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Sand
Castles "Monica took the house, she took the furniture, she even took my boat. I wound up with the title to my truck. That's all she left me after seven years of marriage." Brad Shelby set an empty beer bottle on the table beside a half dozen others. He ran his fingers through Heidi's long blonde hair. "Yeah, but honey just think, yesterday when you signed that agreement you got your freedom. Now you and I can...." He grinned. "Hey baby, gotta go again. Don't get lost, be right back." Brad shoved his way through the Saturday night crowd to the men's room. On his way back to the table a TV over the bar caught his eye. "Hey the Lotto drawing. Baby we just might get lucky tonight." "The first number is thirteen, the second number is seven, the third number is twenty-six..." "Well at least we got three...." "The fourth number is thirty-nine...." "Hey baby we got us four numbers tonight. That ought to be worth eighty bucks or so." "The fifth number is eleven, and the sixth number is a two. Ladies and gentlemen tonight's Lotto numbers are two, seven, eleven, thirteen, twenty-six, and thirty-nine." Brad's mouth went dry. He felt a lump in his stomach. He grabbed Heidi's arm and hustled her outside. He felt cold and hot all at the same time. Heidi looked at him. "What's wrong honey? You look sick." "Not sick baby, rich. Very rich. We gotta get out of here. Come on, get into the truck." Brad pulled a Lotto ticket out of his wallet. They stared at it under the dash lights. All the numbers were right. "Hey baby, this little piece of paper is worth twenty-eight million bucks." "Are you sure honey?" "Absolutely. Look at it. You heard the man. We got all the right numbers." Brad slammed the truck into gear and laid rubber out of the parking lot. He pointed the pickup east toward the beach causeway. "Where are we going honey?" "Somewhere with more class than this joint." * * * * * The young man at the car rental was overwhelmed by Brad's generosity. He went home that night with clear title to a three year old sport four-by-four pickup. Brad pulled the rented Lincoln Mark VIII to a halt under the hotel marquis. "Can we afford this place honey, it's so fancy and it's right on the ocean?" "Baby, we can afford whatever we want. "How are we gonna pay for it before we cash the Lotto ticket?" "I have a credit card with a limit of six-thousand bucks, and I only owe a couple of thousand. Baby, we are gonna PARTEEEE!" * * * * * "You awake yet honey?" Brad pushed the silk sheets aside. "What time is it baby?" "It's about noon." "Oh, my head. Did we have a good time last night?" "You know it honey. Can we shop after we eat?" "Sure baby, anything you want." Brad and Heidi sported fancy new beach wear as they settled onto the sand. "Brad, what kind of house are we gonna have now that we are rich?" "Baby, let me show you." Brad built a sand castle with four wings, three swimming pools, and a curved driveway. "Here is where I am gonna park my new boat, right out front for everybody to see. Especially Monica. She got my other boat. She won't get this one. She is gonna flip when she sees how we are living." "Hey baby, watch this." Brad picked up his cell phone. He called his boss. "Mr. Rollins? Yeah, this is Brad Shelby. I won't be coming to work on Monday. No I'm not sick. I'm sick of you and that stinking job, grubbing dirt with a back hoe. Take your job and shove it. No I'm not drunk, I'm sober and I don't need your paycheck. Yeah, I'm sure. Same to you, you old......." Brad put down the phone. "Honey, you sure told him. That was really cool. I won't have to hunt for a job either, now that we're rich." "That's right baby. No girl of mine is gonna have to work." "Honey, will we be getting married now that you're divorced?" "One thing at a time baby. We'll talk about that later." A wave washed over their sand mansion. It collapsed into the surf. "Let's get it in gear baby, we gotta drive to Tallahasse tonight and find a motel. We want to be early at the Lotto office in the morning to pick up our first check." "How much will we get honey?" "Baby, I figured it out. They are gonna lay a lot of bread on us in the morning. After taxes, our first year's check will be just over a million bucks. "No wonder you told Mr. Rollins to shove it!" "Yeah baby, I sure did!" * * * * * Cruising north on I-75, Brad turned on the car radio. "....last night's Lotto drawing produced a single winner. One ticket purchased in Palm Bay will make someone twenty-eight million dollars richer. And now for headline sports...." Brad snapped off the radio. "Hey baby, what did I tell you, we won it ALL!" Brad and Heidi turned in their rental car and took a cab to their motel. They chose a place on Apalachee Parkway a couple of blocks from Florida's Lotto headquarters. They were up early. Neither had slept much. They practically inhaled their coffee. They ate nothing. Brad and Heidi walked arm-in-arm joking and laughing. This was their big moment. "Brad, what are we gonna be driving when we leave here?" "Baby, wait 'till you see what I've got in mind. After we get our check, we are gonna take a cab to the Jaguar dealer where we are gonna pick out the most expensive convertible in the place. Then we are heading for New Orleans and California." "Fabulous, I've never been to California. Can we shop on Rodeo Drive?" "Absolutely baby. What my girl wants, my girl gets." Brad fumbled nervously for his wallet. He produced the Lotto ticket. The lady looked at the ticket and looked at Brad. "Mr. Shelby, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but the ticket you have presented is out of date." "No, you've gotta be kidding. I always buy twenty-six draws. It's good. I know it is. Check it again." "Mr. Shelby, please look at the date. Your ticket expired one week prior to these numbers being drawn." A noisy group of people entered the office. Brad looked around. "Monica! What are you doing here?" "I've come to pick up my Lotto winnings. And you?" "But how could you have the winning ticket?" "Oh Brad, one of the problems in our marriage was the fact that I could never trust you to take care of little details. Remember when I asked you if you had bet our favorite numbers for another twenty-six weeks? Well, you weren't sure. I bet them a month ago just to be sure. I played them for another twenty-six weeks. When I heard last night there was a single winner, I knew you had let our other ticket expire." Brad stood speechless. Monica continued. "Brad, I believe you've met Carla, Becky, and Jessica, my sorority sisters. I know you met my attorney, Mr. Paul Wilson, at our divorce hearing. Paul and I have just announced our engagement. We will be married next week in Hawaii. We are all flying to Honolulu this afternoon. Brad! Brad! Are you all right?"
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