Page 14 of Small Town Beast 2: Saverin's Duet

“WE WON!” Gwen screamed at the top of her lungs. “WE WON THE LOTTERY!”

Her friend Tanya Weaver said nothing at all. At the revelation Tanya had collapsed on Gwen’s couch. Her fist still gripped the lottery ticket. Tanya’s brown skin could never be said to turn pale, but catching her own reflection in a bejeweled mirror showed the white face of a haint.

Gwen dropped to her knees and hollered at the top of her lungs, “THANK YOU, JESUS! AMEN!”

Tanya just didn’t understand it. It had to be wrong. Itwaswrong. The people had simply made a mistake.

“Tanya,” came a voice to her left. Tanya ignored it. The fact of the matter was that stuff like that didn’t actually happen to people like her. She was a broke waitress from Southwest Virginia. Struggle was her middle name. This was actually, for real,crazy.

“Tanya!”

Tanya looked at the ticket for the fiftieth time. 5, 10, 12, 62, 34, 8. It was a miracle, but it was also a big mistake. In the first place, she hadn’t evenboughtthis ticket herself. So there was no point getting her hopes up. There was probably some law aboutbeinggifteda lottery ticket versus buying it yourself. The world was like that. It got your hopes up just to shoot them into the sun.

So, she had to do the right thing and give the ticket back to its rightful owner. No point working herself up over nothing. No point pretending that she was actually worth– how much was it again? The numbers flashed on the TV. A smiling hostess said,If you think you’ve won, contact our Virginia office at…

Tanya shuddered.I will not throw up.

“Tanya. You alright?” somebody asked.

“I have to give this ticket back to Gwendolyn,” Tanya said out loud, speaking for the first time in twenty minutes. “Here, Gwen. Congratulations. I’m really happy for you.”

Gwen, her boyfriend Rory, and Tanya’s boyfriend Saverin, all stared at her like she’d grown a second head. Gwen stopped leaping around the trailer. She drew herself up to her full height. “Tanya Weaver, what the hell are you talking about?” she demanded.

“I’m giving you back your ticket.”

Gwen slapped her hand away. Hard. “I already have a ticket. Remember? Now you listen to me, Tanya. I gave you that ticket ‘cause I wanted usbothto win. I’m not so greedy I’d demand it back just to double my winnings. What the hell do you take me for? We won together, fair and square.”

Tanya burst into tears.

Strong arms wrapped around her– that would be Saverin. She didn’t know up from down anymore.

“Oh darlin’, my darlin’, it’s okay,” he said. He sat on Gwen’s couch and pulled her into his arms. Saverin smelled amazing– like smoke and leaves and a wild southern wind. He was warm, too, which helped because Gwen’s trailer was freezing.

“I don’t b-believe it,” Tanya blubbered into his chest.

“Oh honey I’m so happy for you, but don’t cry, don’t cry,” Saverin said.

Gwen started crying too, and so did her boyfriend Rory, which made Gwen stop crying and shout, “Get us some drinks, Rory, bejeezus! We’re all gonna get drunk!”

“That’s a great idea,” said Saverin. “But secure those damned tickets before you go painting your noses.”

Tanya stuffed her ticket in her bra immediately. “R-right.”I will get drunk,she decided. But then she remembered something. An argument she and Saverin had been having just a couple hours before. Reality circled back.Nevermind.She wiped the tears off her cheeks. “I’ll just have some orange juice, Gwen.”

Rory halted in his tracks. “Did she just say she wanted an orange juice?”

“Ignore her,” Gwen sniffed, mopping her eyes on her T-shirt. “Tanya’s being funny right now. Maybe it’s shock. Next she’ll start speakin’ Chinese.”

“No! It’s not shock. I just remembered I might be…you know…” Tanya gestured to Saverin.

“What, he won’t let you drink?” Gwen said incredulously.

“No! Of course not. I might be pregnant.”

Gwen screamed. “TANYA! TANYA! YOU’RE PREGNANT!”

“Lord’s sake, girl,” Saverin snapped.

Tanya swished her hands in front of her in ano-no-noexpression. “Imightbe. I’m not sure. I couldn’t get a damned pregnancy test.” She avoided Saverin’s eye. “It was like trying to find hen’s teeth down in Rowanville. So I just can’t take the risk.”

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