'We Won Lotto"

On July 25, 1992, my Aunt Steffie and Uncle Chet won a million dollars. At the top of Jude Lane they stopped in a package store and bought a Lotto ticket, like they did every day except Sunday. That day, the six random numbers on their white and pink ticket matched Connecticut's drawing to win the prize of one million dollars and eighty-nine cents.

 

"We watched the drawing and then I went upstairs to check the ticket," my aunt explained to the papers. "The numbers matched and I double checked and went back and told my husband to turn the TV off. I started to cry. I dont know if I was happy or nervous."

 

I could never figure out why she would have been nervous, but then again I never won the Lotto, maybe people get nervous. My uncle had his opinion on the matter.

 

"Money don't mean nothing to me," he said glibly. "And no, I don't want to go to Disney World."

 

He was content. They had extra money, their bills were always paid, and they recieved their Social Secrurity checks every month. They didn't have kids either.

 

Even though my Uncle Chet said plainly that he didn't think they would live to see the end, they took the money over a twenty year period, recieving almost thirty-eight thousand dollars every July. This was good news for me. For as long as I could remember, my Aunt Steffie, usually with my grandmother (my uncle and grandfather always chose to stay in, typically watching the game), went out for dinner at least once a week. We usually went to Queen Pizza (or later renamed to JD's Great Food and Drink) on the other side of town for pizza or pasta. After our stomachs were full, if I played my cards right, I could get my aunt to take me to Toy Works or Ames to get me the newest Nerf gun of Lego kit. After a while, I played my cards right pretty often.

 

After they won the money, my aunt and uncle bought a forest green Cadillac, the vehicle that brought me to dinner and my aunt, uncle and grandmother to the casino. Its sun heated leather seats burned my skin.

 

My Uncle Chet really didn't seem to care that much that they won, but my Aunt Steffie ignored my uncle's indifference about the money, "He can give it to his wife."