A Winning Ticket (3 page)

25.

He slowly looked back at the ticket and checked the last number.

25.

“We won.” He looked at his brother.

“We won,” Harrison repeated, very low.

“We won!” both brothers screamed simultaneously.

Benjamin embraced his brother in a giant bear hug.

Both screamed again.

They held each other and jumped around the living room for a solid minute, yelling exuberantly.

“I can’t believe it! I just can’t believe it! We really won!” Benjamin cried as he released his grasp on Harrison.

“Me either. I would never have dreamed it in a million years. It’s just unbelievable!”

“Wow! How much you think we will get if we take the lump sum?”

“Not sure. If the jackpot is seventy million, we will probably get around forty million.” Harrison took the ticket back from Benjamin and stared at it again.

Benjamin slumped back into the recliner, his legs like wet noodles. “Then we will have to pay taxes on that. So we will be left with twenty, maybe twenty-five million.”

“Who cares? That’s more money than we’ve ever seen.”

“Right. This is such a blessing. I still can’t believe it…we can finally pay off all the bills and take care of the delinquent taxes on the farm. Don’t you see, Harrison? We can live on the farm for the rest of our lives and never have to worry about money again. And to think, just a few minutes ago I was trying to figure out if we would even make it through next year. Now it’s all over. Everything is going to be fine.” He looked up at his brother who was still standing next to the television, still holding the winning ticket in his hand.

“Yeah.” Harrison paused. “I suppose we could stay here on the farm.”

Benjamin stiffened. “What do you mean ‘you suppose we could stay here’?”

Harrison glanced at his brother, but remained silent.

“What did you mean, Harrison?” Benjamin persisted.

“I’m just not sure…I want to stay here on the farm, Benji.”

Harrison often called Benjamin
Benji
when he was excited or about to deliver bad news. Benjamin had never really liked the nickname, but usually let it slide. Not this time though. “Please don’t call me that.”

“Sorry.” He paused. “Look, Benjamin, I’ve been thinking for a long time now that if I had the opportunity to go and do something else with my life, I was going to take it.” Harrison waved the ticket in the air. “And this lottery ticket is my ticket out of here.”

“I thought the whole reason we struggled all these years was to keep the farm in the family. You know…keep Mom and Dad’s legacy alive. Now that we’ve won some money you want to just up and leave?”

“What family, Benjamin?” Harrison’s voice rose. “Look around. We’re just two middle-aged men trying to scrape by. We have no one else to keep this farm going once we are gone. Face it, the Zimmerman family tree stops with us.”

“That’s not the point,” Benjamin shot back.

“Look,” Harrison’s tone became more conciliatory, “I have stayed with you all these years since Mom and Dad passed away, kept this dying farm on life-support, don’t you think it’s my turn to go do what I want for a change? Why don’t we sell the farm, move somewhere warm, find a couple lovely ladies, and live it up for a while?”

Benjamin couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had always known that Harrison would rather be running a surf shop on the Florida coast than be a farmer in Nebraska, but this felt like a total betrayal. “No…no way,” he replied.

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to, that’s why.”

Harrison began to pace in front of the television.

Benjamin continued, “And don’t forget that you can’t sell the farm without my agreeing to it.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Benji, I haven’t forgotten,” Harrison said, but his tone was almost dismissive now.

“I asked you not to call me that.”

No apology was forthcoming from Harrison this time. The two glared at each other—the tension slowly building—both at a loss for words.

Benjamin finally broke the silence and said, “Look, Harrison, this is all I have in life…this farm…and you. Please don’t take that from me. I’m begging you. I…I’m not like you. You know…socially. I can’t compete with you. I don’t think I would like it very much in the big city.”

Harrison’s initial burst of anger assuaged, and he looked Benjamin in the eye, put his hand on his shoulder, and gave him a comforting squeeze. “You’ll be fine, Benjamin. I will always be here for you…you know that…but I think it’s time we moved off the farm and started a new life. I want to travel some and see new things. I want to buy an ocean-front mansion, find a nice wife and settle down…maybe have a kid or two. I’m not getting any younger, you know.” He paused. “I want to get away from this farm and out of this small town that has been smothering me and holding me back all my life. No more waking up before sunrise to feed livestock or plow fields. No more endless hours sitting on a half-broken-down tractor.” Harrison laughed softly, then continued, “And last, but certainly not least, no more winters that are so cold you feel like your bones are going to freeze solid.”

“But you don’t understand, Harrison…I can’t leave this place. It’s my home…always has been. And you are the only family I have left. I thought we would stay here together…you know…forever…and keep the farm going…for Mom and Dad’s sake.”

Harrison took his hand off Benjamin’s shoulder, “Benjamin…Mom and Dad are dead. They’ve been dead for over twenty years now…and they’re not coming back. I’m sorry, but that is just the truth, and as much as you want to change that fact…you can’t.” Harrison stared at the floor.

“Harrison, please…please…don’t do this. I’m begging you. I need this place…and you, too.”

“Benjamin, I know you don’t want to hear this…” Harrison sighed and looked Benjamin in the eyes. “And you don’t know how sorry I am to have to be the one to tell you, but I think it is time you leave, too. You need to move away and experience something else, at least for a while. We could pump a couple million dollars into this farm, buy all new equipment, rebuild the barn, fix this house up, and we would still be losing money, and you would still be stressed out. No…it has to end.”

Benjamin spun around and put his back to his brother. “You’re wrong, Harrison.” Anger started to build inside him. After several seconds, he turned back around and tried a different tactic. “So, what are you saying…you going to
make
me leave?”

“Look…I’m just asking you to think about it. Sleep on it. I believe after you’ve considered it for a couple of days, you’ll realize I’m right. This money is our chance, Benjamin…we can do whatever we want for the rest of our lives. We’ve been trapped on this farm since we were born, and now we’re finally free. We don’t have to go to Florida…maybe we could go to California and rub shoulders with some of those movie stars. With this much money we will be very popular people, wherever we end up.” Harrison patted Benjamin on his left shoulder and smiled. “Just do me a favor and think about it, Benjamin. You’ll see it’s the right decision. Will you do that for me…please?”

Benjamin forced a fake smile and looked Harrison in the eyes. “Sure, I’ll think about it.”

“Promise?” Harrison asked again.

“Promise,” Benjamin replied, letting his smile spread across his face until most of his teeth were showing.

“Good. I think this is all going to work out great, Benjamin. I really do.”

“Yeah, me too.” Benjamin shook his head affirmatively.

Harrison grasped Benjamin in a hug. “I love you, brother.”

“Love you, too,” Benjamin said. After pulling away from Harrison’s grasp, he asked, “I’m going to the kitchen to get a drink of water, want anything?”

“No thanks, I’m fine.”

As Benjamin started toward the kitchen, he heard Harrison continue, “I still can’t believe our luck. I was just dreaming about something like this happening today while I was doing the chores…and now it’s a reality.”

“I know, it’s amazing,” Benjamin said over his shoulder as he reached the kitchen sink, at the same time almost choking on the anger he felt boiling up from his stomach and into his throat. He felt as if his head were about to blow off.

Benjamin couldn’t believe the change that had taken place in his life in the past ten minutes. What at first seemed like a marvelous piece of good luck, had, instead, turned into his own private hell. He had always known Harrison really didn’t like living here, but he would have never thought his own flesh and blood would screw him out of everything he loved in life. It was a complete and total betrayal.

They were family.

They were brothers.

Or at least they used to be.

Benjamin felt his eyes well up and his lower lip start to quiver. He wasn’t sure if the overflow of emotion was due to anger or sadness—he guessed maybe both.

Harrison was lying. He had no intention of letting him stay here. He would force him to sell the farm and leave. Benjamin had no doubt about that. Harrison despised the farm and everything about it. Deep down, he must hate his own brother, too. Why else would he pull him away from his whole life? Everything he knew?

Everything he loved?

Harrison would take all the money, too. They had always agreed to split the jackpot if they were ever fortunate enough to hit it, but the fact was, Harrison had purchased this particular ticket, and if it came down to a lawsuit, he would win. Benjamin knew what would happen to him—he would be left destitute. The money was now Benjamin’s bit and bridle, and he had no doubt Harrison would use it with great effectiveness. If he refused to leave the farm, Harrison would refuse to share the money with him. There would be no way he could keep the farm operating. He would be bankrupt in a few months.

No money…No farm…No anything.

Benjamin’s stomach churned with anxiety. How could his brother do this to him?

He opened the cabinet and pulled out another glass. He was so upset he forgot what he had done with the other one he had prepared on his way to bed. It seemed like a lifetime ago now. He grabbed a few ice cubes from the freezer and poured himself a glass of ginger ale. He hoped it would settle his stomach.

He heard Harrison pick up the remote control and restart the DVR. A beer commercial was on, full of bikini-clad women partying it up on a beach somewhere—probably Florida.

How appropriate
, Benjamin thought.

He turned and looked out the kitchen window. The snow was falling faster now. He raised the tumbler to take a drink. His hand was shaking so violently, the ice cubes made a clanking sound against the glass.

His anger was growing inside. His brother had been his best friend—really, his only friend—ever since he was a child. They had grown up together in this house.

Worked the farm together.

Been there for each other when their parents were killed.

Now Harrison had become Benjamin’s very own Benedict Arnold.

He was going to lose the farm, one way or the other—his brother would make sure of that—and he sure as hell wasn’t going to move to Florida or California, or anywhere else, for that matter. He might as well just go ahead and use his grandfather’s pistol and end it all.

His hatred for Harrison began to grow.

Benjamin knew it was over. He would never get any of the money. And he would lose everything he now cherished in life.

Damn him…damn him to hell.

His pulse began to race.

His breathing became more rapid.

Benjamin took another long drink of the ginger ale.

He continued to stare out the window. Harrison was still celebrating in the living room, but Benjamin had drowned him out—his brother now just a cacophony of high and low sounds, no longer intelligible.

Even though the temperature in the old farmhouse was rather cool, Benjamin began to sweat—first his palms, and then his forehead became wet with the salty liquid.

He couldn’t let Harrison do this to him.

He didn’t deserve to be treated like this.

It wasn’t fair.

Harrison had to be stopped. Stopped from pissing away all that money. Stopped from walking away from the farm. Stopped from ruining his life.

He heard Harrison mumble something again in the background.

Benjamin suddenly felt hot and struggled to catch his breath. He cracked the window open a few inches and let the cold, winter air waft in. He drew in a long, cool breath.

He took another drink and set the glass down on the counter.

Then he saw the ten-inch butcher knife he had used a few hours ago while preparing dinner lying in the bottom of the sink. He must have forgotten to put it away when he cleaned the dishes earlier. Washed out light from the forty-watt bulb on the front porch shone through the window and made the blade seem to glimmer and dance in the aluminum sink.

Maybe it wasn’t an accident that the knife was still in the sink. Maybe fate had intervened and was trying to tell Benjamin something.

Yes, that had to be it. It was a sign—an irrefutable sign. He had never been a superstitious man, but this was a clear message from someone or something that it was time to stop being a victim in life.

Stop being the local fool that everyone else uses as their doormat in life.

Stop being screwed over by his own brother.

Seize his destiny.

Now Benjamin began to craft a plan within his mind.

No one would doubt his story that Harrison had just left the farm and moved away. What business would it be of theirs anyway? Benjamin had always been an upstanding citizen of the community—never in any trouble—so why would they doubt what he said?

The storm would be the perfect cover. He could dump the body on the east side of the house, where the highest snow drifts always piled up during blizzards. It would be buried in a matter of an hour or so—certainly before daylight. He could decide how to permanently dispose of it later.

The ticket shouldn’t be a problem either. Although both brothers were well known around town, they looked enough alike that no one would be able to prove for sure that Harrison bought the ticket instead of Benjamin, even if they had security camera footage. Both of the brothers always used cash as well, so there would be no traceable credit card number.