Chapter 3
Lori was contacted twice by the Cleveland branch of the Ohio Lottery. Once to verify that she had sent Axel Hathaway to represent her, and the second time to assure them that she didn’t want any publicity when it came to winning. They were intent on it, but she won out in the end.
Her mom was there for the second call. Sheesh, she didn’t want her to know of all the people in the world. She continued talking about her rent while she was on the phone and seemed not to care that it was a private call. Her mother wasn’t a nice person. How did she not see that before now?
“I have five days to come up with the hundred dollars.” Lori asked her mom about it only being fifty. “I was already late, I might as well have some extra at home until my check comes in, don’t you think?”
“Now, instead of owning fifty, you owe him twice that. That doesn’t seem all that smart.
What did you do with the other fifty? I’m assuming that you didn’t buy more lottery tickets.
” She said that she’d won five bucks. “That hardly seems smart on your part. I don’t have any extra money to give you now.
I have paid my rent on time and without extensions.
How do you live with yourself in doing things like that? ”
“It’s just money. Besides, I’ll get paid on Friday, and I’ll have it then.
I just wish I could live someplace that didn’t charge so much for rent.
Did I tell you that he’s threatening me with a raise in my rent next year?
It’s hard enough paying what I am. It’ll be twice as hard to get that much more. ”
“How much is the raise going to be?” Not that she was going to help her, but she was just curious as to how much they could raise ones rent.
Then she told her. “Twenty dollars doesn’t seem all that bad, Mom.
I mean, the way you were talking, I thought it was going to be at least a hundred dollars.
I could do that easily, but not much more than that. ”
“Because you have a better job. What was that phone call about? You seemed a little upset?” She said it was a co-worker wanting to trade with her.
“I hate trades. They mess me up with my schedule. I’m glad that I have only one schedule and that’s all.
If they started giving me more rooms, I don’t know what I’d do.
I like cleaning the rooms at the hotel, but I don’t want to do any more than I have. ”
She thought that was an understatement. Her mom did a good job with the hotel where she worked because they catered to her needs.
And needs meaning not to change anything around for her.
If she had to clean one more or less room, she’d be in a tizzy and not know what to do.
They kept her on because she really did do a good job while there.
After getting rid of her mom, she went about her afternoon before the evening shift started.
She knew that she was going to make some tips for the evening, but just how much she didn’t know.
Lori had done all right in the breakfast shift and was happy to be able to put the twenty-five back that she’d lent her mom from her stash.
The evening shift was busier than usual.
She liked staying busy; it made the time go by quicker, and things seemed to move a good deal better when there were lots of people in the restaurant.
She was just sitting down for her fifteen-minute break when she was called to the floor. A couple wanted her to wait on them.
She didn’t mind using her break to wait on the couple. They didn’t tip well, but they were nice about things. Even when she got the wrong drink to their table, did they not get upset. After they left, she took her break anyway and sat down at the little table in the back of the place to chill out.
“I heard something about you.” She tensed up and asked the cook what he’d heard. “That you’re leaving us. I can’t say that I blame you, but we’re going to miss you around here. What did you do, get a better job?”
“I’m not leaving. I don’t know where that came from.
” She wasn’t leaving for a year. That’s what the research that she’d looked up on winning the lottery had said to do.
Since it had worked out so well for others, she was going to follow the instructions to the letter until she was able to claim some of her winnings.
“I don’t have a better job. This one suits me just fine for what I want to do. ”
“Must have been someone having fun at your expense.” She nodded and ate the sandwich that she’d ordered from the kitchen. “You should try the special. It’s really good tonight. I made chili for tomorrow night, too.”
“I like your chili.” She wasn’t thinking about food so much as where the rumor had come from that she was leaving.
It was all just a joke, she thought, but didn’t like it.
Things like that could get her into trouble.
“I also had the special last night. I like the chicken sandwich special that you make. It’s fresh, and I don’t have to worry about how long it’s been in the kitchen. ”
He laughed. “I guess you would know working as much as you do. You’ll be happy to know that starting next week, the specials will be a one-time thing just at lunch.
The boss said that people aren’t coming back when we have the same special all the time.
And only having it at lunch will help get people in and out of the place faster.
I know you like to turn your tables when working the lunch crowd. ”
“I don’t work the lunch crowd all that much anymore.
I do breakfast, then dinner. I like having that break in the middle of the afternoon.
I can get things done at home, too.” He asked if she went to the laundry mat.
“No, that’s just on Mondays when we’re closed.
It’s too much for me to gather up my wash and take it down to the washer and dryer, then haul it back up the stairs. ”
“How long have you worked here?” She told him she started when she was fifteen and has been working until now at twenty-five. “That’s a good long time to be working for one place. And you started so young. I bet you know everyone who comes in here.”
“I think they remember me more than I remember them. I see a lot of people during the day, and they only see me the one time. I get to know them if they come in a lot, but I don’t know their names or anything like that.
How long have you worked here?” He told her the last five years.
“I thought it was about that much. Mr. David retired about then. He was having trouble remembering what went on each plate. It was sad, really.”
“I bet you could run this place you’ve been here for so long.
” She said that she doubted anyone could run it as well as the Murphys did.
“I guess they’ve owned it from the first day that it opened.
They’re a good couple. I’m not so sure about their son, but the older Murphys are great. What do you think of the son?”
“I have to get back to work. My break is over.” He nodded like he didn’t expect her to answer him and went back to the kitchen to work too.
She didn’t much care for the cook, Lenord, but he ran a good kitchen.
She was cleaning off a couple of tables when she heard her name being said. It was the six men from the other day.
“Hello. I wanted to give you a heads up. We’re the Hathaway brothers.
I’m Axel.” She looked around to see if anyone heard him and nodded.
“I didn’t think you knew who you were waiting on.
We’ll be coming in here once a week for the next month.
That’s until we find some other place that will allow us to be loud and friendly. ”
“You can stay as long as you wish tonight. We don’t have to turn the table again later. Unless there’s a walk-in, but that won’t matter.” She leaned close to him and asked if he’d had any trouble. “I didn’t hear from you at all on my break.”
“Everything is taken care of. You’ll be notified in the morning about the transfer.” He whispered, too, and she was glad. “Congratulations.”
She needed a minute, and they seemed to understand.
As she stepped outside, she inhaled deeply and exhaled the same slow way.
She had her money. All she had to do now was wait out the year so that no one would be suspicious about her winning, and then she could do what she wanted.
And buying a house was the first thing she was going to do, just for her.
She waited on the six men for the rest of the evening.
They weren’t demanding, but they did have a lot of needs.
Once she took their dinners to them, they settled down, and all she had to do was make sure they had plenty to drink and napkins.
She gladly did that for them and had about twenty minutes before she had to start clearing away their dirty dishes.
Axel picked up the tab again, and she was happy with the tip that they all left her.
Three hundred dollars would go a long way in putting more money in her stash, and she was happy for it.
After they left, and she was cleaning the table again, Axel came back to talk to her.
She took him to the office where her boss was usually napping.
“Nothing went wrong, but I wanted to tell you that I’ve taken my fee out and the rest is yours.
The accounts that you set up were wonderful, and you saved me a great deal of time.
You’re going to need to find yourself another lawyer to help you with the day-to-day, but remember what I told you from the start.
Write your own checks so that you know where your money is going all the time.
” She said that she would, but for now, she didn’t have anything that she was paying for.
She was waiting for a year to make sure no one knew.
“That’s the best way to go. Keeping it quiet will make you be able to keep your money without having people try to take it from you. ”