Winning the Lottery

After the warm-up exercises were done, Marty would go out for his morning run and Nancy and Lily would go inside to fix breakfast. By the time he returned, a full meal would be waiting for him. Having survived on boxed cereal for so long, Marty found a home-cooked breakfast a real treat.

During week days while Nancy worked at the store and Lily stayed with Sally and her children, Marty continued the remodeling work on the house. He paid special attention to the bedroom and bathroom that Nancy and Lily used, trying to make them nicer for the two of them. He had been alone for a long time, and he found he liked having housemates, even if the arrangement was somewhat unconventional.

One day he had to repair a leak under the sink in the bathroom the mother and daughter used, and when he opened the cabinet he found the laundry basket that held their dirty clothes. Lying on top of the pile was a pair of Nancy's panties, and although they were plain white and utilitarian, Marty couldn't resist picking them up to look at them. "Damn," he thought, shaking his head, "it's been a long time." Then he guiltily restored them to the clothes basket and went on with his repair job, trying not to think about the woman who slept so near to him every night.

Work that evening was unremarkable, but as Marty was cleaning up before heading home he overheard two other men in the restroom mention a name he hadn't heard in a long time. "You'll never guess who my brother saw last weekend: Bobby Womack. My brother was in Atlanta," the man said, "and he ran into Bobby and Louise in a nightclub there. Bobby told him that they'd just gotten back from a week in Atlantic City. They were spending money like it was water, and later they took him back to their mansion in the richest section of town. My brother said they're living like a king and queen."

The mention of his ex-wife and the man who had taken her from him revived all the anger and hurt that Marty had thought were long gone. He drove home remembering all the events surrounding Louise's betrayal and Marty's resulting humiliation. By the time he got there he was so tense that he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, so he sat down in the recliner and turned on the television quietly, hoping for something to distract him.

After a few minutes he heard a sound behind him, and he looked around to see Lily peeking around the corner. "What are you doing up at this hour, young lady?" he asked with a smile on his face.

The little girl stepped fully into the room. "I woke up and I can't go back to sleep. Will you read me a story?"

Marty felt like he ought to be strict with her and order her back to bed, but she looked so imploringly at him that he couldn't deny her. "Alright," he said, "just one."

She beamed and quickly disappeared into her room to find a book. By the time Marty had switched off the tv, she was back, clutching a book under her arm. Without hesitation she climbed up into his lap.

"Read this one, Uncle Marty," she begged.

Marty smiled at that, and after adjusting the recliner, he began to read quietly from a Dr. Seuss book that he recognized from his own childhood. Soon the little girl closed her eyes, but Marty wasn't certain if she'd dropped off to sleep or not, so he kept reading in a low, singsong voice.

The smell of breakfast cooking woke him, and he found himself still in the recliner, with Lily asleep on his chest and a blanket covering the two of them. He rolled to one side to ease Lily down into the chair, tucked the blanket around her and then walked into the kitchen.

Nancy smiled at him over the range top, and said, "It looks like your audience wore you out last night."

Marty blushed. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to keep her up, but she said she couldn't sleep and wanted me to read to her and. . ."

Nancy just waved his apology off. "You were sweet to read to her. I just hope she didn't bother you."

"Oh, no," Marty said hastily, "she was no bother at all. Actually, I kinda enjoyed it."

Nancy smiled again and went back to scrambling some eggs.

A week later they were all over at Terry and Sally's house for a cook-out. Nancy was playing in the back yard with the children and Marty was helping Sally set the picnic table. A laugh from one of the children caught their attention, and after watching them for a minute Sally turned to Marty. "So how is everything going with Nancy and Lily?" she asked casually.

"Oh, everything's fine," Marty answered. "They're really no trouble at all."

Sally eyed him shrewdly. "What do you think about Nancy?"

"She's great," Marty replied. "She's a great Mom and a real good cook."

"Have you ever thought about asking her out?" Sally pressed him.

"You mean like out on a date?" Marty said in surprise. "I dunno, Sally, that might be awkward, what with them living in my house and everything," he said. "Besides, it might make Nancy uncomfortable if I asked. She might not want to. She probably doesn't think of me that way."

Sally just smiled at him. "You might be surprised, Marty. Anyway, just think about it," she said, before calling the rest of them in for the meal.

For the next few days Marty mentally debated what Sally had suggested. There was no question that he was attracted to Nancy. When she would come out to exercise with him in the back yard, Marty had a hard time keeping his attention on his routine. She was slim and fit, and the way her body moved in her shorts and t-shirt was definitely distracting. Moreover, she had a pleasant, easy-going personality, so different from Louise.

But ever since his ex-wife had left, Marty had avoided the opposite sex, at first out of unwillingness to expose himself to more heartache, and later out of a dearth of attractive prospects. Now, although Nancy was certainly attractive to him, he worried about how any attempt to change their relationship might affect them if things didn't work out. He'd grown used to having a "family" in the house and he would hate to give that up if Nancy were to become uncomfortable. If she were to feel she needed to move out, he realized he'd miss Lily too. All in all, it was a big step, and Marty dithered about the wisdom of upsetting the status quo.

He was still debating the issue that night when he drove home from work, but his dilemma was immediately forgotten when he spotted an unknown vehicle parked in front of his house. His anxiety morphed into fear when he saw that the car had driven up over the curb at an angle, as though the driver had been in a big hurry. Then he saw that his front door was wide open and there was light pouring out on the lawn. "John's found her!" he thought, and his heart began to pound at the thought of what he might find inside.

He quickly parked his truck on the street and ran for his garage. There was a roaring in his ears as he pulled his pistol from its hiding place. As he headed around to the front of the house, he chambered a round in the automatic. When he approached the front door, he could hear yelling from inside, and he cautiously peeked around the door frame. A man who looked like the intruder Marty had seen at Nancy's apartment months ago was standing in his living room, holding Nancy by her shoulders and shaking her. Marty felt certain that it was John, her ex-husband, and fear made it hard for him to breathe. Everything seemed to shift into slow motion.

He gripped the gun tightly as he eased the door open, slipping inside without either of them spotting him. Slowly he raised his pistol and shouted, "Hold it right there, John!"

The man spun around in surprise, still clutching Nancy. When he saw Marty, he put his arm around the terrified woman's midsection and clutched her tightly to him. At the same time, he pulled out a revolver from the waist of his pants and pointed it at Nancy's head. "Don't come any closer or I'll blow the bitch's head off," he warned.

The three of them stood there frozen for a long moment. Suddenly Lily suddenly appeared from the back hall. "Mommy!" she screamed, and started to go to her mother, but Marty grabbed her arm and pulled her back before she could get close to them. "Stay still, Lily," he commanded. The little girl began to cry, and Marty could see that the man was becoming increasingly agitated with every passing second.

In desperation Marty groped for something he could do to resolve the stand-off. He felt Lily try to escape his grasp, and suddenly a memory popped into his head. He looked down at Lily and said in a calm voice, "Lily, since we're all awake, how about we do some exercises. Would that be OK?"

Lily looked at him uncertainly, but then nodded. Marty looked up and caught Nancy's eyes. "Mommy can do the exercises too. That'll be fun."

John was staring at Marty in utter confusion, but Marty could only focus on Nancy and plead with his eyes for her understanding. He thought he saw something in her look, and he prayed he was right.

He turned back to Lily. "OK, Lily, we're all going to play Head and Shoulders now. Let's do it real slow, just like we always do, OK?"

When the little girl nodded, Marty said, "OK, Lily, OK, Mommy, here goes. Head and shoulders . . ." he said, drawing it out. Obediently, the little girl put her hands on her head and then her shoulders. Marty saw what he hoped was comprehension in Nancy's eyes. ". . .Knees and toes," Marty continued, and Nancy suddenly bent over at the waist to touch the floor. As soon as she did so, Marty fired at her attacker, striking him in the upper chest.

The man grunted and staggered backwards, letting Nancy slip to the floor. Both Nancy and Lily screamed at the sound, and Marty's second round went high and to the left. The man started to raise his revolver, but Marty's third shot caught him in the forehead, knocking him over backwards to the floor.

Nancy scrambled over to Lily and held her tightly while Marty rushed over to the crumpled, lifeless figure and kicked the gun out of his hand. Then he grabbed his cellphone and dialed 9-1-1. When he'd finished with the police dispatcher, he called Terry. "Get over here quick, buddy. John's been here," he said.

After he'd hung up, he carefully set his pistol up on the fireplace mantle and then went over to where Nancy and Lily lay holding each other on the floor. Suddenly, all the adrenaline seemed to flow out of him like air from a punctured balloon. He slumped to the floor and began to cry, clutching the two of them of them. "I thought I'd lost you," he sobbed over and over again.

That's how the police found them when they came through the door.

The detectives' questions didn't take too long, but Marty refused to release either Nancy or Lily the whole time, and they clung to him equally tightly.

Two years later, Marty was getting ready for a barbecue one Saturday afternoon. He'd invited Terry and Sally and their kids, and he wanted the house to look neat and clean, "even though it won't stay that way for long," he thought with a laugh.

It was at least an hour before the gathering was scheduled to start, so he was startled when the doorbell rang. When he opened the door, he saw a woman with platinum blonde hair going dark at the roots. She had on rather revealing clothes and high-heeled shoes that were obviously expensive but appeared to be well worn. She stood there looking at him with a slight smile on her face, and it took a minute for him to recognize her. "Hello, Louise," he said in a flat voice.

"How do I look?" she asked coyly, and slowly pirouetted so he could see her figure. When she faced him again, she made a point of emphasizing her breasts with her hands. "How do you like 'em?" she asked. "I had them done. They're a full d-cup now."

Marty stepped out on the porch and pulled the door behind him. "What do you want, Louise?" he asked curtly.

She shook her head in mock displeasure. "Is that any way to greet me after all these years? I thought you'd be excited to see me."

"I thought you were in Atlanta," he said.

"I was, but that was a while ago. Now I'm back in town, so of course the first thing I wanted to do was to come look you up." She looked at him carefully. "Have you lost weight? You look like you're really in shape." She gave him a flirtatious smile. "Of course you always were a good-looking man."

Her compliment went right over Marty's head. "I've been working on the house to get it finished up," he said.

She looked around as if seeing the house for the first time. "Wow, you've done so much with the place -- it looks great. Did you add on to it? I don't remember that part over there."

"Listen, Louise, I really don't have time to chat. I have guests coming over shortly and I need to finish getting ready."

A note of anxiety crept into her voice. "Sure, Marty, sure. But the thing is, now that I'm back in town, I was wondering if maybe you and I, you know, could maybe start seeing one another again."

Despite his efforts to remain calm, Marty was clearly surprised. "What about Bobby Womack?" he asked in amazement.

Louise's face twisted into a scowl. "That bastard!" she said vehemently. "He stole a bunch of money from me and hightailed it out of town." She shook her head in disgust. "It took the cops six months to catch up with him in Las Vegas, and by then the money he took was all gone. But don't you worry about him: he's got a real comfortable room now -- in Macon State Prison."

"So what happened to the rest of the $10 million," Marty wanted to know.

"Hah! You of all people should know better than that. After the reduction for taking it all in cash, and after the feds and the state got through taking their cut, it was closer to $5 million," she said bitterly.

"Maybe so, Louise, but $5 million is nothing to sneeze at," Marty persisted.

Louise's eyes got a faraway look and a little smile came to her face. "Oh, it was pretty sweet for a while. Bobby and me bought us a mansion up in Atlanta, and we had fancy cars and nice clothes and all the nice things you'd expect. You shoulda seen the parties we threw, Marty. We had live bands playing and Dom Perignon flowing like water. We used to take trips to Vegas all the time. They treated us like Arab oil sheiks out there, and we'd go to all the best shows and everything. One time we chartered a plane and took twenty of our friends out there with us."

Then the smile disappeared from her face. "The thing is, most of the times we went gambling we lost. And all those 'friends' we had weren't really our friends, they were just moochers. They always had their hands out for a loan -- not that any of them ever repaid the money. They were happy enough to party with us, but when things got tight, they scattered like cockroaches when you turn on the lights."

She shook her head like she was trying to dispel a bad memory. "Anyway, somewhere along the line, Bobby found this great investment that was going to make us a fortune. . . well, another fortune. But it turned out to be a scam, and the money disappeared just like our so-called friends. It was about then that Bobby split with the rest of our bank account. After that, the bank repossessed the house and our cars and, well, here I am."

"So the money is all gone, all $5 million?" Marty asked.

She nodded sadly.

"And you're back here now looking for some help?" he went on.

She looked at him hopefully and nodded again.

"Well, you're in luck," he said. "The retirement home where you used to work is hiring. I bet you could have your old job back."

He could see the anger sweep over her face, but she took a deep breath and regained control of herself. "Come on, Marty, you know that's not what I meant. Besides, you and I had something pretty good once. If you'd just give me a chance, I know I could make it up to you," she said suggestively, cocking her hips in a way that left no doubt about her meaning.

Before Marty could respond, Nancy stepped out of the door to stand beside Marty. "Is everything OK, honey?" she asked.

He put his arm around her, and Louise drew in a quick breath when she saw Nancy's baby bump.

"It was nice of you to pay us a visit, Louise, but my wife and I got company coming over, and we have to get ready." With that, he followed Nancy back inside, closing the door behind him.

"Who was that, honey?" Nancy asked.

"Nobody important. Just somebody that I used to know," he said dismissively.

Later that afternoon, Marty and Terry were grilling steaks while their children played on the backyard swing set under Sally and Nancy's supervision. Terry looked at his friend admiringly. "I have to admit it: you were right about Louise and Bobby. I never would have believed that somebody could blow $5 million, but they did it. How did you know?"

Marty nodded thoughtfully. "Folks who are foolish and untrustworthy when they're poor don't get any better when they're rich. I couldn't see it ending any other way. The only thing that surprised me was it took 'em that long to blow it all."

Just then he heard a happy shriek from Lily, and he jerked his head up to see her playing with her mother. Nancy turned, and when she saw Marty watching them she smiled and waved to the two men.

Marty waved back, returning her smile. His buddy turned to look at him. "You're a lucky man," Terry said.

"Yeah," Marty said, "I think I won the lottery."