The Lottery Winners_A Free Introduction Read online

  Unfortunately, their departure wouldn’t do a whole lot to hurt Janice or her business. There was already a new team in place. Ivy, Tony, Daisy, and Marilee were the breakfast, lunch, and dinner shifts with two other waitresses working nights from late until early morning – and those waitresses had to cook as well as serve because Janice refused to have anyone just “lollygagging” around. The night shift, also known as the graveyard shift, which went from eight o’clock each night through to five o’clock the following morning, had just a fraction of the business.

  So, the four of them might have a horrible job, with long hours and a witch for a boss, but it was better than a lot of the people who lived in LowPoint. Many were on food stamps, barely making enough to get by. There was only one old doctor in town who worked part time but should have retired about thirty years ago. Thankfully, Doctor Powell was a sweet man with a charming bedside manner and was able to treat all minor aches and pains. Anything major and the patient was pretty much out of luck, although the remaining residents did what they could to help. The community was small, but they were tight. Small meant that everyone knew everyone’s business, but that wasn’t always a bad thing. When someone went a day without a meal because they didn’t get paid on time, everyone knew about it and ensured that the family was covered.

  Ivy took the orders of the truckers and wove her way through the tables, wondering why workers from Louisville hadn’t found their way to LowPoint as a place to live. It might be because of the name of the town, but it was so-named because it literally was the “lowest point” in the state. The city was nestled right at the base of the mountains in a beautiful valley west of Louisville. It was a beautiful area and right off of Highway 64, which was a major highway that stretched from West Virginia all the way to St. Louis. At that point, truckers picked up Highway Seventy that would take them over the Rocky Mountains and clear on to Utah.

  There were other routes across the northern and southern states that were more heavily used, but trucks going through Louisville took Highway 64. And anyone coming through, usually stopped here at Janice’s diner for a bite to eat. All because of Tony’s amazing food.

  It wasn’t even that the food was high quality, because Janice wasn’t one to spend money if it wasn’t needed. A burger was a burger. Frozen or fresh didn’t matter, in her mind. But Tony was creative and even grew his own herbs. It wasn’t because he liked Janice though. It was because he loved cooking and loved people eating his food. So he experimented with the flavors as much as he could with what he had.

  And over the past year, ever since Tony had hopped off a truck heading this way and asked for a job, the business at Janice’s diner had been picking up. Janice never acknowledged that Tony’s cooking was the reason, but everyone knew it.

  “Table twelve complained about the service,” Janice snapped at Ivy. “I told them their meal was free. It’s coming out of your pay.”

  With that, Janice walked away, a smirk on her ugly features as she pushed her way into her office.

  Marilee appeared at Ivy’s side. “They didn’t complain, Ivy!” she whispered. “In fact, they left you a huge tip. They asked Janice to make sure you got it and, as they walked out, she stuffed it in her apron pocket.”

  Daisy hurried up to the Ivy and Marilee. “Did you see that? Janice just stole your tip money!” she gasped, pushing her strawberry blond hair higher up into the hair band, trying to hold all of the curls in place. The bands never worked. Daisy had too much hair. Right now, all of those strawberry blond curls were vibrating with anger and Ivy put a hand out, stopping Daisy’s forward momentum.

  “Don’t do it, Daisy!” Ivy hissed. “You know what happened to Mindy when she confronted Janice. It isn’t worth it!”

  Everyone knew that Mindy had been arrested and charged with embezzlement two weeks ago. Of course, Mindy couldn’t afford a lawyer, but the public defender had assured everyone that there wasn’t enough evidence to go to trial. It was basically Janice’s word that the money had been stolen against Mindy’s word that she hadn’t stolen anything.

  Daisy’s pretty, chocolate colored eyes narrowed as she glared at the diner’s office door that Janice had vanished behind. “I hate that woman!” she snapped.

  Ivy agreed, but wisely kept her thoughts to herself. “I’m fine,” she told her. “Let’s just stick together. That plan we came up with the other day? Let’s do it!”

  Ivy, Daisy and Marilee all looked at Tony, then nodded. “I’m in,” Daisy said.

  Marilee smiled for the first time that day and nodded, her dark brown pony tail bouncing behind her. “I agree. We’ve got to do something to stop her.”

  Ivy nodded as well. “The only way we’re going to win against that evil woman is to beat her at her own game. We’ll win,” she said softly.

  Tony came up to them. “I’m on lookout,” he volunteered.

  The three women turned to face him. “Yeah, but don’t get behind on the orders.”

  Tony’s handsome face broke into a grin. “You know I’m all over this, ladies. But,” he looked towards the office door, “if that woman pinches my butt one more time, I’m not going to be responsible for my actions.”

  The ladies laughed, knowing that Janice used any excuse she could dream up to walk through the kitchen, rubbing up against Tony’s tall, muscle-covered body.

  Marilee winked through the kitchen window. “You know you want her.”

  Tony gave her a glare that said he wasn’t amused, but the ladies all laughed, hurrying away before he could lay one of his famous put downs on them. The man used dry humor as a weapon with pinpoint accuracy.

  The three of them moved about the diner, although their movements were different now. More coordinated. They didn’t have an actual station, but instead worked like a team, filling glasses, putting in orders, taking orders from Tony out to the tables. When Janice walked back out on the floor, a smug expression on her weathered face, the women were busy with the lunch rush. And not a single table was left un-watched. The women weren’t going to let Janice get near the tables. Not with her sticky fingers!

  The lunch rush lasted until about three o’clock and, when they finally had a break, they moved over to one of the tables in the back. Tony, bless his handsome heart, had their lunches ready and carried them over to the booth. “Ladies. She’s on her way to the office again,” he warned.

  Ivy’s green eyes narrowed as she watched Janice slip through the office door. “I’ll be right back,” she said and stood up before someone could stop her. Pulling her cell phone out of her pocket, she moved stealthily towards the back of the restaurant.

  Sure enough, Janice was in the office, counting money. And just as Ivy had suspected, Janice pulled money out of her apron pocket, counting out the bills. Those were their tips, she thought as she snapped pictures. As more proof, Janice didn’t put the money into the cash safe. Instead, she stuffed it into her purse.

  And Ivy had it all on camera!

  Janice turned towards the door, obviously heading back out to the dining room and Ivy slipped away, pretending to grab ketchup as an excuse to be near the office when the others were off in a corner of the diner taking a lunch break.

  “What are you doing?” Janice snapped.

  Ivy lifted the ketchup over her head, wiggling the bottle in answer as she continued to walk away.

  Sitting down in the booth, she plunked the ketchup in the center, then looked down at the meal Tony had cooked. Grilled cheese and soup? Oops! Ketchup wasn’t needed here, but Ivy just went with it.

  Thankfully, Janice didn’t come over to their booth, just continued around the dining room, looking for…something. Probably chores that needed to be completed. But the three of them had worked together, ensuring that they’d have a quiet half hour for lunch. It was three o’clock and all of them had been on their feet since five o’clock this morning. Yeah, they were legally entitled to a fifteen minute break during every four hours and a half hour shift. But they all knew that
Janice didn’t adhere to the law. She knew the desperation prevalent in LowPoint and could hire a new person in a minute. Because even the docked pay on the remaining tips were higher pay than what a lot of the people earned in town.

  “I can’t wait until tonight,” Marilee groaned as she took a bite out of her grilled cheese, moaning as the luscious flavor hit her. “Oh, this is good!”

  “Try the soup. My basil plant is thriving and I put some in this batch.”

  The ladies all took a taste, then closed their eyes as the flavors hit them. “Tony, you’re a genius!” they said.

  He grinned, then tasted it himself, nodding with approval. “Yeah, this one’s a winner.”

  “All of your meals are winners, Tony,” Marilee gushed. Marilee was the nicest of the three, but also the shyest and the most often targeted by Janice. Ivy, Daisy and Tony did their best to protect Marilee, but it was tough. Marilee was sweet and kind. She wanted to believe in the goodness of everyone. She was also the curviest, looking like a nineteen fifties pinup model with the smile and the blue eyes to match.

  Janice wasn’t someone to be trusted. It was dangerous. Ask Mindy who was sitting a jail cell, facing possibly a six months sentence plus fines that she wouldn’t be able to pay.

  “The menus need to be cleaned!” Janice yelled from behind the counter.

  Daisy rolled her eyes. “Fifteen minutes,” she groaned. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a full thirty minutes for lunch?”

  The four of them stood up and cleared the table, grumbling, but they also knew that Janice would lash out at them with additional cleaning duties if they didn’t start moving immediately. No one wanted to clean the toilets and the floors after clocking out.

  By five o’clock, the dinner rush started as a trickle, but by six, every seat in the diner was filled and there was a line of hungry truckers out the door. Everyone was hopping, and Ivy waited. She saw the tip money on the table, and, before she could get to it, Janice was there. Instead of hurrying, Ivy hid behind some coats on a hook and slipped her phone out of her apron. She got a picture of Janice walking towards the table with the tip in the foreground. The next picture captured Janice’s fingers on the money and the next one was with Janice walking away, sliding the tip money into her pocket. Luckily, Ivy was able to get a photo of the edge of the money in Janice’s hand right before it disappeared into the woman’s apron pocket.

  Caught!

  Ivy walked by Daisy. “Cover my tables for a moment,” she whispered. Daisy nodded without question as Ivy followed Janice back to the office. Sure enough, she got more pictures of Janice stuffing the stolen tip into her purse. The woman was simply evil!

  Tony tossed ten burgers onto the grill as he watched Ivy follow Janice. He knew that Ivy would be careful, but his muscles still tensed. He didn’t want Ivy to be caught. Janice would fire his friend on the spot, and this wasn’t an economy in which one wanted to be unemployed. Especially if Janice badmouthed Ivy to other potential employers. And yeah, Janice was the kind of person who would say bad things to other employers, even if they weren’t true. Janice was truly malicious to anyone that crossed her. And moving to a new job would be considered treachery in Janice’s mind.

  He shook some spices over the burgers, flipped several sandwiches, ladled soup into three bowls and tossed battered chicken breasts into the fryer, all the while, watching Ivy to make sure that she wasn’t caught.

  With a sigh of relief, he watched Ivy sneak back into the dining room, slipping her cell phone into her pocket. She winked at him as she picked up six plates of food, balancing them all carefully in her hands and on her arms. How those women carried so much was a mystery. Tony considered himself lucky if he carried two plates to a table without spilling half the food.

  After working with these three women for a year, he knew that he loved them. Not like a man loves a woman, but…like a big brother, even though he was the youngest of the bunch. Daisy was the toughest of them and everyone assumed that she was cold and unapproachable. But Daisy was also the first one to sneak a meal to someone, or give them her tip money so they could buy cold medicine. Her heart wasn’t cold. Not in any way. In fact, just the opposite. It was probably too big and so she thought she had to hide it from the world. If Daisy cared about a person, she considered them family. And in Daisy’s world, she cared about everyone. She saw the good in people even when they didn’t see it themselves.

  And Ivy…damn, that woman was funny! She was sarcastic and witty and saw things about the world that no one else did. She viewed the world with her own lenses. Tony loved hearing her perspective on various issues because she was thoughtful and careful. And smart as a whip!

  Marilee…well, she was just too sweet. If Marilee were a drink, she’d cause cavities. He knew that others tended to dismiss her because she had flighty ideas at times, but Marilee had a good heart and a smile for everyone. Janice was harder on Marilee, because the bitter manager knew an easy target when she saw one. Janice stole Marilee’s tips, docked her pay for ridiculous reasons, and forced Marilee to do the hardest clean-up jobs. Tony, Daisy and Ivy tried to shield Marilee as much as possible, but Janice still made the sweet woman’s life miserable.

  Several hours later, they slipped out the back door. “No moans and groans, ladies and gent,” Daisy commanded. “We have a celebration!”

  Ivy and Marilee each grabbed one of Tony’s arms, leading him towards Daisy’s car.

  “You ladies don’t need to do this,” he insisted, pulling back slightly.

  “Don’t even try it!” Daisy said and stepped behind the threesome, adding her hands to his back in order to shove him towards her beat up, old car. “We’re celebrating! You turned twenty-one today. This is a major milestone in your life!”

  “Yeah but…”

  Ivy laughed and opened the passenger door of the vehicle. “We’re celebrating!”

  The ladies laughed and danced with excitement as they shoved him into the car. But all three of them knew that they wouldn’t be able to get him anywhere if he truly didn’t want to go. He was just too big.

  When he was finally settled, the three ladies danced their way around the car to their own seats. It took several tries, but eventually, Daisy’s old beat up Pinto finally started up. “And we’re off!” Marilee yelled excitedly.

  They cranked up the radio, almost getting more music than static, and laughed on the drive in to Louisville. “Ivy, you’re getting the wine, right?”

  “I’m on it!” Ivey said, lifting her hands as if she were a prize fighter.

  Marilee jumped out of the back seat as soon as Daisy pulled up outside of the small grocery store. “I know my task,” she added and headed into the store.

  Daisy turned to Tony. “Stay here,” she told him, pointing her finger at him and giving him a glare.

  He laughed. “Why can’t I come in too?”

  “Because if you come in, you’ll try and contribute money to the party and this is your birthday party,” she explained. “Besides, you don’t get tips. We have cash from the day, so just sit tight.”

  With that warning, she slipped out of the car as well.

  All three women headed in different directions, each with a specific assignment. When they had wine, cheese and crackers, they met up at the cash register, combining their tips to pay for the celebration food. “Got it!” Daisy yelped, clapping her hands with relief. “And a few coins left over.”

  The cashier rang up the items while Marilee browsed through the items near the exit. Her soft, blue eyes spotted the necklaces immediately, always loving pretty things. Her hand reached out, her fingers trailing along the ends of the crystals as her eyes read the sign. “Lucky charms,” it read. “Nothing is more powerful for good luck than a crystal.”

  Biting her lower lip, she glanced over at her friends, even Tony who had slipped into the store despite Daisy’s warning to stay away. He shoved his hands into his pockets, offering up the small amount of change he had, willing to contribute.r />
  He was such as sweet guy, she thought. He didn’t make tips and Janice docked his pay for stupid reasons, although not as often as the bitter woman stole from her.

  She turned back to the crystals, wanting desperately to give her friends something in return for their friendship. Marilee was completely aware of all the times the three of them had protected her from Janice’s wrath. With a determined look, she picked up four of the prettiest crystals and carried them over to the cash register. “I want these,” she announced, and pulled out her stash of emergency money.

  Daisy immediately understood what was happening and shook her head. “Honey, don’t spend your emergency stash on something silly.”

  Marilee only smiled. “They are special. Crystals bring good luck.”

  Tony laughed. “Marilee, these are just cheap plastic pieces. They won’t give anyone good luck.”

  She shook her head. “You’ll see. They’re special.”

  Before they could stop her, she handed over the money. The cashier, obviously realizing that his sale was in jeopardy, hurriedly put the cash away and counted back change.

  “If they’re good luck, then why don’t we buy a lottery ticket?” Tony suggested.

  Daisy rolled her eyes. “That’s just a regressive tax,” she told the four of them. “Let’s go. We have stars to watch.”

  “What in the world is a regressive tax?” Ivy asked.

  “It’s a tax where poor people, like us, pay more in taxes than the rich people.”

  The three of them blinked, so Daisy continued. “The state has this lottery, but it’s the poor people who buy the lottery tickets, hoping to make it big. We’re poor. We’re standing here at nine o’clock at night, hoping that tomorrow we’ll be rich. But that’s just not going to happen.” They continued to stare at her and Daisy knew that she’d lost the battle. So she smothered her sigh and shook her head. With a smile, she threw up her hands and gave in. “But you know what? It’s fun to dream. So let’s do it. Everyone in?”