Page 41 - Unlikely Stories 1

Your Lucky Numbers

If I am publicly identified, and our house is burned down before the
riot is over, well, I made sure our fire insurance covers arson. I did all
this, and trained you to be ready the moment a disastrous draw
occurred, without letting you know. I couldn’t. Our safety depended
on it.”
Ty was silent, as Bernie rested on his laurels. She would be proud
of him, he was certain. The lottery might cease to exist, they might
have to move to the other side of the country, but they would
survive.
“Bernie,” she finally said in a small voice, “just tell me one thing:
what were the numbers drawn tonight?”
He grinned.
“The worst possible pattern, because the most obvious: 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6. The people around me were paralyzed when it happened, but I
was already dialing your number. You see the value of being
prepared.”
“Bernie: you know the convenience store at the end of our block,
the one where you go for chips and soft drinks”
“Of course I do, Ty. Mr. Chidambaram and his wife are old
friends, now.”
“Yes, Bernie, they know us quite well. I didn’t know about this
situation with your job because you never told me. And every
Wednesday I have been buying a lottery ticket there, for years. I kept
that from you because I know how much you frown on all types of
gambling. Well, I, too, have been playing the same lucky numbers
every time on the chance that they would come up sooner or later. I
chose them because I thought that nobody else would pick them, so
that if we won we wouldn’t have to share the jackpot. Bernie…”
“What?” he shouted. “Ty: what are those numbers?”
“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.”

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