Chapter 16 #2
‘And secondly,’ Teddy continues, ‘it’s time to start enjoying this money.
’ She grins. ‘You know, when I won, one of the first things I did – after killing my husband, of course – was to go to Vegas. I stayed in a penthouse at The Bellagio and spent sixty grand in the casinos.’ She shrugs.
‘It was fun, but to be honest, I prefer Great Yarmouth. The arcades are so much better and, holy crap, babe, don’t get me started on the mini golf. It’s fantastic .’
Paula nods, but she’s trying to imagine how an American would even know about Great Yarmouth. The Brits have tried so hard to keep it a secret from the rest of the world.
Audrey joins in excitedly, ‘I went on holiday, too, I took my parents on a cruise. They were absolutely mad about the on-deck water park. Ooh, we should go on a cruise together one day! What do you think?’
The other three regard her blankly. ‘Your parents ?’ Teddy asks at last in a stunned voice. ‘Like, you took them . . . in an urn?’
Audrey huffs good-naturedly. ‘No, and I don’t like what you’re implying. I’m only eighty-one, thank you. We Swifts live until we’re at least one hundred and twenty.’
Ivy straightens up, preparing herself to speak.
She does so quietly. ‘The first thing I bought after I won the money was a boat.’ She looks around the group proudly and Teddy gives her an encouraging nod.
‘I’d always wanted one. Much more than a house or a car or holidays.
I always loved being on the water. It felt so free, and I loved the idea of having that freedom whenever I wanted.
’ She looks down, fiddling with a small silver ring on her middle finger.
‘Being in the middle of the ocean away from everything is the best thing in the world.’
This is the most Ivy has spoken since Paula met her, and she resists an urge to reach out and give her a hug. Audrey puts up no such fight and gathers the younger woman up in her arms.
‘I bet it’s a lovely boat!’ she says, patting Ivy. ‘With an awful lot of freedom. We’ll all have to go out on it sometime. Forget the cruise, we’ll go on a yachting trip, eh, Paula?’ Paula the Dog barks at this and Audrey nods at her. ‘You too, my darling.’
Paula the Human smiles. ‘I’d like that.’ She turns to face the big red sports car again, nodding to herself. ‘Oh my goodness.’ She takes a giant breath. ‘I think I’m going to buy it.’
‘Francesca!’ Audrey calls out, waving towards the office. The older woman is giving Paula no chance to change her mind. The sales consultant is with them in moments.
‘Have you made a decision?’ she asks and the four women all nod in unison.
Teddy steps forward. ‘She only won twenty-one million on the lottery, so we’ve ruled out the Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail,’ she says smoothly, turning to Audrey and Paula to offer a casual wink. ‘But we’ll take the Porsche here.’
‘Not in red though,’ Paula adds quickly.
‘God no,’ Teddy nods, ‘because she’s not a fifty-seven-year-old man who’s compensating for being too embarrassed to approach the pharmacy counter in Boots to buy Viagra.’
‘Of course,’ Francesca nods, unfazed by Teddy’s long-winded analogy. ‘If you’d like to join me in the office, we can go through everything.’
‘I want it in sky blue,’ Paula tells the group. ‘I’ve always wanted a sky-blue car.’
She turns to follow Francesca, when her handbag starts to ring. She pulls out her phone. ‘It’s Tilly,’ she says conversationally.
‘Your daughter,’ Audrey says and it’s not a question. She seems to know everything about everyone. She seems to know all their stories before they’ve even entered a room. She’s probably hugged them all already, too.
‘Hello, Tills, are you OK?’ Paula answers and even she can hear the weird, fake tone in her voice.
‘Mum? Where are you?’
Paula tenses. ‘Has something happened?’ She’s suddenly picturing Craig and his friend going to her daughter’s house, grabbing her and Misha, hurting them.
Tilly makes an apologetic noise. ‘No, no! Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just . . . I’m at the house, and Seb doesn’t know where you are.’
‘No,’ Paula agrees, feeling unsure. She doesn’t want to explain.
‘Well?’ Tilly’s using her worried voice. ‘Where are you?’
Paula pauses before answering carefully. ‘I’m in London.’
‘London?’
‘Yes, I’m . . . shopping.’
‘You’re shopping ?’
‘Yes.’
‘Oh.’ Tilly sounds nonplussed. ‘Well, I suppose that’s good. I’ve been telling you to spend some of that money, haven’t I? Have you bought anything nice? You could do with a new shower curtain in the bathroom, y’know. If you’re near John Lewis or anything.’
Paula swallows. ‘Yes, that’s a very good thought, Tilly. I’ll get on that. And maybe a new bath mat, too.’
‘Great!’ Tilly pauses. ‘You should get something fun, too,’ she tells her encouragingly. ‘Maybe a new handbag or a fancy coat! You deserve it!’ There is a long silence before her daughter continues, ‘Um, Mum? You know you’re acting a bit weirdly, don’t you?’
‘Am I?’
‘Yes.’
‘OK.’
There is another heavy pause on the line between them and Paula waits anxiously. At last, Tilly sighs heavily. ‘You’re coming to the next session tomorrow with Gerald, aren’t you?’
‘Gerald?’
‘The grief counsellor! Our next family session is tomorrow. It’s every Tuesday, remember?’
‘If that’s what you want, then of course, Tilly.’
‘What I want?’ Tilly sighs again. ‘OK, whatever, yes, I want us to continue with the family grief counselling.’ Paula doesn’t reply, and when Tilly speaks next, there is hurt in her voice. ‘Right. I guess I’ll speak to you soon then. Enjoy . . . London or whatever.’
‘Thanks, Tills.’
Her daughter hangs up and Paula feels a beat of worry pulse through her.
She knows her children are concerned. They have every right to be, but she doesn’t want to share any of this just yet.
She doesn’t want to share The Lottery Winner Widows Club.
She’s not quite sure what to make of it herself yet.
As she puts her phone away, she notices she has a text. She doesn’t know the number but opens it anyway. The message is only five words long.
Can I have some money?
She blinks at the message, reading it a few more times.
Paula doesn’t understand, but it makes her feel funny. Is this the loan sharks again? It doesn’t sound like them. They’ve already made their demands in person and that was only yesterday. This doesn’t sound like Craig or his reality-TV-fan cohort.
But if not them, then who? And how did they get her number? Perhaps it’s meant to be funny? Is it a prank? She’s certainly had enough messages, calls and emails from distant relatives over the last couple of weeks, since it all went public about her lottery win.
‘Are you OK?’ Ivy asks quietly as they file towards Francesca’s office.
‘I just got a bizarre text,’ she confides.
Ivy frowns. ‘Can I see?’
Paula hands her the phone and Ivy quickly scans the odd words.
‘That is a bit disconcerting,’ she admits after a moment, handing back the device.
‘But I don’t think you should worry. When I won the lottery, I got a lot of weird messages, too.
Random strangers would call me at work and email my family.
There are lottery obsessives out there with no boundaries.
’ She shudders, fiddling distractedly again with that silver ring.
‘They feel entitled to you and your winnings. They act like you’re now a celebrity or public property because you had this huge bit of luck.
I’m sure it’s just one of those creeps. It’ll die down. It did for me.’
Paula nods, feeling marginally better. She puts her phone away in her bag and straightens her shoulders, trying to shake off the strangeness of the message.
Ivy’s right, it’s probably just some lottery fan.
And people win the lottery every day; there’s bound to be some other jackpot winner soon for the internet and the weirdos to obsess over. They’ll soon lose interest.
She takes a deep breath, joining the group in Francesca’s office, where all kinds of exciting paperwork no doubt awaits her. She fingers the notebook and the bank card in her pocket again, thinking about what it means for her. And what it apparently means to others.
The money suddenly feels very heavy in her pocket and she doesn’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing.