That had gone fantastically but the best bit of the day wasyet to come. While his interview had been going on, the Grand National had beenrun. When he went back into the shop, he was delighted to see that nothing hadgone amiss with his betting coup either. The result was up there on the screen,just as it should have been.
He walked over to the counter to collect his winnings, amountingto several thousand pounds. The manager, far from being disgruntled at payinghim out, was delighted.
“There you go,” he said, handing him several huge wads ofnotes. “I think you’ve more than earned this today. And would you believe it,despite paying you out all this we’ve still made a tidy profit on the race. Itseems like you were the only punter in the entire town who backed it!”
Kent looked at the money and wondered how he was going toget it all home. This was the ultimate win-win situation. Not only had heprevented the robbers getting away with £30,000+, but he was also now coppingthe lot all for himself. And he hadn’t even had to do anything illegal.
“You haven’t got that wheelbarrow handy, by any chance?” hejoked.
“I’ll have a look in the back, I’m pretty sure I’ve got a rucksackI can lend you. It’s the least I can do under the circumstances.”
While he was in the back, another thought occurred to Kent.As this had gone so well, perhaps another little investment might be in order. Whenthe manager came back with the rucksack, Kent was waiting eagerly with a new requestfor him.
“I was wondering,” began Kent. “What odds would you give me againstLeicester City winning the Premier League in 2016?”
Fools Gold
November 2018
Kent was back on the rooftop, having thoroughly enjoyed histrip back to 2013.
After the excitement of the afternoon he had been determinedto make the most of what remained of the day. He had showered Debs with cash onhis return home and immediately whizzed the whole family out for the evening.They had headed to Oxford, starting off with some tenpin bowling and followingit up with a slap-up meal at one of the city’s finest restaurants.
Debs hadn’t thought they would get into the place. Michelin-starredrestaurants didn’t tend to have vacancies on Saturday nights, but a swifthundred pounds slipped into the maître d’s pocket had soon sorted that out. Itwas true what Kent had heard but never previously been flush enough to findout. There was always a table available at the right price.
Kent had immediately ordered a bottle of champagne withwhich to toast their good fortune. He then proceeded to order the best ofeverything on the menu. There was no house red or the second-cheapest bottle ofwine on the menu this time. He went straight to the £70 bottle at the bottom ofthe list. It complemented his fillet steak perfectly.
He didn’t have to worry about driving; it wasn’t as if he couldn’tafford the taxi fare home. As for the kids, they had behaved impeccably foronce. Luke, a notoriously fussy eater as a child, had not even complained atthe lack of chicken nuggets on the menu.
During the evening the family had excitedly discussed whatthey would do with the money. When he added his internet bets to the money he’dtaken from the betting shop, Kent worked out he had won over a quarter of a millionpounds on Aurora’s Encore. He had come clean to Debs, slightly concerned thatshe would be furious when she realised how much he must have bet to have wonthat amount in the first place. But she wasn’t angry in the slightest, not with£250,000+ in the bank. If the horse had lost, she would have strung him up byhis bollocks but it hadn’t, so all was well.
He also said nothing to her yet about the money he’d putdown on Leicester City. That could wait. By the time he got back to 2018, he wasexpecting to be a millionaire and they would be living the life of Riley.
For now, Kent had modestly suggested paying off the mortgageand having a nice holiday but Debs was more ambitious than that. Once again shementioned her oft-quoted desire to open a restaurant. With a million plus quidin the bank, that could certainly be on the cards.
As for the kids, they knew what they wanted – a holiday inFlorida. Kent was more than happy to agree, it was just a shame he was going tomiss it, jumping five years back into the future at the end of the night. Still,he would be rich in 2018 so he could holiday wherever he wanted then. And ifthe police still wanted to kick him out, who cared? He wouldn’t need to workanymore anyway; he could take early retirement and really begin to enjoy lifeat last.
Arriving back in 2018, Kent was excitedly looking forward tofinding out what changes he would find in his life. What would his world belike now? Would he even be living in the same house? That could be a problem. Howwould he get home if he didn’t know where home was? As problems went, it was arather nice one to have. He wondered what his new place would be like. It mighthave a swimming pool. Or maybe even some stables.
Kent shook himself out of his daydreams when he saw that theangel was waiting for him, still in the familiar guise of his younger self.
“So how did that go, then?” he asked. “Did you do everythingyou wanted to do?”
“Absolutely brilliantly,” beamed Kent. “In fact, it went sowell, I’m not sure I’ll even need you again. My life’s about to get a whole lotbetter.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” replied the angel, with aknowing look on his face. “Don’t be too hasty dismissing my services. You’vestill got four more trips to look forward to. You may as well enjoy them.”
“I think I’m going to be too busy enjoying myself in the hereand now to be honest,” replied Kent, cockily. “Thanks for all you’ve done for me,but
