Page 113 - Where the Dream Ends ebook

The Billion Dollar Lottery

and I’m supposed to pick the seven numbers that could rep-
resent a billion dollars. Suddenly, I’m having this major crisis.
Besides, I don’t even want to be on line. I want to get out of
the damn market before I start meeting people I know and get
stuck even longer, when suddenly I get this idea…”

Joey held his hand up to signal Larry to be quiet. “Angie, do
you have yesterday’s paper, the one with the winning lottery
number. And don’t say no, go look.”

Joey cupped his hand over the receiver. “She’s going to
look,” Joey said, secretively.

Larry laughed. “Why are you whispering?”

Joey looked at his hand covering the phone, then pulled it
away, laughing. “Habit, I guess. “I’m usually talking to peo-
ple…” he paused, struggling for the words, “…who I don’t
want to know what’s going on?” His language skills deserted
him, so he finished the sentence with a question mark, as in
“You know what I mean?”

Larry knew what he meant all right, the way he knew so
much about what Joey thought, the way they each knew what
the other was thinking, even though they were so different.
But all Larry could think about now was Joey’s way of cruci-
fying the English language. He decided to let it go and instead
he said, “You know you’re really nuts.”

While Joey was waiting on the phone Larry took the op-
portunity to discard the junk that was in his pocket, clear the
counter, and load the dishwasher from the breakfast dishes that
were in the sink.

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