WINNING THE LOTTERY
Three years had passed since that fateful morning when Mary
shrieked at the breakfast table, "We Won!"
Startled at this outburst, and not quite sure what had brought on
this inane behavior in his wife, Ike looked up with a bemused
expression on his face.
"Honey," she shrieked again, "our numbers...."
Her voice trailed off, her face redder than he'd ever seen it [even
redder than the time he showed her the video of herself in bondage
-- she had thought she managed to tape over all of them].
Frantically, she held out the lotto ticket.
With just a slight inkling of what she might be talking about, he
tentatively reached out for the ticket she was holding. But
instead of releasing the ticket into his fingers, she
gesticulated, pointing her finger to the newspaper. He was more
certain now, but still disbelieving, and then he too saw that the
numbers on their ticket matched the six numbers in the paper.
They embraced, unable to speak, they laughed soundlessly, and
then they hugged, kissed and just starred into the eyes of the
other.
A few weeks had passed between that day and the day they were
able to collect the first of the twenty annual checks they would
receive. During that interval, they were besieged with people
who would help them manage their affairs; others wanted to be
their investment counselors; still others wanted to sell them
everything from aardvarks to zoos! Within two days, they decided
to get an unlisted phone; but then they had to tell their
relatives they needed a new phone, and the explanation for that
led to untold relatives suddenly materializing. Some were close,
a few they had heard of only at family gatherings though they had
never seen them; and then there came the day the black couple had
presented themselves at the door claiming to be third cousins on
Ike's great-grandfather's side.
Eventually, they got through this trauma, and collected their
first check. The first thing they did, [well, not exactly the
first thing], was to establish complete trust funds for the
girls' college educations.
Ike decided to keep working, but with the safe knowledge that the
corporation had no hold over him. He simply stated he would work
8 hour shifts, five days a week, with one full week off each
month. They could take him on this basis, or he could care less.
The outcome was predictable: they took him on his terms.
And then Mary and Ike took a trip.
