Chapter 3

On the way home, they stopped at Anderson’s convenience store for a tub of Dan’s honey butter. Karen decided to wait in the car. As Dan and Wendy entered the store, a large display board at the checkout counter drew their attention.

“Is this your winning ticket number? The 2.5 million-dollar prize sold at this store is still unclaimed. Numbers 2, 4, 7, 14, 25, 36, 39, and bonus number 33.”

“That reminds me, I still haven’t checked the tickets I bought myself on your birthday,” Wendy commented as Dan went to the aisle for his favourite sweet topping. She stood at the counter to check her numbers.

Wendy glanced from her quick pick of five rows of numbers to the board. “I’d be happy winning ten dollars,” she said to no one. The first and second rows of numbers weren’t even close, and she began comparing the third row. She began to check her numbers 2, 4, and 7. “Hey, I got three so far—14, 25.” Her eyes darted from her ticket to the display and back. Her heart began to flutter. “36 ... and 39!” She let out a high-pitched shriek that startled the clerk behind the counter.

“Sorry, a chocolate bar fell on the floor and it startled me,” she apologized. Wendy doubled and triple-checked her numbers: 2, 4, 7, 14, 25, 36, and 39! She was ready to faint as she hurried to find Dan.

“Dan, Dan!” She cried out.

He looked at her visibly upset and said, “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

“Dan, look ... look! I’ve got all the numbers! I won half of the lottery—2.5 million dollars! I won the fucking lottery!” She yelled. “Do you know what this means? We can buy our bigger house and have it all paid for!”

“You won the lottery! I’m so happy for you! Wow, I’ve never met anyone who won a jackpot before.” He hugged and kissed her, expressing his congratulations.

“This is my second lottery win. My very first win happened when I won your love,” she said.

“Aww, that’s so sweet, but Wendy, that’s your money, not mine or Karen’s. I bet Dave will be really pissed off when he finds out you won that much.”

“That’s too bad for him. I bought the ticket after our divorce was final. I bought in on your birthday; that’s how lucky you are to me!” She wrapped her arms around him.

“I love you, Dan, and I bought the ticket along with the ones I gave you. I consider it our money, not just mine alone. Now you can quit your job at Transit, become a house husband, and fuck all those different women in the afternoons. This also means we can easily afford to have our babies and our new home and never have to worry about money!”

She wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing him tight and not caring if her bare ass was in view of those behind her. “Make sure you sign the back of your ticket so no one else can claim it belongs to them.”

“Good idea.” She took a pen from her purse, hesitating for a moment. “Look at me; my hand is shaking like a leaf in the wind. This may seem silly, but I want to wait until my last name is Hayward to sign my ticket.”

As Dan paid for two tubs of honey butter, Wendy hurried out to tell Karen and show her the winning ticket. Dan could hear the shrieks of joy as he walked towards the car. “I tell you, Dan, our luck is finally changing. First, we have a real chance of having our baby again, and now our girl is a millionaire!” Karen beamed.

“Dan, you mentioned selling your house to Vicky. Now you can afford to sell it to her and Scott for a good price.”

“Wendy says the money isn’t just hers alone but to share with us,” Dan said.

“Imagine our new home going from three to now five or six bedrooms with plenty of room, the indoor pool we’d want, and we’d have no mortgage. Now, where can I hide our ticket until my name is Hayward? I feel so nervous as if I could lose it still in my hand.”

“We could put it in the safety deposit box at the bank,” Dan suggested.

“That’s a good idea.”

“Couldn’t you still sign the ticket, Wendy Hayward, now and wait for your name change to arrive in the mail?”

That’s a good idea too, Karen. I think I will.”