Lights

12: Luck

Second post brought his and hers letters.Hers was a white envelope and despite it clearly not being a bill, his was brown.Putting her feet up, having placed her coffee cup onto the table, Jinni believed there was no time like the present to investigate her unexpected delivery.Having to read and re-read the black on white print, having to check and double check the slip wasn't photocopied junk mail, she double and triple checked that what she was seeing wasn't some kind of sick joke or crazy con.'Five hundred pound?'Unable to recall having entered the competition naming her as third runner up, the mother of two examined the cheque with a fine toothed comb.

"Five hundred pound, that's fantastic, well done babe."John kissed his wife in hope her good fortune would rub off."Computers are forever picking out names at random, they probably got you from the phone book."He explained the unexplainable."Bank it."He advised.Informing Jinni if it wasn't meant for her, she would hear within a couple of days of the money being cashed."Lucky you."He smiled.His wife correcting his words by telling him."Lucky us."Like anyone would be, Jinni was excited by the thought of being able to buy a treat or two along with a few essentials.'Pleased.'The female responsible for others, was also cautious about getting carried away in case it was all a hoax.

"Yeah, lucky us."John agreed.Again searching the situations vacant pages of the evening newspaper.Every chance he got, he looked, reading every advertisement filled box, he hoped to find a more permanent and better paid job within his area of expertise.Every night Mr. Dunkirk sat reading through the printed black on white pages of the local newspaper while his wife prepared dinner, often making comment on what else there was to read.

"Your friends' making the news again."He commented on the article referring to Alex's return to the band following the loss of his voice."He took time off.He's never done that before."John continued to read with interest.

"He's only human.Everyone needs to rest sometimes." Jinni pointed out what was more likely to be the fact behind the singers short absence from the stage.

"And someone special in our lives."John had his wife look at the full colour photograph of Alex with his fiancée."They look happy."He commented.

"Maybe it's a publicity stunt."Jinni made reference to the rumours to have surrounded Alex, his absence from his band and his sexuality.

"Maybe."John agreed.Moving on to the letter his wife said arrived for him at lunch time."Let's see what's in the mystery envelope?"Post marked London.John said he didn't know anyone and hadn't applied for anything from the south of the country.

"A job offer?Where from?"Jinni questioned when her husband revealed what he received.

"Working on an off shore oil rig."He smiled."Jobs like these are pure gold dust."The man excited by what he was reading, told his wife the rolling contract would mean an extra thirty-thousand pound."Before overtime." He said, but Jinni felt confused.

"When did you apply to work away?"She asked and John assured her he hadn't, it wasn't something he would purposely do.'An offer too good to be true?'

"They probably got my details from college."Being a qualified tradesman meant his name and details being listed for everyone and anyone to find if looking for someone with his skills.John felt surprised yet somewhat honoured to have been headhunted.

"When is the interview?"Jinni assumed the letter was an invitation to apply.'It wasn't.'John had gotten the job and all he had to do was to turn up at the appointed time on the given date to start work.'Thirty thousand pound disturbance allowance his employment came with food & a bed included.'How could he say no to forty-five thousand pound a year before overtime?