The next morning Chaz missed his alarm, Thel had been outside doing her laundry and walked back in the house. Chaz !!!!she screamed get your lazy butt outa bed, You're gunna be late!...It didn't happen often but sometimes Chaz did sleep through his alarm and today was one of those days. He lived about 20 miles to the south east of Sioux Falls..He looked at the clock, Yep I'm going to be late today...he thought to himself. Chaz swung outa the bed and his feet hit the floor moving...As he struggled into his trousers and shirt, he called out to Thel...Can you make me a coffee to go..babe! O'k yelled Thel, from the kitchen...Coming down the stairs and into the kitchen, Chaz hugged his wife kissed her face and grabbed the coffee and headed out the door..He fired his pickup threw it into gear and a small dust cloud erupted from the rear wheels as he accelerated out of his driveway. With one hand on the wheel and the other on his cell, dialling work..Chaz balanced the hot coffee coffee between his legs and he thundered down the gravel road that lead to the black top which would take him through the cornfields to his work.
Arriving at work around 9.20am, Chaz parked and walked into the rear, of the bike shop. His boss was there working on another machine...Bit sleepy old man? Sorry boss...said Chaz as he took his time sheet and punched the clock at 9.23am...I'll work back tonight to make up the time, he said. No need Chaz...you do o'k by me as it is..Can you get started on that Cruiser over there. Full service and a rear tyre. O'k..said Chaz..switching into bike mechanic mode.
The hours stretched into days...and Chaz wasn't late again, he slept he worked he drove between Sioux Falls and his home, on weekends Chaz made time, for his extended family, his son and daughter and there families. Occasionly Chaz would fire one of his own bikes and he and Thel would go visit their friends around the county. They would stop for lunch and have a few beers or would ride with friends to different parts of the countryside.
At 12.02pm on a Wednesday, Chaz had downed his tools and was in the lunch room of the Honda shop. He was making a coffee for himself to drink with his lunch. The radio was playing and the local news was being updated. The buzz on the radio was that the state lottery had yet to be claimed. The ticket was an unregistered ticket, bought from the Canton area in South Dakota. The announcer then read out the ticket number. Chaz found himself a pen and jotted down the number. He just stood there looking at the number, trying to remember where he had put his ticket, He didn't think it could be him, but he would probably know the owner of the ticket as he was in there every other week buying the same thing. He placed the scribbled note in his coveralls pocket, and went and ate his lunch.
Arriving home that afternoon. Chaz found Thel waiting for him at the door. Chaz Chaz...did you hear the radio today? What about it Thel...was all Chaz could muster. Chaz was dog tired he had pulled down an engine and it had major problems. He was tired and in no mood for Thels dreams of being rich...He never thought the radio announcement would be his ticket....It was probably some farmer from Iowa who didn't need the money to begin with...Thel said , Chaz where is your ticket...Chaz stopped in his tracks...I don't remember Thel honestly....It could be in the truck someplace...Here! he said handing her the scribbled number he had written down. You go search for it love...I'm too tired...think I'll have a shower and lay down before dinner. Okay hun said Thel...bad day was it? The worst...said Chaz as he stumbled on into the house. With the note in hand Thel ran over to the truck..and hopped in frantically searching for the mysterious ticket.
Chaz had a shower, he just stood there letting the water roll over his body....the heat made him feel almost alive again. Whilst towelling himself down, he heard the back door slam and heard Thel draw a chair out from under the table and plonk down. Hearing no noise he knew it wasn't his ticket, otherwise Thel would have been hollering enough to wake the dead. He wrapped a towel around himself and walked out of the bathroom...Thel sat at the table staring at a lottery ticket...she said nothing...in her spare hand she held a dirty piece of paper..she was comparing the numbers scribbled on the paper with the numbers on the lottery ticket...Aware that Chaz was standing watching her Thel....looked up at him... She had tears streaming down her face....Whats up love...he said...Thel handed the note to Chaz...together with the lottery ticket....Chaz scanned the ticket...and the numbers he had scribbled down at work....they matched. Chaz looked again not believing his eyes...the numbers matched...Chaz sucked in a belly full of air..and blew it slowly out....exhaling so deeply...shrunk Chaz's stomach so much his towel unwrapped and fell to the floor...Chaz stood there in the middle of the kitchen in his birthday suit....and Thel screeched with uncontrollable laughter!
December 6, 2012- -
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