He gestured at his son. "Look how happy he is, playing out here. This is the kind of place where a boy should be raised, out in the fresh air away from the traffic and the noise of the city."

"It is beautiful out here." I nodded, looking around.

He studied me for a minute and asked, "Do you think you could be happy living somewhere like this?"

"I think I could," I said, smiling as I breathed in a lung full of clean, fresh air.

I got a little emotional as were leaving, I got so many hugs and kisses, that I already felt like part of the family.

When we were driving home, I looked across at Remo. "You've got a really nice family, Remo. And I'm glad you invited me, so I got a chance to meet them, and see where you grew up. I reached over and squeezed his hand. "And if I ever win the lottery, I'd love to buy you a farm of your own."

He smiled, looking back at me. "Hey, you never said how you did with those birthday numbers? Did you have any luck?"

"You know, I've been so busy lately I forgot to check them. When I get back to work, I'll pop in and check them where I bought them."

After my stint was over at the school, I really wasn't looking forward to going back to work. Though it was nice to see Remo smiling as he got on the bus, as he came back to sit with me. As soon as he sat down, he gave me a kiss on the cheek, and made me laugh when he said, "Funny seeing you here."

"I was just thinking the same thing."

"So, you looking forward to getting back to work?"

I wrinkled my nose as I thought of the phones, and shook my head. "Not really. But since I need to work, to finish school, I'll just have to grin and bear it."

"I'll come and pick you up after work tonight, and we'll go for dinner."

"Well, at least I've got something to look forward to."

I gave him a quick kiss goodbye, before I got off the bus, glad that we had a few minutes together, before I had to head over to Nicky's.

When I got in the office, Nicky Jr. was on the phone, and instead of flashing me a smile, like he always did, I noticed he looked kind of uncomfortable before he turned his head and looked away.

I didn't think anything of it at first, until I got to my desk and saw Marina sitting there, on the phone with a customer. She looked even more uncomfortable than Nicky, when she mumbled, "Hi, Cait," after I'd said good morning.

I was rushing to the kitchen to put my lunch in the fridge, when Nicky Sr., waved me into his office and motioned for me to have a seat. "So, how was your holiday, Cait?"

Afraid that he might replace me, if he knew where I'd been working, I never told him that I was spending my holiday doing a stint at the school. So, I plastered a smile on my face and said, "It was great, thanks." It wasn't a total lie, since the time I'd spent with Remo was the best time I'd ever had.

He nodded, and for a moment he just looked at me, till he finally said, "I guess you noticed Marina is sitting at your old desk."

"My old desk?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. Since she's family, and she needed a job, I've decided to give you two month's pay, so you have time to look around for something else."

"You're firing me?"

He shook his head. "No. I wouldn't say I'm firing you. I'm just giving you a chance to move onto something else." He gestured around his office, haphazardly stacked with client's folders, pictures of damaged cars, and piles of yellowed invoices. "I don't think this was ever your dream job. You're a very bright young lady, Cait, and I think you'll do well at whatever you decide to do."

While I tried to come to terms with what was happening, he reached across the desk and handed me an envelope. "There's two month's pay in there. And if you need a reference, I'd be happy to vouch for you."

I got to my feet, stuffed the check in purse, and not even sure what to say, I mumbled, "Okay." Then I walked down the hallway and out the front door. As I waited for the bus to take me home, I couldn't believe that I'd just lost my job. If I didn't need the money to get my teaching my degree, I probably would have been okay with it, because he was right about one thing, it wasn't exactly my dream job.

When I got home, I thought about looking online for something else, but I just felt so deflated, I crawled into bed, pulled the covers over my head and went to sleep.

I woke up just in time to have a muffin and a glass of juice, before I had to run to get the bus, to head over to Odyssey. Which unfortunately, was now the only job I had, since I'd been fired from my day job.

As I walked past Lucky's convenience store, and noticed the sign lit up in the window with a much smaller jackpot, it reminded me that I had to stop in and check my ticket. After I said hello, pulled out my ticket and put it on the counter, Mrs. Kim nodded at the lottery machine. "I'm sorry, but the system is down. There are some print outs with the numbers by the door, though.

After I thanked her, I grabbed one of the print outs, stuffed it in my purse, and headed down the street, hoping it would be a quiet night and I wouldn't have any trouble with anyone.

When I walked in, waved and "Hi," I thought it was kind of strange that the girls onstage awkwardly looked back and forth at each other and barely said hello.

Once I changed into my Odyssey costume, I grabbed a tray at the bar and said hi to old Mickey, who was busy pouring a jug of draft.

"So, how was your holiday, Cait?" he asked, flashing me a gap-toothed smile.

"It was good. And how have things been around here?"

He put down the jug, scratched his chin and looked a little uncomfortable as he said, "I guess you haven't heard the news. The bar has been sold. They're going to tear it down and put up one of those big, self-storage places."

"Are you serious?"

He nodded. "Yep."

"When is it closing?"

"End of the month, we'll all be out of a job."

I stared at the colorful bottles lined up on the shelf, thinking, How could this be happening? How could I lose both my jobs in one day? And it wasn't April Fools' until tomorrow.

Mickey shrugged. "I've been thinking about retiring and maybe moving up north somewhere, where I could do a little fishing." He gestured at the girls on stage. "I just hope the rest of you can find somewhere to work, though."

"Yeah, me, too," I said, feeling like the bottom had just dropped out of my world. Not that I loved either job, but working at them was the only way I was ever going to get ahead and finish school.

I did my best to push everything to the back of my mind while I was working, but I still thought it sucked that I hadn't done anything wrong, and I was going to be unemployed.

When Remo walked in, just as the bar was closing, I ran up and practically threw myself at him. I'd been doing such a good job at holding it in, but once he had me in his arms, I let go and started sobbing.

He pulled back, looking confused. "Baby, what's wrong?"

I pointed at the door. "I'll tell you when we get outside."

Once he heard what happened, he said, "You can come and stay with me, so you won't have to worry about paying rent."

"I just can't believe I lost both jobs in one day. I mean, what are the odds that Nicky would let me go, and then I'd find out that the bar is closing."

"It's gonna be okay, I promise," he said, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

I was glad when he took me back to his place, even though I'd forgot to change, and I was still in my Odyssey get up.

When he carried me into his bedroom, I was happy when I saw his devilish smile as he started peeling me out of my slinky top and tiny shorts. Knowing as we made love, that I'd be too wrapped up in him to even think about the future, or how I was going to make a living.

Then it hit me, I forgot to check my lottery ticket! Remo looked a little confused when I turned on the bedside lamp and snatched my purse off the floor.

When I pulled out the ticket, as I was about to check it against the print out, I just felt so hopeful, especially since that I knew that someone must have won. As I started to check the numbers, I said, "Even a few thousand dollars would be great right now. And whatever I win, I'll share with you."

"Did you win anything?" he asked, once I'd checked my numbers against the print out.

"No." I said, blowing out a breath as I tossed them on the nightstand. "I guess that's three for three, I lost both jobs, and now I lost the lottery."

"Well, if it's any consolation, you've still got me," he said, as he reached over to pull me on top of him.

I smiled as I touched my lips to his. "I still think you're my lucky charm, even if I didn't win anything with the birthday numbers."

Remo was so sweet that night, we made love for hours, just kissing and touching and exploring each other, till I finally nodded off to sleep, wrapped in the comfort of his arms.

In the morning, as I was blinking myself awake, I wondered why he was sitting up, watching me. When I took a look at the clock, I sat up with a start and said, "Remo, you're going to be late for work!"

He just chuckled and said, "Do you know what today is?"

I had to think for a minute, till I remembered, "It's April 1^st. April Fools' Day, isn't it?"

He showed me his phone. "Well, this is no joke. We got the winning numbers, and we won. We won the whole jackpot."

I took his phone, looked at the numbers and then back at him. "But how can that be, when I checked them last night with the print out, and I didn't win anything."

"Well, that print out was for the week before. Just for fun, before you threw the ticket out, I thought I'd check your ticket on my phone."

I grabbed my ticket and compared my numbers to the ones on his phone. And I could see that I lost. I looked across at him, confused. "Why would you tease me like that? If is this supposed to be an April Fools' joke, it's not funny, because I didn't win anything."

He showed me another ticket he had beside him on the bed, smiled and said, "But mine did. When you told me your birthday was on the 25^th, though I don't play much, I thought I should get a ticket with my family's birthdays, along with yours. And it won. Look for yourself. So, your birthday is pretty special after all, since it helped us win."

I checked the numbers, and I soon as I saw that they matched, I started crying. "Now you can get that farm you always wanted, Remo."

"And you can finish school. And we can have a nice big, wedding and go anywhere you want for our honeymoon, now that we have to worry about money anymore."

"Are you asking me to marry you?"

He nodded. "If you'll have me. I know I might be a little old for you, and I do come with some baggage, but I love you, Cait, and—"

Before he could say anything else, I threw my arms around his neck, tugged his head down and kissed him hard on the mouth. I laughed and said, "In case you're wondering, that would be a yes. I would love to marry you, Remo."

"Then the money is going in your name."

I looked at him, surprised that he'd hand me his winnings. "Why would you do that? It was your ticket that won."

"If my ex-wife thinks I've won some money, I don't want her coming around to see what she can get. Because this money is ours."

I nodded. "Okay. We'll put it in both our names, then. But I can think of a lot of people we could help, like the girls at the bar who just lost their jobs."

"Though I'm glad that we won, I don't really care about the money, and I'm happy to help anyone we can. I'm just looking forward to spending my life with you and Luke and maybe another baby or two."

I tossed aside the ticket, and crawled onto my new fiancé, and smiled as I told him, "And I'm glad we're on the same page, because I would love to have a baby with you. Especially since Luke is so adorable, maybe we could try for a little girl."

He made me laugh when he flipped me onto my back, waggling his eyebrows as he dusted kisses over my face. "No time like the present. I'm thinking for now, we should practice, and make sure we get it right."

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful spring day for our wedding at his parents' farm. Of course, Luke was our ring boy, looking adorable in his little tux. My sister, his mother, and nonna were all teary-eyed as we said our vows.

I got a little choked up as we locked eyes and promised to love and cherish each other for as long we lived.

When the priest, said, "You may kiss your bride," Remo laughed when I whispered against his lips, "I can't believe I just married the hottie from the bus."

Smiling into my eyes, he said, "And I can't believe I hit the jackpot, because I get to spend the rest of my life with you."