A Change of Pace
by Nadine Bravo
“Excuse me, Ma’am, your dryer’s done.” The words jolted her. “I’m sorry, Ma’am, I didn’t mean to scare you.” She didn’t know what she objected to most - the intrusion, that she’d been caught off guard, that she’d just been called ‘Ma’am’, or that she hadn’t noticed that the dryer was finished. She had been sitting there watching those clothes go around for the past half hour or so, but she hadn’t noticed them stop. She also hadn’t noticed that the place was now empty except for her, that it had started to rain, or that someone had walked off with her detergent and fabric softener. Her mind had been elsewhere - oblivious to her surroundings.
“Great. There goes $10.00 to $15.00 down the drain.”, she thought to herself. The sign clearly said that management was not responsible for goods lost on the premises. Then she giggled. “Down the drain.” Hey, that was a good one. She noticed the attendant looking at her strangely. Now she not only appeared absent-minded, but odd as well. Guess that was OK. No need to explain. Who cares?! She wouldn’t be back here again. By next week the repairman would have her machine fixed. She stuffed the dry things into her baskets unfolded. She would take care of that at home. Saying good-bye to the attendant, she left.
As she drove, the rain streaked on her windshield. Add it to the list - need new wiper blades. When she got home, she spread the clothes and towels and sheets on the naked bed. She would fold them later, but this way at least they wouldn’t wrinkle and she could still get to the store, the post office, the dry cleaners, the Vet’s, and the gas station before it was time to pick up the kids after school and make supper. She loved these days off from work. They were so relaxing.
As she was reading the Nutritional Information on the side of a box of cereal, her mind drifted off again. This time it was a voice over the loudspeaker announcing that the lottery was now up to 40 million dollars that brought her back to reality. You could get your winning ticket in the front of the store. $40,000,000.00! Even after taxes, that would be about $20,000,000.00 - not bad. But she had never bought a lottery ticket before - thought it was a waste of money - and, she had just lost the money she had spent on the detergent that was stolen at the laundromat. That reminded her. Pick up more detergent and fabric softener. So, to spend money on the lottery - out of the question. She continued with her shopping, but her mind was now filled with thoughts of, or more to the point, fantasies of what she could do with all that money. She could pay off their mortgage and do those renovations they had always talked about - add on a deck, enlarge the kitchen. She could pay off the car loans, maybe even get her husband that brand new Jeep Cherokee he’d had his eyes on - the bright red one. What maybe,...with $20,000,000.00?! Definitely, get husband his Jeep. Set up college funds for the kids. Buy her parents a condo in Florida. Get some new clothes. Give money to the church and to save the whales. The list was endless. Oh, why not? It’s only . . . She didn’t even know how much it cost. After she checked out, she would go and ask.
At the Customer Service counter, she got all the information she needed. She purchased a ticket and started to pick her numbers. The pressure was on! After all, $20,000,000.00 was riding on this. She had to get just the right numbers. Her birthday, no her husband’s, their anniversary. Phone number? Social security number - no, you can’t give that out. Their house number. No, the kids’ birthdays. That’s it! Settled. It’s the kids’ birthdays. That should be lucky. She felt satisfied that she’d done a good job and put the ticket in her purse for safe keeping.
As she unloaded her car and put the groceries away, her mind was filled with ideas on how the new kitchen would look. She’d have an island put in and a refrigerator with an ice maker in the door, some new cabinets, and a granite counter top... Now it was off to the post office, the Vet’s for the dog’s medicine, the gas station for the new wipers, and through it all her mind never went blank once. She kept it consumed with how nice the new deck furniture would look and how happy her parents would be to be out of the cold New England winters and into the warm Florida sunshine. When she picked up the kids, she told them what she had done and that if she won, their college educations would be all paid for. They were stunned. Mom bought a lottery ticket?! What about all those talks about money being tight? And money not growing on trees? Ok, OK - she conceded she’d done something impulsive. They thought it was great! Not just the idea of winning all that money, but that she had let her hair down a little. They all had a good laugh and then started spending the money. College educations - Ok, that was important, but they were more interested in new clothes, video games, and CDs. The fantasy was contagious. All of them couldn’t wait for the numbers to be drawn later that evening.
Once home, they put the ticket in a place of honor - on top of the TV. The kids walked the dog and helped fold the laundry and make the beds as she made dinner. All the while the three of them talked animatedly about what they could do with the money. The kids surprised her with some of their ideas. She knew they’d think about themselves, but it pleased her more than she could say when they also wanted to give some of the money to the local homeless shelter and Habitat for Humanity. Some of her values had been passed on after all.
When her husband arrived, it was almost time for the drawing. They had already eaten, his dinner was on a plate staying warm in the oven. The kids excitedly told him about the ticket. He was just as stunned as they had been. Your mother? A lottery ticket?! He gave her a strange look.
The announcer on the TV said the drawing would be coming up right after a few commercial messages. They didn’t think they could stand the suspense. The kids got the ticket from the top of the TV. She said something about not getting their hopes up too high - but, nobody paid any attention. As the first number was read, everyone held a corner of the ticket for good luck. Cheers rang out as they saw that they had it. And the second. And the third. Could it be? Is it really possible? The fourth, yes, it was there as well. The excitement was unimaginable. But it was quickly dashed with the showing of the fifth number. And the sixth. They had not won the $20,000,000.00. But, the manager had told her that 4 numbers out of the 6 wins $50.00. Hey, $50.00 was better than nothing. They could all go see a movie. The kids were happy with that. So they weren’t the newest lottery millionaires. They’d all had a great time playing “What if”.
As the kids went laughing and giggling off to their rooms to do their homework and get ready for bed, she went over to the table and sat down next to her husband. Now that the excitement was all over and they were alone, he wanted to know how she had made out at the doctor’s this morning. What were the results? We need to talk - is all she said.
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