As we wait for them, it occurs to me for the first time that between the three of us, we have exactly half the usual number of assigned adults. Three parents. Three kids. Two patched-together versions of a family.
Leo is the one to keep breaking the silence. “This is bonkers,” he repeats every so often, looking at the ticket in awe. “Totally bonkers.”
“I know,” Teddy says, a little wild-eyed.
“Bonkers,” I agree, still slightly numb.
“You won thelottery,” Leo says to Teddy, as if this fact might’ve slipped his mind. He drops his head into his hands, mussing up his dark hair, then turns to me. “And you bought the ticket. This has to be the craziest thing that’s ever happened. Ever.”
By the time Katherine McAvoy shows up, we’re all wired too tight. Teddy is pacing, I’m making coffee, and Leo is on his phone, looking up what happens when you win the lottery. As soon as we hear a sound at the door, we all freeze. And then Katherine appears, still wearing her green scrubs, her short blond hair falling over her eyes as she fumbles with the keys, bleary after working back-to-back shifts.
She stops short when she sees us all staring at her.
“Hi,” she says, drawing out the word in a way that suggests our efforts to look normal have failed. She arches an eyebrow. “What’s up, guys?”
Teddy takes a step forward. He looks like a little kid trying to wrestle with a big secret, his face practically glowing with the news. “Hi, Mom,” he says, leaning one arm on the couch in a futile attempt to seem casual. “We’ve, uh, got something to tell you, actually.”
From where she’s still standing by the door, I can see Katherine stiffen; it’s clear from the set of her jaw that she’s steeling herself. But Teddy sees this too, and he immediately shakes his head.
“No, it’s okay,” he says, hurrying over. He grabs her hand and half-drags her to the green armchair beside the couch. She’s still wearing her coat, and when she sits down it puffs up all around her so that she has to stuff it back down. “It’s a good thing, I promise.”
“Teddy,” she says wearily. “It’s been a long night.”
“I know, but believe me, you’re gonna want to hear this. Listen, do you remember that time we tried to steal—actually, never mind. Remember how you used to tell me never to—”
“Teddy,” I say, setting down my coffee mug. “Just tellher.”
“Yes,” Katherine says. “Please. Just tell me.”
Leo picks up the plastic bag with the ticket inside, holding it out to Teddy. He takes it carefully between two fingers, then hands it to his mom with a look of pride.
“Here,” he says, unable to contain a smile now, and Katherine frowns at it for a few seconds, uncomprehending, before a flicker of annoyance crosses her face.
“You know,” she says finally, “the lottery isn’t any better than gambling, right?”
“Mom,” Teddy says with a groan. “Relax. It’s not the same thing at all.”
But Katherine sits forward, newly energized. “Of course it is,” she tells him. “It’s just a socially acceptable form of it. It’s a bunch of people who can’t really afford to be playing just throwing their money into a game where the odds are—”
“Alice is the one who gave it to me,” Teddy says, pointing in my direction, and Leo bursts out laughing.
“We all know Alice is a terrible influence,” he says, and I roll my eyes at him.
“It was for his birthday,” I explain to Katherine, walking over to join them in the living room. “It was just a joke. You know, for turning eighteen.” I almost add that Leo got him cigarettes but decide that’s beside the point right now.
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” Teddy says, stooping in front of the armchair so that he’s eye level with his mom. “This has nothing to do with Dad. This is about us. It’s about, well…” He lets out a sudden laugh. “The thing is…wewon.”
She stares him. “Won…?”
“The lottery. We won the lottery.
“Like…”
“Like we hit the jackpot. The big one.”
Her eyes are wide now. “How big?”
“It’s 141.3 million dollars,” Leo says, glancing down to check this on his phone. “Would’ve been more if there hadn’t been two other winners. But that should still be about fifty-three million after taxes. Or 2.8 million a year if you go for the annuity. Though who wants an annuity? You can’t take over the world on an allowance, right?”
