“This might be the tequila talking, but I love a good head massage, Lisa,” he said.
“Well, Tim.” She inched a little closer. “If you love a good head massage, I’m your girl.”
By the third tequila shot and the second head massage, she had his wedding ring, watch, and wallet. No kissing required.
“This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” Tim said, growing serious, unaware that anything was missing yet, clueless and happy.
“Thanks,” she said.
His hand was close to hers, and she let her pinky rub against his. “Where did you come from, Lisa?” His voice was husky.
“Wisconsin,” she replied. “I’m just a regular old girl from Wisconsin.”
“You are no regular girl.”
They gazed into each other’s eyes. “Come to my room,” she said. “Give me a five-minute head start so I can… slip into something more comfortable.” She giggled. “Sorry, cheesy, but true—and then meet me at room five-oh-five. I’ll leave the door open for you.”
“I can’t wait, Lisa. And I can’t believe my luck.”
She stood, grabbed her backpack, and sashayed from the bar, shooting one last come-hither look at his besotted face.
She took the elevator down to the lobby. In the restroom, she slid off her stilettos and dress, carefully peeled the lottery ticket from the inside of the skirt and put it back inside her bra, pulled a T-shirt over her head, and put on jeans and her baseball cap.
Outside the hotel, she could see the lights of the city bus. She put her head down and ran for it. She deposited her fare and sat down in a seat close to the back, her face turned away from the window, just in case.
The bus started moving. After a few blocks, she felt safe. She reached into the front pouch of the backpack and felt the cool metal there: his watch, wallet, and wedding ring. What was he going to tell his wife had happened to his stuff? Perhaps he’d tell her he’d been robbed. And he would never make this mistake again—and probably wouldn’t feel too guilty about it, either, because he had already paid for it. He had done something bad, or wanted to, at least—and something bad had happened to him in return.
He’d get over it.
The city bus traveled along the route she had checked earlier, until she could see the bright lights of the EZ Pawn. She walked in and laid the watch and the wedding band on the counter. The woman behind the register picked them up without a word and took them into a back room. She emerged a moment later. “We pay $23.50 per gram of 14K, $22 if you want cash on the spot. And this ring is six grams, so $141, or $132. And the watch you can put on consignment, and we’ll split $200 fifty/fifty with you. If you want cash for it now, we’ll give you $50. And hey, what about that necklace you’re wearing? That looks like it might be worth something.”
Lucky hesitated, then reached up to the back of her neck and unfastened the gold crucifix. She put it down on the counter. The woman took it to the back and returned a moment later. “Same deal, fifty/fifty on $200, or $50 here and now.”
Lucky snatched the necklace back. “I can’t,” she said. “But I’ll take cash for the others.”
The woman shrugged. “Okay. So, that’s $182 total,” she said, counting out cash. With the two hundred from the man’s wallet, and the hundred dollars she had managed to keep hidden from the man who had robbed her, Lucky now had almost five hundred dollars.
She walked outside and stood in front of the pawn shop, refastening the necklace that had belonged to her mother. Finding her mother someday wasn’t a dream she was giving up on, she realized. Especially not now, when she needed the family she didn’t have more than ever. Lucky had no idea where to begin looking for her, she never had—but she was not going to allow the hope that she might find her someday die.
Lucky started walking, headed back toward the train station. If her timing was right, she would reach San Quentin by morning, and walk straight into the last place she wanted to be.
May 1993
BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON
When Lucky and Steph returned home one evening, after a Saturday spent playing with their friends, John and Darla were in the backyard arguing. Lucky froze. What if Darla had found out the truth? “Maybe we should go back,” Lucky said. “Give them a minute…”
“No way. It’s pitch dark now. I’ll be grounded.”
“Yeah,” Lucky said, still hesitating at the gate. “But—”
Her father’s voice rose up in the darkness. “She’s my daughter, and I’ll decide which doctor she goes to. She has her regular appointment in two weeks’ time, and I’m taking her, and Darla, you don’t need to worry—”
“I’m not worried about you going on a road trip, Virgil, I’m worried about Andi! She needs to be observed more frequently than once every few months, by a doctor in a different state. I’m telling you I’ll pay for it. You don’t have to worry about money. You’re here now—I want to take care of you, of both of you. Why won’t you let me?”
Silence. The sound of crickets. A door slamming, which Lucky realized was Steph’s back door. Her father was done talking, apparently. In the darkness, Darla sat alone on the deck, head bowed.
“He can be such a jerk,” Lucky told Steph, holding on to the gate as if letting go would cause her to fall backward. She could already feel it all slipping through her fingers. She thought that maybe they would leave that night, that her father would wake her and they would steal away. She had tears in her eyes when she looked at Steph. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“For what? You haven’t done anything wrong,” Steph said, reaching for Lucky’s arm. “I know your dad says it’s all fine, but you must be so scared some days, scared that it’s all just going to…”