Winning Amelia

One of the first things Amelia was going to do once she cashed in the ticket would be to treat Jenny to a spa day. Or make it a week. Get her a new wardrobe, get Will one, too, then send them on a cruise as a second honeymoon.

Jenny’s brow furrowed as Amelia approached. “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you at work?”

She rocked back and forth from her heels to her toes. There was so much she wanted to say, so many promises she was finally able to make, the words were getting dammed up behind her grin. She savored the moment. “I’ve got some news.”

“You didn’t quit, did you?”

Amelia laughed. She hadn’t officially said the words. She’d been too stunned. But there was no reason to continue waiting tables now. “Not yet, but I will.”

“How much do you want for this?”

The Hawaiian-shirt couple had moved to the edge of the driveway. The man pointed to the plant stand he held.

“Thirty dollars,” Jenny replied.

“There’s some corrosion on the leg here. I’ll give you ten.”

“It’s an antique. Fifteen.”

“Don’t quibble, honey,” his companion said. “It’s already a bargain.”

“All right, fifteen.”

Jenny reached for the small plastic storage container beside her chair. It held a substantial layer of coins plus a surprising number of bills. She took the man’s twenty, gave him a five for his change, and carefully snapped the lid closed.

Forget savoring the moment. Amelia couldn’t contain herself. As soon as the couple loaded their purchase into the sedan at the curb and pulled away, she blurted it out. “I won the lottery.”

“Why would you quit that job?” Jenny asked at the same time. “I realize it didn’t pay much, but I thought you were happy that Mae...” She paused. “What did you say?”

“I won Lotto 6/49.”

“Sure. Pull the other one.”

“No, really, I did win. That’s my news. I came home as soon as I found out.” She waved her arm toward the items on the lawn. “You don’t need to have this yard sale. With my winnings—”

“Seriously? You actually won something?”

“I won the jackpot. More than fifty-two million.”

Instead of smiling, Jenny’s lips trembled. “I don’t find that funny, Amelia.”

“I’m not joking.”

“But...”

She tugged her sister-in-law to her feet and bent her knees to bring their faces level. “I’m not joking,” she repeated. “I really did win.”

It took a few seconds to sink in. Amelia understood the reaction, because she had trouble grasping this new reality herself. Repeated disappointments had a way of doing that to a person. After so much bad news, it became easier not to even hope for good.

Jenny’s smile blossomed slowly, like a flower bud finally exposed to the sun. Her cheeks dimpled. The lines worry had etched on her face lifted into traces left by old laughter. And her eyes sparkled. “You won?” she whispered.

Oh, yes, this was definitely worth a few million. Amelia nodded.

Jenny screeched and threw her arms around Amelia, pulling her as close as her baby bump allowed.

“Hey! What’s going on?”

At Will’s voice, they both looked toward the house. He stood on the front stoop, clad in his typical carpentry clothes of blue jeans and a dark green shirt. He balanced eighteen-month-old Timothy on one hip while he held the screen door closed with the edge of a battered work boot. Toto, the paycheck-eating Scotch Terrier, jumped against the other side of the door in a bid to get out.

Jenny broke off the hug. She got as far as saying Will’s name before she started to sob.

He shifted Timothy under one arm and leaped down the stairs. “Baby, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

Jenny wiped her eyes. “Amelia.”

“Auntie Mia, Auntie Mia,” Timmy chorused, squirming in his father’s hold. He wore only a T-shirt and diaper, which was loosening with each wriggle. The dog slipped past the screen door and bounded toward them, adding his high-pitched yapping to the commotion.

Will glowered at Amelia. He was protective by nature, especially when it came to his wife. Although at five foot nine he was only an inch taller than his sister, his frame was packed with solid muscle earned from a lifetime of working with his hands. He could be an imposing figure to someone who didn’t know what a marshmallow he was inside. He raised his voice over the din. “What did you do to her?”

Amelia laughed. “Down, boy. Those are happy tears.”

“That’s right.” Jenny hiccupped. “Your sister won the lottery.”

“What? Come on.”

“It’s true,” Amelia said. “I played our birthdays like I always do. 1, 3, 4, 17, 23, 29. Those were last night’s winning numbers.” She withdrew the scrap of newspaper from her pocket and held it up to him, just as she had for Mae. “See for yourself.”

Will caught her wrist to steady her hand. He looked at the paper, then at her, then back at the paper. His face paled beneath his freckles. “Is this for real?”

“As real as fifty-two million and change.”

“You’re rich.”

She shook her head. Not for a second had she considered keeping the winnings for herself. Her family had stood by her through the bad times, and there was no way she wouldn’t share the good ones. “We’re rich, big brother,” she corrected. “Stinking, filthy, ridiculously, never-worry-about-a-job-again loaded.”

He released her wrist to pass his hand over his face. His fingers shook. Then he tipped back his head and whooped. So did Timmy. Laughing, Will swung the toddler over his head and spun in a circle. “We’re rich, Timmy. There’s a new word for you. Rich. What do you think of that?”

Timmy chortled and kicked, his entire body expressing his glee. Will pulled him back down before the diaper fell off completely. Owen and Eric, drawn by the noise, ran around the house from the backyard. At ten, Owen was a miniature version of his father, right down to the thatch of red hair. A leather catcher’s mitt engulfed his left hand—he was on a baseball kick this month. Six-year-old Eric had his mother’s coloring as well as her nurturing instinct—instead of a baseball mitt, he held the neighbors’ marmalade cat. Momentarily anyway. It streaked off as soon as it spotted Toto.

The boys needed no convincing to join the celebration. Seeing the adults happy for a change was reason enough.

It wasn’t only cars she could buy the boys. She could get Owen season tickets to the Jays games and send him to a baseball camp. She could put Eric through veterinary school. There would be no limit to whatever dream they wanted to follow.

This continued to get better and better.

Amelia wiped her eyes as she led the way to the house. At first, she assumed the place looked different due to her excitement. Having a life-changing experience would give anyone a new perspective. Then she noticed the old sunburst-shaped clock was missing from the living room. So was the ugly wooden floor lamp with the lopsided base. The shelf above the computer held far fewer knickknacks than it had when she’d left for work this morning.

Apparently, Jenny had added more items to her yard sale that hadn’t been limited to the junk in the basement. That was good, since the sunburst clock lost five minutes a week, and the lamp tended to fall over at the slightest bump. This also meant there would be less to move when Amelia bought their new house.