Did I Mention I Won The Lottery? by Julie Butterfield Page B

the
precinct towards her car hugging her body, partly against the cold
night air and partly to hold in the sobs. She was leaving because
she had won 15.7 million, she should be happy. On the drive home
Rebecca wondered what it would have been like if she’d been able to
tell them the real reason she was leaving. They would have been
pleased for her she was sure of it. They would have whooped and
screamed and would have wanted to hear all about her plans. She
could have shown them pictures of her house, taken her new clothes
into work, described the hotel - which Susie would have loved and
the night at the theatre - which Carol would have loved and for the
first time since her win Rebecca actually felt lonely. What was the
point of having a windfall like hers if you couldn’t share it with
people, tell them all about it, how you felt, what your plans were?
She decided to tell Daniel that very night. She would show him the
bank account, tell him she had won and then they could go to
Susie’s party the following evening and share their news with
everybody.

    She didn’t. She
made something to eat, listened to the evening tirade, cleared away
and sat on the settee to read a book that she’d bought herself on
the way home, a hard back that had cost £12.99. She waited for
Daniel to notice and ask her what she was doing wasting money, why
she hadn’t waited for the paperback version; but he never did and
he went to bed still none the wiser about the large amount of money
in his wife’s bank account or the fact that she was shortly to
become the owner of a house in Leeds.
    As Saturday
arrived Daniel started to present the reasons why he couldn’t
escort Rebecca to Susie’s party. Rebecca didn’t bother to answer.
She cleaned the kitchen and put in some washing as he described how
he needed to go through some figures that evening and it might be
best if he stayed at home and how tired he was anyway after such a
hard week. And when he had finished she turned and smiled
pleasantly as she said, ‘We need to leave at 7.30pm Daniel.’
    A couple of
hours later Rebecca nursed her glass as she looked around the room.
Susie had greeted them at the door, already giggling and unsteady
on her feet courtesy of the champagne she was liberally pouring for
everyone. She looked amazing in a corset style dress that made the
most of her natural assets and took the eye away from her slightly
expanding middle. Her bright red hair tumbled onto her shoulders
and she looked exactly what she was, a vivacious confident woman,
comfortable in her own skin and happy to celebrate her 25th wedding
anniversary with a man she still loved. As Susie embraced them on
the doorstep, Rebecca saw Daniel’s sneer at Susie’s dress, her
rough manner, the tiny mid terrace house and she resisted the urge
to slap his mocking face. As they walked into the kitchen Rebecca
grabbed a champagne flute and walked quickly back towards the
little living room already packed with guests.
    ‘You can drive
tonight Daniel, I’m having a drink,’ and she was gone leaving him
no time to protest or argue.
    It had been the
final insult as far as Daniel was concerned. He was there under
sufferance and now he was being deprived of the pleasure of
drowning his sorrows and in a rage he had grabbed a soft drink and
retired to a corner of the room to sulk. Rebecca glanced over at
him now as he stood, stiff as a board, clutching a warm orange
squash, his face radiating displeasure as he gazed out of the
window visibly ignoring the chatter around him. Turning away her
glance rested on Carol and her husband. Tim was older than Carol; a
wonderfully pleasant and old fashioned man, he was a gentleman
through and through. Daniel despised him as weak and ineffectual,
Rebecca loved spending time in his company. The tales he told were
dry and witty, educational and amusing. A real contrast to Daniel’s
pompous lectures and one sided opinions. Rebecca smiled as she
watched Tim slide a piece of