Chapter Eight
The warm shower made my sore muscles relax and I was ready to get my new life started.
The first thing I did was grab the lottery ticket out of my wallet. I flipped the ticket over and called the
toll free number listed on the back. I was placed on hold for about 10 minutes and I was glad that I
had decided to use my room phone instead of my cell. When someone finally came on the line I let
them know that I had the winning numbers from the previous drawing. I was told that in order to
claim my winnings, I needed to come down to the office tomorrow morning at 8 o’clock sharp so
that I could be interviewed.
“Listen, I would like to keep my winning a secret if you don’t mind?” I asked as politely as I
could. “This is literally a matter of life and death.” The woman on the phone seemed like she
understood what I was trying to imply without me having to go into any additional details.
“Miss Simone, we will still need you to come down to the office so that we can discuss
payment options and I assure you that mums the word.”
“Thank you, you have no idea how much that means to me. What was your name again?”
“Rebecca Harrison, ma’am and you can ask for me tomorrow when you arrive.”
I thanked Rebecca again and disconnected our call. I was starving and I wasn’t going to wait
around for the nurse to bring me some food. I tied up my hospital gown as modestly as I could and
headed toward the cafeteria.
Standing in line, the food all looked and smelled delicious. I placed my order for a personal pan
pizza with pepperoni and extra mushrooms and could hardly contain my excitement for my meal.
When it was ready I went and sat at an empty table next to a couple that looked very forlorn.
I began eating my meal and I couldn’t help but eavesdrop at the conversation that was taking place
next to me.
“I don’t know what to do any more Sean. Our insurance company is refusing to cover any more of
Josie’s medical expenses. How are we going to pay to keep her alive? This cancer is not only
killing her but us as well,” the woman cried to the man. She placed her head on his shoulder and
he placed his arm on her back and rubbed small comforting circles on her back.
“It will be okay Melissa. We have made it this far and we will do whatever we can. We should try
calling some non-profit organizations again to see if they can help us,” the man named Sean said.
I tuned out the rest of the conversation. I knew the first thing I was going to do with my money. I was
going to help Josie and her parents. Now I just needed to find out who this girl is and figure out
how to help her without exposing myself. This is going to more difficult than I imagine.
