Jackpot! (20 page)

Max stood there with his jaw on the ground.

“I’ve got to go,” I continued, “My honey’s waiting for me at home…” I put the kit back into the bag and then stood on my tiptoes and put my lips right in Max’s ear. “In bed,” I whispered. Then I waved, turned around, and walked away. I never looked back to see Max’s reaction, but I felt it. I knew I had really shocked him, and deep down I knew I’d hurt him. And it didn’t make me feel good. It made me feel like crap, actually.

Instead of going home, I decided to take a walk. It felt nice to stroll without being in a hurry, and since I was feeling so many different emotions, I needed to clear my head. I felt angry with my mother. As far as Drew, I felt happy because of him, sad because of him and alive because of him. Drew Conrad was the unexpected lucky penny who had come into my life. So how could I be angry at Frankie? Because of her, I was with Drew.

As I continued down the street, my mind drifted from Max to John and to every other man from my past. I thought about them individually and actually labeled them in my head. Max was the nerd, John, the stud. Then there was Eric, the father figure, Miles, the artsy guy, Adam, the boy toy, and Ken, the uptight closet gay guy. There were many more, all different, but all with one thing in common; wrong for me. Was Drew wrong for me too? I wondered. Initially, (before I was dating him) I labeled him the blue collar guy. Now I hated myself for thinking this way.

Was there something wrong with someone who didn’t have a college degree? Drew Conrad was smarter than any Northwestern grad I knew. Plus he had a good heart. Wasn’t that worth more than anything? If Drew was anywhere near me at this very moment, I probably would have jumped into his arms and hugged him like a little girl whose dad just got home from a business trip. I missed him. All the time now.

I kept walking, feeling somewhat dazed. A couple blocks further down, I stumbled upon a store I’d never seen before. I was thinking it must be new, because I seemed to remember some kind of shoe repair place in this spot, which was now gone. Stopping to take a closer look into the windows of the store, I was captured by the display of lacy bras and underwear in a rainbow of different colors. I suddenly felt very sexy, which made sense when I looked up and read the sign, “YOU SEXY THING YOU-Sexy Lingerie for Sexy Women.” I giggled when I read the bottom part of the window that read, “And by the way, all women are sexy.” I was so intrigued now, I had to go inside.

I walked in and began looking around. Dozens of racks with beautiful lingerie were all around the pretty store. I smiled, realizing I was definitely in the market for something in this shop.

“Hi. Let me know if I can help you,” said a very attractive woman, “My name’s Courtney.” Miraculously enough, it never clicked that this was Danny’s Courtney.

“Okay, thanks,” I answered, still feeling sexy, but not as sexy as her. A lavender lace teddy caught my eye. I picked it up and examined it for a few seconds. Then I examined the price, a hundred and twenty five dollars. I put it back immediately and moved on. I was thinking about walking out, but I didn’t for two reasons. First, I didn’t want Miss Sexy to think I was cheap, and second, I wanted to see more. All of it was so pretty.

A brown leopard bra with matching underwear were the next things that interested me. I picked them up. Sixty-five for the bra, thirty-five for the undies. Ouch. They were nice, though. ‘Drew would love them,’ I sold myself.

‘Sixty-five dollars for a bra you can buy at Target?’ I could hear Ma saying. And that was it. Sold. I didn’t even try them on. Besides, now that Ma was Miss Millions, maybe she wouldn’t have that attitude anymore.

“I’d like to buy these,” I said to Miss Sexy, who in my eyes was now Miss overpriced. Then I headed to the counter.

“Cute…” said Courtney, “Want to look around more?”

‘Not unless I want to spend a quick five hundred bucks,’ I felt like saying. “No thanks. I think I’m good.”

I set the bra and panties, as well as my Walgreen’s bag down on the counter. As Courtney started to ring up the sale, I noticed something else on a nearby rack. It was a chocolate brown, long, silky nightgown, the top of it a halter that tied in the back. I picked it up and loved how soft it felt. It was so elegant, so classy.

“Isn’t that pretty?” said Courtney, “It goes so well with what you’re buying.”

I looked at the size. Medium. Perfect. I looked at the price, one seventy-five. Not so ideal. After hesitating for about two seconds, I decided I loved it, and had to have it. “Okay, I’ll get this too,” I said.

“You’ll be glad you did. It’s really something.”

She was right. It was beautiful. More importantly, I knew Drew would love it. I started to think about him touching it. And touching me. Suddenly, I felt happy and very very very sexy.

“Two ninety-nine o six,” said Courtney.

I must have gasped without hearing myself, because after I handed Courtney my credit card, she did something really nice.

“Listen,” she said, “I was going to put that nightgown on sale in a few days…” She re-rang the register. “How does two thirty-one even sound?”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yes. You seem like you’re buying this for a special occasion. Am I right?”

I thought about the words special occasion. Every night with Drew was like a special occasion, most of the dates better than any Valentine’s day I could ever remember. I smiled at Courtney and answered, “You could say that.”

“I can tell. You’re glowing.”

“Are you the owner?”

“I am,” she said, as she wrapped the things in tissue.

“Well thank you so much. I’m sure you’re going to do great here.”

Courtney smiled and handed me the bag. “You think so?”

“Of course I do.”

I walked out of the store. In my left hand, I held a bag with a bra, undies, and a beautiful nightgown in it. In my right hand I held an ovulation kit. And in my heart, I held Drew Conrad, the camera man whom I’d pursued for a baby and for money, but whom I couldn’t deny any longer, was instead taking my breath away more and more with each passing day.

Chapter 21

I kept walking down the block. For some reason, I didn’t want to go home yet. I began to notice little things I’d never taken the time to see before, like an elderly couple walking peacefully hand in hand, a younger couple sitting on a bench, feeding each other ice-cream, and two college-age kids passionately kissing.

What made relationships work? I wondered. When I was with any one of my old flames, we’d never been as happy as these people seemed. Then I saw something that made me think maybe the previous three couples were flukes; not the norm. I noticed a guy and a girl standing in front of a store arguing. They were shouting at each other. I watched intently. ‘See?’ I thought to myself, ‘This is what eventually happens in relationships.’

I pretended to look in the window of
Banana Republic
so I could get closer and hear more of their fight. The yelling was getting louder. Now the girl looked as if she might cry. It reminded me of my relationship with John. I thought to myself, ‘I rest my case.’ Maybe no one was truly happy in a relationship.

All of a sudden, the couple stopped shouting and silence ensued for a moment. What was going on? The suspense was killing me. It was like watching a movie. I was waiting for the girl to run off. That didn’t happen, though. Instead, both the guy and the girl burst out laughing.

I stood there baffled. I didn’t get it. They seemed so angry at each other just seconds ago. Now they were laughing so hard that the girl actually had tears streaming down her face. The laughing went on for a couple more minutes and then they hugged.

“I’m sorry, honey,” said the guy.

“Me, too,” answered the girl, sniffling.

Then I watched the guy wipe away his girlfriend or wife’s tears with his finger. It wasn’t until he and I made eye contact and I realized he caught me spying on them that I quickly turned and continued down the block.

I couldn’t believe it. Was everyone happy? Strangely, I found myself angry. I was resenting these people and feeling bitter about everyone who was fulfilled in their relationships. And then I realized, why begrudge them? Join them! With Drew, true happiness was in my grasp. All I had to do was reach out and take it. And forget about the baby for money scam, of course.

But even if I did that and told Drew the whole story, there was a chance he might never speak to me again. And as much as it disgusted me to question it, was I really willing to give up eight million dollars? What if I ended up with no money
and
no Drew? I needed answers and I needed them fast. A second later, I saw an opportunity to get them.

I was staring up at a tiny storefront with nothing but a dark curtain in the window. A small handmade sign was scotch-taped to the door. It read, “Tarot Card Reader.” With zero hesitation, I opened the door and walked in.

The place was literally as big as my bathroom. It was dark and it smelled like burning incense. As I took a couple steps further inside, the wood floors creaked loudly. The door I had just come through swung shut, and instantly, an old woman appeared from behind a large, velvet, mahogany curtain. She looked Middle-Eastern. Her dark skin was wrinkled and her long black hair had streaks of gray running through it. Her eyes were the brownest I’d ever seen. They reminded me of Greek olives.

The woman wore a long full skirt and a white blouse, and on her feet were wooden clogs. As she approached me, all I could focus on was how strange it was that her footsteps weren’t making any noise. It made the woman seem sort of magical.

“Would you like a read today?” she asked me in a heavy accent, which confirmed that she was from somewhere like Egypt or Syria.

“Umm, okay…sure.”

The woman eyed me over. “Come,” she said. She didn’t seem mean, but she wasn’t warm and fuzzy either.

I followed her behind a curtain and into another room, and I found my heart beating faster. I was about to get some valuable information! Maybe the cards would tell me how to get out of my potentially explosive situation, or better yet, when exactly I should sleep with my boyfriend to conceive.

The room I was in now was even smaller than the reception area. I’m not lying when I say it was literally the size of my shower. The only furniture in it was a tiny round table with cards on it, and two wooden stools with cushions on them. Several lit candles on the floor were burning.

“My name is Sarina,” the woman said softly, “Sit please.”

Suddenly, I loved Sarina! After all, wasn’t she holding the key to Frankie’s cash register? I put the bags down next to my stool and sat down.

“I’ve never had my cards read,” I said, nervousness enveloping me. “In fact, I’ve never had any type of psychic treatment before.”

Sarina, who was slowly mixing the deck of large cards did not respond.

“So, how much is this?” I asked, my voice slightly shaking. The second the words came out of my mouth, I regretted them because now I felt like Sarina was going to judge me and/or be annoyed by me, and I was afraid that might affect my reading. “Never mind,” I added quickly, “It doesn’t matter.”

“You pay later,” said Sarina, putting down the deck of cards. “Let me see hands,” she then said with authority, as she pulled both of my hands toward her. She turned them over to view my palms, closed her eyes, and began feeling them with her palms. This was getting a bit weird for me, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and this sweet, old woman hardly seemed like a lesbian to me, so I figured I should just let her do her thing.

After what seemed like a long time, Sarina opened her eyes and let go of my hands. “We begin,” she said, picking up the deck of cards.

Out of nervousness, I cleared my throat.

“You cut cards,” she said, putting the deck in front of me. I did what I was told with enthusiasm.

Sarina then laid out five cards on the table. I looked at her face to try to read her expression, but there was none. She just kept staring at the cards.

“So?” I asked.

“The magician,” she said.

It was hard to keep silent. I was extremely anxious and wanted to say, “Can you pick up the pace?” but I didn’t. I actually had to bite my lip to prevent myself from speaking again while I waited for Sarina to make a comment.