The Lottery (25 page)

“Yeah, I know, baby. My damned fault. I should never have bought
that stupid ticket, and I wouldn’t have, if I had known this is where this
whole mess would lead.”

Putting her head on Sam’s shoulder, she continued to weep. “He
hates me, Sam. I didn’t mean to hurt him, I never expected all this. But he
hates me, and I love him, and my heart hurts. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep. I
haven’t even washed my pillow cases, just so I can smell him when I do try to
sleep.”

Sam cradled Karlyn’s head, trying to quiet her, as many were
looking and listening.

Sam stiffened beside her. “Don’t look now, but your boy toy is
here.”

Karlyn looked up as Ethan rose from the seat he had at a table a
few feet away from them. As he walked towards the pair, there was a softness to
his face, unlike the last time she had spoken to him. So unlike the last
paintings Karlyn had painted with him as the subject.

Pressing Karlyn’s face up by the chin, Sam looked at her
squarely. “Buck up, baby. You are about to have a visitor and you need to look
less weepy.” Sam brushed her hair back, and dabbed at her tears with one of the
soft linen napkins on the table. Karlyn looked up; facing Ethan, she sat up
straighter and attempted to look less than the mess she felt inside.

“Sam. Karlyn.” He nodded at each, never taking his eyes off of
Karlyn.

Karlyn looked up to him, holding on to the table like her life
depended on it, and she looked down at the white knuckled grip she had on the
edge. “Good evening Ethan. So very nice to see you.” Tears glittered, but she
held them in check and prevented them from falling.

Pure longing seeped from her pores and almost drowned her. The
two had been apart for far too long, and it was clear she was still madly,
deeply in love him. The tension built, as neither spoke, but he just stared
into her eyes.

A sudden sigh escaped Ethan’s lips, and he softened further. He
was on the brink of saying something, Karlyn knew, and awaited his next words
with baited breath.

“I…” He stopped, apparently choosing his next words carefully,
and then giving his head a gentle shake. “It was nice to see you, Karlyn. Good
luck tomorrow in court.” With that, he turned to leave, and she silently
watched him retreat.

Shocked silence drifted over her, as Sam paid the check and they left
the restaurant. Sam pushed her friend into a waiting aerocab, and gave the
driver directions to the studio. Midway there a quiet sob was released, and
Karlyn rested her head on her friend’s shoulder.

“You do know he has been put back out into the lottery? I just
saw the press release this morning.”

Karlyn looked up, surprise filling her face. “So soon?”

“It has been two months since the whole fiasco erupted. They need
to recoup the losses they faced when women demanded their money back from the
last lottery.”

“I suppose so.” Unadulterated sadness covered Karlyn’s face. “I
guess I just hoped I would have a chance…I don’t know. Who the hell am I
fooling? Of course he needs to honor his obligations, and we both need to move
on.”

“You are both a bunch of fools.”

“What?”

“It is apparent he still has feelings for you. And you have spent
the better part of two months moping for the man, a man you love. You both had
the opportunity tonight to say it out loud, to come together and love each
other, and what did you do? You
both
blew it.”

“He told me how he felt at the funeral. I let him go. End of
story.”

“Bullshit. He is madly in love with you and it was etched all
over his face tonight. He was a coward and didn’t say it. The funeral – that
was just the pain talking, and you well know it.”

Karlyn looked out the window as the city zoomed by, making her
dizzy. A light of hope filled her. The aerocab stopped in front of Karlyn’s
stoop and she exited, turning to Sam. “Thank you for tonight. I will see you at
the courthouse at nine on the dot.”

****

The following morning, Evangeline picked her up from the same
stoop, along with four armed guards. Karlyn was unsure as to why the woman felt
such a show of force was needed, but she let it go. Evangeline felt she needed
to help for some reason, and Karlyn was in no mood to fight her on it. Once
they turned on to the street, working their way to the courthouse, Karlyn wondered
if four was enough.

A veritable madhouse, the media was having a field day. Rows and
rows of onlookers stood outside the courthouse, across the street, and lined
the street coming into the building. Throngs of people littered the stairs, and
as the aerocar finally made it to the front of the building, a thrust of bodies
to the vehicle actually made it list to one side.

Two guards exited first, wrestling the crowd to allow the pair to
exit, pushing forward so the other two guards took up the rear. Shoving their
way into the courthouse, every possible question, cheer, or insult made it to
her ears. Thinking the madness had stopped, she realized then that it had just
gone into hibernation for a while, and hoped she would get her life back after
today. Or at least after the media let it go.

It took them nearly twenty minutes to jostle their way up two
dozen steps into the front doors of the courthouse. After being verbally and
physically attacked just to get inside, Karlyn hoped she had the stamina to
deal with the proceedings. Once they arrived on the correct floor, they exited
the elevator, and walked towards the courtroom.

Stepping from the shadows, Ethan came into view. “Grandmother. Karlyn.”
He nodded, eyeing them both cautiously.

“Good morning Ethan.” Evangeline turned to Karlyn, and she
squeezed her arm. “I will see you inside.” She left, eyeing her grandson before
she walked away.

Turning towards each other, she glanced at him a moment before
staring down at the tiled floor, trying to gain her composure.

“You look well.” Karlyn wanted to kick herself for sounding so
stupid, but not being able to stand the silence any longer, she had to say
something.

“As do you.”

He was close enough for her to smell the faint crispness of his
cologne. Never wearing too much, he used just enough that she could revel in it
if she got close enough to catch a hint. Her nipples tightened simply from the
scent, and the remembrance of having him this close, the too few memories of his
hands on her body. She was reminded of her need, her desire for him, something
she had tried to bury deep within her but was doing poorly. This scent, and the
memories it brought back, was the sole reason she refused to wash his
pillowcase.

He kicked at an invisible pebble on the floor. Looking back up to
her, he sighed.

“I don’t blame you. Not anymore. I just thought you would want to
know that.” He kissed her chastely on the forehead and walked through the heavy,
wooden double doors into the courtroom.

****

“Karlyn Marie Bowman, as I stated at the beginning of this trial,
defrauding the lottery is a serious offense. Laws were put into place to govern
this system to prevent those incapable of financially or psychologically being
able to handle the pressure of having to maintain this type of relationship
from having access to the system. After hearing the testimony here in this
court today, I believe you were just a victim of circumstance, having been
given this ticket as a gift, from a friend who had your best interests at heart,
considering her testimony.

“This is by no means a decision I make lightly, as the safety and
security of the men in our community is one of the utmost goals we as keepers
of the peace work towards, but I feel the media attention, loss of
companionship, and the affect this whole circus has had on your life over the
last couple of months is punishment enough. I have chosen to drop all charges
against you and release you to your own recognizance. Court adjourned.”

The entire table jumped for joy, Sam moving forward to hug Karlyn
in congratulations. Others moved around her, patting her on her back, and she
quickly hugged her attorney, who had done an excellent job in defending her. Looking
over her shoulder, she caught sight of Ethan watching her as he stood up,
nodded his head in acknowledgment before leaving the courtroom.

She looked squarely at her attorney, “So, since I was freed of
the charges, can I buy a lottery ticket?”

****

“You are
insane!
”

“No I am
not!
”

Sam was red-faced and looked like she might explode. “You just
got the luckiest break, in like,
ever
,
and you want to throw your freedom away on another lottery ticket?”

“I already asked my attorney. Since I was freed of all charges, she
says I am free to purchase a ticket. With my recent sales, I have moved within
the income bracket allowing me to make a purchase.”

“But, the chances of you winning a second time, and for the
committee to allow you to take him, are a zillion to one.”

“If we are truly meant to be, he will come back to me. I know it.
What better way to find out if I need to move on or not. If fate brings us
together again, I will know we should be together forever.”

“Remember how I said you were a nut for believing in a Prince
Charming? You have gotten yourself all wrapped up in this fairy tale again. You
had a fun few months; you got a taste of love and sex and what a man and a
woman can be together. And now, you need to face reality once more.”

“Sam, I know what I am doing.”

“Between court and lawyers fees, this ticket will break you.”

“He is worth it.”

“You are nuts. But regardless, I love you, you big softy. Call me
tomorrow after you lose. I can be your shoulder.”

“I won’t lose.”

****

“Angelica Albright, you are our winner! You have won the United
Federation Lottery! We are here to congratulate you as well as introduce you to
your prize.” The sleazy announcer turned and motioned to someone behind the
group clustered around the door. “You have won one calendar year with a hot,
sexy man toy.”

A tall, handsome man approached Angelica and her knees wobbled,
but she didn’t fall down. He summoned up a very fake smile, but it was still
devastatingly handsome. The smile of course did not meet his emerald green
eyes, but they were still stunning to look at.

Karlyn looked at the vidscreen, realizing the surreal nature of
the moment. Angelica was having
her
moment, nearly swooning with delight, fawning all over Ethan. If Karlyn pulled
much harder at the pillow in her lap, she would rip it to pieces.

The creepy announcer just smiled and turned from Angelica and
faced the camera. “And there is our winner, Angelica Albright. She will now
enjoy a year of service from Ethan. The next winner could be you, so get out
there and buy your tickets now, ladies. And now back to the regularly scheduled
programming.”

Tears formed but never dropped. She had known deep in her heart
that if he was returned to her, that there was a happily ever after for her. For
them. Stunned, she looked at the screen without seeing anything, as the news
began.

“Yesterday, Ophelia Mack was in court to discuss her role in the
second defrauding case connected to the United Federation Lottery in the last
year. As many of you know, the first case was dropped recently, in which Karlyn
Bowman was acquitted of all fraud charges. Ms. Mack was involved in the first
case, giving inside information to the Lottery Committee about Ms. Bowman.

“According to court testimony, Ms. Mack interfered with lottery
officials and attempted to bribe those officials into allowing her to win Mr.
Spears. Ms Mack was the contracted owner of Mr. Spears nearly six years ago,
and it is unknown her reasons for the bribe.

“A verdict is expected within the next few days.

“Now on to the weather. Kristina, fall seems to be right around
the corner, but will this Indian summer ever end?”

Karlyn smiled to herself, the pain of her loss subsided a little
with seeing justice slapped on the evil witch. She began to laugh out loud,
until the laugh switched over to tears.

Chapter Twenty-One

The following year was good to Karlyn. With the help of her
grandmother and her adoptive grandmother, Evangeline, she was able to refocus
the media attention to shine on her career. Many had originally purchased her
work because of her notoriety, but soon, many began to truly see her talent and
gift. Her works began to show in prestigious art shows around the country, and
she spent much of the time traveling along with it.

Big money was spent on some of her grander pieces, but she still
tried to work on smaller commissions as they really were the bread and butter
of her existence. Weeks and months went by, a blur to her, as she numbed
herself to everything outside the art world. Pain was a great source of
inspiration it seemed, and she spent every waking moment painting or showing
her work, finding solace in her productivity.

Evangeline still stopped by from time to time to check on her. Apparently
adopting her as her new cause, she had refused to be repaid for bail or the
court and attorney fees, so Karlyn had re-invested all the money back into her
growing business. But she was able to grant Evangeline with a few prime pieces
of art, repaying her the only way she knew how.

Eventually, Karlyn was granted access to the Klimpt Gallery. She
had spent her entire life dreaming of the day she would show there. Downtown,
in the city she loved, she would finally fulfill her dream. Albeit, alone, but
she needed to be strong and stand on her own two feet.

Her thoughts always turned to Ethan during happy moments. The day
she got the call from the Klimpt, she jumped for joy, her heart soaring. She
would never again feel the happiness she felt in his arms, and each success
reminded her of that fact. She worked hard to forget him, but subtle things
reminded her of the love she had lost.