Doug treaded carefully on the gravel shoulder as he walked to the culvert crossing leading to Evelyn Richer’s house. The early morning rain had stopped but left a film of slick prairie mud under the loose gravel. He didn’t want to end up in the ditch. If the sun stayed out, everything would dry within the hour. It brought another advantage of city living to mind; all the roads were paved.
Evelyn’s Saturday brunch party was in full swing. The smell of bacon and scrambled eggs set his stomach rumbling. Six out of last night’s dozen were already inside. Cordelia was halfway to Tokyo. Kirby called to say her sick kid was keeping her at home. Jonathan hadn’t arrived yet. Noah mentioned the night before he had no intention of showing but had shaken his hand before they’d gone their separate ways after dinner. The rest were huddled around Evelyn’s dining room table, which groaned under the weight of the brunch spread.
Evelyn grabbed him as soon as he walked in the door. “Come on, let me give you a tour and show off a little.”
She explained that she’d renovated Mrs. Werner’s old two-story home when she’d bought it three years earlier. She’d added a main floor bathroom and taken down walls to turn the main floor into an open concept.
“It looks amazing,” he said. “Honestly, this is much better than the place I’m renting.”
“Why are you renting? Aren’t you going to be here for a couple years?”
“I could pick up a place but offloading it will be hard.” It wasn’t like homes in Hopewell were in big demand.
“Let the poor guy eat, Evie.” Scarlett shoved a muffin into one of his hands and a mug full of coffee in the other. “Now head into the living room and lighten up. We’re all friends here, remember?”
The others sat on the living room carpet, hunched over the coffee table, or carefully balancing plates on their knees. He set his own plate on the coffee table. Andie got a side table to herself, since she was propped in a corner of the sofa with her knee brace out awkwardly in front of her. Tyler and Freddy kept an eye on her. Jason and Cameron were trying to find some common ground and failing. Still, neither looked too miserable.
“Speaking of real estate,” Freddy said, “I was thinking about what we were talking about last night, Andie. About me setting up an office in the country. I went online to see what was available and saw a listing for the Corner House.”
“Did they have pictures?” Cameron asked. “What’s it like? I’ve never been inside.”
The Corner House had an address, but nobody used it. It sat on the corner of Springfield Road and Burrows Avenue, kitty-corner to the block with the high school, arena, and community centre. The massive farmhouse was there before the town was built and spent the last three decades in the hands of a recluse. Doug didn’t think anyone had seen the interior while the ancient couple were alive. According to local gossip, when both owners had passed away within weeks of each other two years earlier, the executors had put the house up for sale. Doug hadn’t heard of anyone expressing interest in it.
“A couple. It’s a hundred-year-old farmhouse with six bedrooms and one bathroom at the moment. I’m pretty sure whoever built it had never heard of a level or a square. The real problem is that the former owners were hoarders, and nobody has cleaned it out. It’s crammed full of stuff. Every room,” Freddy told them.
“That sounds like two jobs. One to get rid of all the junk, and one to fix the damage all the junk did,” Andie said.
“Well, at least I know a guy for the second one,” Freddy joked.
Scarlett had been right. He was having fun. Maybe more fun than supper the night before, because the pressure was off. The reunion was about showing up, showing off, and making an impression. This was just hanging out. It was almost like old times.
Freddy brought Andie a full mug of coffee from the kitchen. He stopped in front of her and held it tantalizingly out of reach. “Have you checked our lottery ticket yet?”
Her jaw dropped. “I’d totally forgotten. Probably because I haven’t had enough coffee yet.” The threat was obvious. Freddy handed over the cup. She took one sip and handed it back. “You hold it. I’ll spill it while I’m digging for the ticket.” Andie pulled her wallet and a pen from the depths of a large, leather purse. “Who wants to call out the numbers?”
Jason reached for his phone. “I’ll do it. I’ve got the Maxx Money app.”
“Free play, free play,” Cameron chanted quietly.
Scarlett and Tyler joined him. The chant grew.
“Quiet! Jason, go ahead.”
“Four.”
Andie touched the tip of her pen to the ticket. “Okay. Next?”
“Eight.”
“Next?”
“Twelve. Nineteen.”
She frowned, her eyebrows coming together. “Okay. Then?”
“Twenty-nine. Forty-seven. Forty-eight. Do you want the bonus number?” Jason asked.
Doug moved so he was standing beside Cameron. The sunlight coming through the window highlighted the sweat on Andie’s forehead. “Are you feeling okay, Andie?” he asked.
“Umm.” It wasn’t a yes, but it was an acknowledgement. “Jason, can you read those again, but slower this time?” she asked.
“Andie, did you pick a ticket where we didn’t match one number? I hate those,” Tyler complained.
Doug did too, but he had a feeling that wasn’t the source of Andie’s distress.
She was still sweating. “Tyler, watch Andie,” Doug ordered.
Tyler sat up straight and held out a hand, ready to grasp Andie’s biceps in case she toppled over. It looked like a real possibility.
Jason rattled off a string of numbers again.
Andie swayed on the sofa cushion. Tyler’s grip kept her upright. “Jason, move,” Doug ordered. He and Tyler tilted Andie until she lay across the sofa. “Andie, I need you to slow your breathing. You’re hyperventilating.”
“We won,” she gasped. Her blonde bangs were plastered to her forehead.
“How many numbers did we match?” Jason asked.
“All of them,” she said breathlessly.
Doug swiped the ticket out of her hand. “Breathe. Slowly. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four.” His eyes went to the ticket; a tiny, blue dot under each number. “One more time, Jason?”
“Four. Eight. Twelve. Nineteen. Twenty-nine. Forty-seven. Forty-eight.” His voice cracked when he asked, “Did we really get them all?”
Doug wanted to hyperventilate himself. He nodded. Seven out of seven. That was a jackpot win, if it were true. “I think so. Maybe somebody should look on another site. Or run out to the gas station and see what they have posted in case Jason’s app is wrong.”
He expected yelling. Shouts. Happy, hysterical tears. Not dead silence.
Scarlett hit the carpeted floor with a thump. Her legs had gone out from under her. “Do you know what the prize is this week? Fifty million dollars. That’s, what, five million dollars each?”
“Four and change,” Freddy said. “There are twelve of us. Andie wrote all our names on the ticket when she bought it.”
He’d forgotten. Doug flipped the narrow sheet and saw the names printed on the reverse. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Who’s going to double-check the winning numbers?”
They checked the numbers again, this time on the lotto’s website using Evelyn’s laptop. Then Cameron and Freddy took a field trip to the gas station. Freddy live-streamed the drive, including a long, in-depth focus on the posted, winning numbers. Scarlett texted Noah, Kirby and Jonathan, ordering them to Evelyn’s immediately. She accepted no excuses.
Fifty-million dollars’ worth of winning numbers.
Fifty million.