All the bedrooms were on the second floor, and he loved them as well.They didn’t go into the master, or what they thought was the master, as that seemed like a private place for them.The bedrooms were large in that each of them had a king-sized bed in them with plenty of room left over for a couple of dressers and huge walk-in closets.Each of the bedrooms had an ensuite bathroom, and he understood the need for the bathrooms.At the end of one of the halls was another bathroom.There had been three on the lower level, with one in the kitchen with a washer and dryer area too.The basement was finished and had a lovely pool table on one side as well as an entertainment area on the other.The house was perfect.Neither of them could find fault with the house, nor how it was decorated, either.
“I wonder how much it would cost to have them leave everything where it is?It’s perfect the way that it’s set up, and I’d love to just move in.”He told him that, as much as he wanted to be the bad guy, he couldn’t find fault with anything either.“You’re not at all helpful when it comes to house hunting.I thought that you’d find at least something wrong with it.”
“Sorry.But if I didn’t already have the perfect house, I’d buy this one and want it just like it is now.As you said, it’s perfect.”They were sitting out on the front porch when the couple returned.
They did indeed know Axel and were glad that he’d been able to help his brother out with looking around.Penrod introduced himself again and asked about the sale of the house.The man simply looked at his wife, and he thought, here it comes.I’m not going to be able to buy this house because it’s already under contract or something.
“I’ll be honest with you when I tell you that we’ve had open houses before.Nothing much ever comes about with them as people are trying to get less than the asking price.”He said it was a beautiful home.“Thank you.My missus and I raised up five daughters in the house, but they’re all married now with families of their own.We just want to sell and go to Florida for the rest of our lives.Our daughters all live there, and it would be nice to be able to see them when we want.”
“I understand.I have five brothers and our parents that I love to be around too.”He waited forhim to say more.Penrod wasn’t one to chatter on about things when quiet worked best.
“I’ll have to have the open house tomorrow.But if you want to put in a bid, I’d be glad to take it.With all the work that we’ve had done on the place, the asking price is what we need.If you pay that, then I’ll be glad to sell it to you.”He put out his hand and said he had a deal.“I thought you’d say that.All right, son.You have yourself a home.I’ll be happy to sell it to you.But as I said, the open house must go on, but I’m not going to put much hope that it brings us anything.”
“I understand.”He did too.If the offer came in to be higher than the asking price, he’d have to take it.It was just the way that it worked.He’d have to wait until tomorrow to know if he got the house or not.
~*~
Lori looked around her apartment and decided there was little to nothing else she could do about it.It was as clean as she could get it.For the next six days, she had to work doubles, and she had to have her apartment cleaned on her days off, or it wouldn’t happen.Today, she’d even done her laundry so that she’d not have to mess with it on her work days.Sitting down in the living room area to put away her sweeper, she thought about her work schedule and decided that it was the best she could do under the circumstances.It was only open six days a week, and that was all she could work.
After putting the sweeper away, she put away the cooled cookies that she’d treat herself to when she got home from her shift.They were chocolate chip, not even her favorite, but they would do in a pinch.Her favorite were oatmeal cookies without raisins, but she didn’t have any oatmeal this week, so would have to do without them.Putting them into the container, she also bagged up her salad that she’d have too.This was going to save her so much time that she would be able to wash her uniforms once a week to get them cleaned for the rest of the week.It was what she’d been doing for the past sixteen months, and it had worked out well for her.
“Lori, it’s your mother.Open the door.”She thought about pretending that she wasn’t home, but when she thought it through, she knew her mom would just come back later.Opening the door, she put a smile on her face even though she didn’t feel it.“What took you so long?”
“I’m putting things away for me for the week.What do you want, Mom?I don’t have any time left today to hang out with you.I’m going to study some, then I’m going to go to bed.”
“What do you have to study?Aren’t you out of school now?I think you’re over eighteen.”She said she was twenty-five.“I thought so.What are you studying?”
“If you must know, I’m studying for my driver’s license.”She asked her why she was studying for that.“I want to learn to drive.One of these days, I’m going to save up enough money that I can buy myself a car, and I want to be able to drive it.You have yours.”
“I do, and fat lot of good it does me when I can’t afford the gas.Speaking of which, can you loan me fifty dollars?I have my rent due, and I don’t have it all.”She told her mom that she didn’t have it either.That her rent was due at the same time.“See what I mean?You can’t afford the gas either if you can’t spot me fifty bucks when I need it.”
“This is different.Rent is due at the first of the month, and I’m never late.I like it that way.It means I have a roof over my head for the next thirty days.”Her mother rolled her eyes at her, and Lori ignored her.“What made you short fifty dollars?I’m sure you’re on the same budget that I am.I know that my rent is due on the first, and I save it throughout the month so that I have enough to pay it.”
“The lottery is up to over a hundred million.I bought fifty dollars’ worth of tickets, hoping I’d win.Do you still play those same numbers?”She said that she did and told her mom that spending fifty dollars on the lottery was just stupid.“I know, I just couldn’t help it.That would go a long way in making sure that I have a roof over my head for a long time.”
Knowing her mother the way that she did, she knew that she’d be broke by the end of the month, no matter how high the lottery got when she won it.She just didn’t know how to stay on budget.Lori knew her mother would also tell everyone that she’d won, and that would be the end of her money, too.People would be coming out of the woodwork trying to get a piece of the cash.Lori knew just what she’d do if she were to win anything over five hundred dollars.
She’d not tell her mom for sure.That would just be a disaster.She’d not only want a part of it, but she’d also tell all her friends how her daughter had won and that she had all the money in the world.With her mother’s help, not only would she be broke, but she’d be beaten to shit because she wouldn’t want to give any of it away, and that would cause her problems.No, she’d never tell her mom that she’d won anything if she wanted to keep any of it.Ohio was one of the states where you didn’t have to tell if you won the money.And she liked that about the state.
There were other rules that she liked about living in the state of Ohio and lottery winnings.She was beginning to learn a great deal about them.Like you only had so many days before you had to turn it in if you won.In Ohio, it was only six months before the Powerball winnings expired.Yes, she was learning a great deal about Ohio Powerball winnings.
Five months ago, she’d won the biggest lottery winnings that had ever been given away.And she’d been the only ticket that had won.Since then, she’d been quietly doing what needed to be done to cash in her winnings and get the money.Now all she needed to do was contact the attorney that she’d been looking into and see if he could do the final touches on getting her paid.
Lori had never changed her routine one bit but continued working like she had not won.One of the mistakes that people made about winning was that they immediately quit their jobs and went on a spending spree.She’d done none of those things.She’d even continued to purchase lottery tickets with the same number every week like clockwork.
No one knew.And no one would know but her and the attorney that she’d picked out—she only hoped that he’d take her on as a client when she contacted him, to represent her with the lottery commission.
“Are you listening to me?”She said that she’d not been, as it was the same old story every time.“Well, are you going to help me out or not?I know you save a bit for emergencies when you have them.This is an emergency.He said if I was late one more time, he was going to evict me.I can’t be living on the streets again, and there isn’t enough room in this place for you, much less the two of us.”She told her that she could maybe do half of that, but nothing more.“I’ll take it.It’s a better offer than I got to sell my car.He only wanted to give me ten bucks.I know it’s a piece of shit, but ten bucks?What is this world coming to when a woman can’t get more than that for her rusty car?”
“I think you just answered your question.”She folded the last of her towels and put them away.While in the bathroom, she pulled out the money that she said she’d give her mom and hid the rest back in the cubby hole in the wall.
She had managed to save over a thousand dollars by rounding down her tips each day and putting the rest in the jar.She really did have her own emergencies, and one of them would be paying the attorney when she got to talk to him.No one had to know that either.
Giving her mom the money got rid of her after a few more minutes, and she finished up the rest of her laundry.Tomorrow was her only day off, and since it was Monday, she was going to do some things that she’d been putting off.One of them was to contact Axel Hathaway to see if he was as good as they said he was.
She needed someone that she could trust, and by all intents and purposes, he was the one to have belief in.She would call him first thing in the morning to get him to pick up her money for her and then disperse it where she wanted it.Since she didn’t know how long that would take, she was hoping thirty days would do it.That’s all that was left on her winnings before it expired.
Doing everything at her apartment that she did every week, she was ready for bed at eleven o’clock.As soon as she checked on the ticket again, making sure that the numbers were all right there where she’d given them, she put it away in the little safe she’d purchased and put it under her bed.Getting into bed, she was nervous again, but she knew that after tomorrow, things would be different for her.
