Lotto

35

Time Jump

January 12, 1987

Freya was ten years old. She was almost eleven years old however, and she has gorgeous puppy dog brown eyes and blonde waves. She was in fifth grade, because her birthday falls in February but she didn't mind being the oldest one in the class at all. She was petite, short like her mother but she was smart so smart. Luna was five, in kindergarten at the moment and she was small like her sister and her mother but she had big puppy dog brown eyes and brown curls both of them were mini clones of their mother save for Luna's hair which she got from Lindsey. 

Stevie was cuddled up with Lindsey on the couch under a blanket her head laying on his right shoulder a bowl of popcorn on their laps and Freya with her own small bowl of popcorn was watching their Monday night show, Beauty and the Beast, per Stevie and Freya, while Luna was sleeping upstairs but all three of them whine when the screen goes black and the presidential anthem blasts on the screen. They loved President Regan, he was a California politician, a former actor and they both voted for him, but they really hated when their show was cancelled.

"Good Evening, As my eight years of being president are coming to a close I want to address something that has been weighing heavily on my heart and a lot of my American Citizen's hearts. And that is the ending of the Lotto." 

Stevie pushes off of Lindsey and looks up at him when the president takes a break in his speech.

"The lotto was set in place in the 1930s, by a man named Ralph McKay, a dictator. When he died, having had no children...we turned back into a democracy by president Gerald Ford. My predecessor, Mr. McKay designed the Lotto as a tool to lower the divorce rate in America and to boost the population after the devastating losses of World War I, the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, The battle of Jutland, and the Wildfires. Today I have proposed a bill to the senate to abolish the lotto and the children's tax.  Each American deserves the right to love who they want to love, marry who they want to marry, and they have the freedom to decide if they want to have children or not. If the bill goes through, all couples married by the lotto will have the opportunity to file for an annulment or a divorce if they see fit. For some people the lotto worked out well, my wife Nancy and I are prime examples of that, but a lot of people have suffered in their marriages and I want to give them the chance to get out of it." 

"If you were married by the lotto, you will not lose the home that was granted to you in the lotto, you will not have to pay back the stipend that was given to you but if you do file for annulment or divorce the home will be put up and whomever seems fit to keep the house will." 

President Regan goes to take another break and that's when Freya asks, "What's the lotto." 

Lindsey clears his throat and shuts the TV off looking at her.

"I had wanted to tell you when you were older but I guess now is a good time as any...The lotto is essentially a match making service. When we were eighteen mom and I had to enter our names in a drawing and a government official would pull two names out of a fishbowl. The names that were called together had to get married. You had to register for the Lotto until your name was chosen. I had been in the lotto for about seven years, your mom nine before our names got called together." Lindsey explains.

"So you didn't love each other when you got married?" Freya asks.

"No baby we didn't. We didn't even know each other." Stevie shakes her head.

"Do you love each other now?" Freya inquires.

"Of course we do...it took a couple of years but we did fall in love with each other." Stevie smiles. 

"And what's the child tax?" Freya questions.

"The...the child tax states that if you don't have a child within two years of your marriage the government will have you pay 1500 dollars." Stevie bites on her lip.

"Is that the only reason you had me?" Freya asks sadly.

"The truth is Freya...yes, but when you were born your dad and I were so happy and we love you so, so , SO much." Stevie sighs.

"But you didn't want me?" 

"No, no not at all baby we did want you." Lindsey assures standing up and going over to the chair pulling her into his lap. She was almost eleven but she was still daddy's little girl.

"I just wish we could've waited longer to have you. If I could've, I would've waited until...well, when Luna was born. When Luna was born I finally felt ready to be a mom so I wish I could've waited until then but that doesn't change the fact that I love you with my whole heart." Stevie shakes her head.

"So what now?" Freya asks.

"Now, I think you should go on up to bed. I know it's not bedtime yet but you can read in your room until it is if you want, and daddy and I will come tell you lights out when it's bedtime." Stevie explains.

"Okay, Good Night mom." Freya sighs as Lindsey kisses her head and let's her crawl off of him. 

"Good night baby. I love you." Lindsey tells her. 

"Night daddy." Freya grins. 

"Night Sweet Angel." Stevie pulls her into her arms. "And hey...I do love you with my whole heart and I wouldn't change anything." 

"I know...I believe you." She nods.

"Good." Stevie  kisses her head before Freya heads up stairs. Once they know she's been up there for a while Stevie turns to Lindsey.

"What are we going to do?" 

"I would hope that we stay married." Lindsey crosses his arms.

"Of course we will...I'm just wow." Stevie shakes her head.

"You could drop Nicks." 

"Lindsey, I'm never going to drop Nicks off of my name." Stevie looks at him. "But I... I also, maybe kind of wanna...um..." She trials off.

"What?" Lindsey asks.

"Maybe we could um...look into having another baby." She bites her lip and Lindsey just stares at her eyes wide.