“Just a tad.” I give a careless shrug. “But I’m sure it’ll work itself out. No need to worry!”
There’s silence, and I look up to see Suze tearing up my check. For a moment I’m completely silenced, then I stutter, “Suze! Don’t be stupid!”
“Pay me back when you’re in the black,” she says firmly.
“Thanks, Suze,” I say in a suddenly thickened voice — and as I give her a big hug I can feel tears jumping into my eyes. Suze has got to be the best friend I’ve ever had.
But there’s a tense feeling in my stomach, which stays with me all evening and is still there when I wake up the next morning. A feeling I can’t even shift by thinking about my Denny and George scarf. I lie in bed staring up at the ceiling and, for the first time in months, calculate how much I owe to everybody. The bank, VISA, my Harvey Nichols card, my Debenhams card, my Fenwicks card. . And now Suze, too.
It’s about. . let’s think. . it’s about ?6,000.
A cold feeling creeps over me as I contemplate this figure. How on earth am I going to find ?6,000? I could save ?6 a week for a thousand weeks. Or ?12 a week for five hundred weeks. Or. . or ?60 a week for a hundred weeks. That’s more like it. But how the hell am I going to find ?60 a week?
Or I could bone up on lots of general knowledge and go on a game show. Or invent something really clever. Or I could. . win the lottery. At the thought, a lovely warm glow creeps over me, and I close my eyes and snuggle back down into bed. The lottery is by far the best solution.
I wouldn’t aim to win the jackpot of course — that’s completely unlikely. But one of those minor prizes. There seem to be heaps of those going around. Say, ?100,000. That would do. I could pay off all my debts, buy a car, buy a flat. .
Actually, better make it ?200,000. Or a quarter of a million.
Or, even better, one of those shared jackpots. “The five winners will each receive ?1.3 million.” (I love the way they say that: “One point three.” As if that extra ?300,000 is a tiny, insignificant amount. As if you wouldn’t notice whether it was there or not.)
One point three million should see me straight. And it’s not being greedy, is it, to want to share your jackpot? Please, God, I think, let me win the lottery and I promise to share nicely.
And so, on the way down to my parents’ house I stop off at a petrol station to buy a couple of lottery tickets. Choosing the numbers takes about half an hour. I know 44 always does well, and 42. But what about the rest? I write out a few series of numbers on a piece of paper and squint at them, trying to imagine them on the telly. 1 6 9 16 23 44
No! Terrible! What am I thinking of? One never comes up, for a start. And 6 and 9 look wrong, too. 3 14 21 25 36 44
That’s a bit better. I fill in the numbers on the ticket. 5 11 18 27 28 42
I’m quite impressed by this one. It looks like a winner. I can just imagine Moira Stewart reading it out on the news. “One ticket-holder, believed to live in southwest London, has won an estimated jackpot of ?10 million.”
For a moment, I feel faint. What’ll I do with ?10 million? Where will I start?
Well, a huge party to begin with. Somewhere smart but cool, with loads of champagne and dancing and a taxi service so no one has to drive. And going-home presents, like really nice bubble bath or something. (Does Calvin Klein do bubble bath?)
Then I’ll buy houses for all my family and friends, of course. I lean against the lottery stand and close my eyes to concentrate. Suppose I buy twenty houses at ?250,000 each. That’ll leave me. . 5 million. Plus about ?50,000 on the party.
So that’s ?4,950,000. Oh, and I need ?6,000 to pay off all my credit cards and overdraft. Plus ?300 for Suze. Call it ?7,000. So that leaves. . ?4,943,000.
Obviously, I’ll do loads for charity. In fact, I’ll probably set up a charitable foundation. I’ll support all those unfashionable charities that get ignored, like skin diseases and home helps for the elderly. And I’ll send a great big check to my old English teacher, Mrs. James, so she can restock the school library. Perhaps they’ll even rename it after me. The Bloomwood Library.
Oh, and ?300 for that swirly coat in Whistles, which I must buy before they’re all snapped up. So how much does that leave? Four million, nine hundred and forty-three thousand, minus—
“Excuse me.” A voice interrupts me and I look up dazedly. The woman behind is trying to get at the pen.
“Sorry,” I say, and politely make way. But the interruption has made me lose track of my calculations. Was it 4 million or 5 million?
Then, as I see the woman looking at my bit of paper covered in scribbled numbers, an awful thought strikes me. What if one of my rejected sets of numbers actually comes up? What if 1 6 9 16 23 44 comes up tonight and I haven’t entered it? All my life, I’d never forgive myself.
I quickly fill in tickets for all the combinations of numbers written on my bit of paper. That’s nine tickets in all. Nine quid — quite a lot of money, really. I almost feel bad about spending it. But then, that’s nine times as many chances of winning, isn’t it?
And I now have a very good feeling about 1 6 9 16 23 44. Why has that particular set of numbers leapt into my mind and stayed there? Maybe someone, somewhere, is trying to tell me something.
Four
WHEN I ARRIVE AT my parents’ house, they are in the middle of an argument. Dad is halfway up a stepladder in the garden, poking at the gutter on the side of the house, and Mum is sitting at the wrought-iron garden table, leafing through a Past Times catalogue. Neither of them even looks up when I walk through the patio doors.
“All I’m saying is that they should set a good example!” Mum is exclaiming. She’s looking good, I think as I sit down. New hair color — pale brown with just a hint of gray — and a very nice red polo-neck jumper. Perhaps I’ll borrow that tomorrow.
“And you think exposing themselves to danger is a good example, is it?” replies Dad, looking down from the ladder. He’s got quite a few more gray hairs, I notice with a slight shock. Mind you, gray hair looks quite distinguished on him. “You think that would solve the problem?”
“Danger!” says Mum derisively. “Don’t be so melodramatic, Graham. Is that the opinion you really have of British society?”
“Hi, Mum,” I say. “Hi, Dad.”
“Becky agrees with me. Don’t you, darling?” says Mum, and points to a page of Past Times, full of 1930s reproduction jewelry and trinket boxes. “Lovely cardigan,” she adds sotto voce. “Look at that embroidery!” I follow her gaze and see a long, purple coatlike garment covered in colorful Art Deco swirls. I’d save the page and get it for her birthday — if I didn’t know she’ll probably have bought it herself by next week.
“Of course Becky doesn’t agree with you!” retorts my dad. “It’s the most ridiculous idea I’ve ever heard.”
“No it’s not!” says Mum indignantly. “Becky, you think it would be a good idea for the royal family to travel by public transport, don’t you, darling?”
“Well. .” I say cautiously. “I hadn’t really. .”
“You think the queen should travel to official engagements on the ninety-three bus?” scoffs Dad.
“And why not? Maybe then the ninety-three bus would become more efficient!”
“So,” I say, sitting down next to Mum. “How are things?”
“You realize this country is on the verge of gridlock?” says Mum, as if she hasn’t heard me. “If more people don’t start using public transport, our roads are going to seize up.”
