Unexpected News
459 Words
It was not the first time that Victor had been belittled by Reginald or Margaret. In fact, it wasn't even the first time they had made him feel like a second-class citizen in his own marriage. But tonight, something had snapped. It was maybe the way Reginald looked at him-as if he were only an impediment to the lot's wealth and success; or maybe it was Marguerite's way of dismissing every attempt at his conversations with a polite, patronizing smile.
Victor couldn't take it anymore. He had driven home silent, fists clenched on the wheel, but when he pulled in to the gas station down the road, something snapped inside him. His gaze scoured the rows of colorful scratch-offs by the counter until his heart ached with frustration, that quiet, gnawing feeling he was always going to be stuck in this life. A tiny voice whispered: What if.what if you can change everything?
"Just one ticket," he mumbled to himself as he dug his crumpled bills from his pocket. The attendant merely raised an eyebrow but nothing more, taking the proffered ticket. Smiling weakly, Victor hobbled his way back to his truck as the weight of his decision weighed down upon him.
It was stupid. It was crazy. But for the first time in a long while, it felt like a chance-a chance at something more than the life he was living.
The next morning, Victor awoke groggy, the remnants of a restless sleep clinging to his mind. The kitchen was quiet; Eliza had already left for work. She'd kissed him goodbye, but her eyes were distant, as though she could sense the growing divide between them.
Victor rubbed his eyes and shuffled over to the counter, his hand brushing across the stack of bills and papers that littered the space. His lottery ticket sat there, forgotten for the moment, until his eyes landed on it.
He stared at the ticket for a long moment, disbelief curling in his gut. Slowly, he reached for it and scratched off the numbers.
And then it hit him.
Ten million dollars.
Victor's breath caught in his throat. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, and looked again. The numbers matched. There was no mistake.
His hands trembled as he reached for his phone and pulled up the lottery results on the screen. The numbers were identical. He had won. He had won.
The room began to spin around him. He stood there, paralyzed, staring at the ticket in his hand. It felt unreal, like some dream from which he couldn't awaken.
He laughed-a short, disbelieving sound-and then, for no reason whatsoever, something inside him clicked. A thought, impossible and wild, started to take shape in his mind: What if, what if I didn't tell?
- Writer
