Tony Lombard wore a dimpled smile bigger than the one his daughter had been struggling to suppress since yesterday. He was a tall man, taller than me by at least a couple of inches and very thick set. His face was full of red blotches from years of alcohol abuse and he looked much older than he actually was. He looked like a man in his 60’s but Jessie had told me her parents were still in their 40’s.
“Daddy, you shaved!” Jessie said, hugging him at the front door to their flat.
“I did indeed and I see you did something weird to your hair.” said Tony. He kissed her on the head and turned his attention to me. “This must be the fine young man you have been telling me about.”
“Hi Mr. Lombard, I’m Danny.’ I said, offering my hand.
“Just call me Tony.” he replied, his handshake as firm as a lifelong tradesman’s. “Really pleased to meet you, Daniel.”
“I prefer Dan, or Danny.” I said, smiling back at him.
We walked into the flat and Tony took up his position in his usual chair that was surrounded by cigarette burns in the carpet. He reached for his pack of 30’s Rothmans on a small side table next to the chair and offered me one. I declined. Not because I didn’t want a smoke but because those Rothmans were like smoking rags soaked in diesel. Way too strong for me.
“Wow, so you kids won the bloody jackpot. I can’t believe it.” he said, exhaling what looked like a cumulonimbus cloud of smoke into the room after he lit up.
“Neither can we, Daddy.” Jessie said. She was holding my hand on the couch we’d sat down on. “Thank you so much for lending me the car, it’s like it was pre-destined or something.”
“Yes, thanks so much, Tony.” I added.
“Not a problem.” he said. “So, I’m sure your minds are all over the place thinking about what you’re going to do next.”
“Pretty much.” I replied. “I haven’t been home yet and I still need to call my boss to tell him I won’t be coming in again. I’m really looking forward to doing that.” I smiled just thinking about the reactions my colleagues were likely to have when I walked into the office and told them I was a multi-millionaire. He wasn’t a bad guy, my boss, but he was as pedantic as a meter maid handing out parking tickets on a rugby match day outside the stadium. I wondered how he would react knowing that his underling was now richer than he could ever hope to be.
“I called my boss this morning too and told him I wasn’t coming in. I didn’t say why though.” said Tony.
“You don’t ever have to go in again, Daddy.” said Jessie. “Consider yourself retired. The Lombards are no longer working class.” She chuckled as she looked at me and then back to her Dad.
Tony smiled and took another drag of his cigarette, his eyes were warm but they also reflected a pain that was difficult to put into words.
“I think the best thing to do is to just get out of town for a few weeks, clear our heads and then think about our next moves.” I said. “I can’t say that I want to just stop working, but at least with this money I can find something to do that won’t see me doing stupid shit wasting it all.”
“Jess tells me you work in the bank. I’m sure you’ll know a few good financial advisors.” Tony said.
“Oh ya, for sure. I’m probably going to get inundated with calls from them as soon as the word gets out.”
“Danny, would you like a coffee?” Jessie asked.
“Yes please.” I smiled back at her.
“Daddy, you going to have one too?”
Tony said no, he had just had some tea before we arrived. With Jessie out of the room he fixed his gaze on me, a slight smile on his recently shaven face.
“How long have you known my Jess?” he asked. He obviously didn’t remember me. I looked up at the ceiling and pretended to think about it.
“It feels like I’ve known Jess forever. We were in the same class at primary school until we went to high school. I used to live in the building, on the sixth floor.” I said.
Tonys brow furrowed as he tried to place me in his memory. Slowly his face relaxed again as he connected the dots.
“Oh yes, of course. I remember you now. Henry Peterson’s boy, right? Didn’t you play soccer down at the club back in the day?”
“I did. Full back and then left wing. I really missed playing soccer when I had to go to high school. And yes, Henry is my old man.”
“I think I remember seeing you playing a game or two. You were quite good as I recall.” Tony said. “One of my good mate’s kid used to play on your team so we’d watch some of the youngsters’ games before ours. Maybe you remember him, his name was José.”
“Da Silva?”
“Yes, that’s him. Scrawny little bugger, but he could dribble the ball like a Brazilian.” Tony laughed. We spoke for a while about the neighbourhood kids who were always down at the soccer ground trying out for the club teams.
Jess came back into the room with two mugs of coffee.
“My Dad was the goalie for the seniors.” she said, handing me one of the mugs. “This is yours, Dan – it has the two sugars. Sweetie pie.”
Tony spent the next hour telling us about his days playing keeper for the local club. They didn’t ever win any major trophies, but he did once get approached by a bigger professional team who wanted him to join their club. He would have done it but Jessie’s mom wasn’t prepared to move to another province, so he declined the offer. He stared at the carpet for a few moments after telling us that story, his eyes sad again.
I broke the uncomfortable silence that ensued and said that I should be getting home. Jessie walked me to the door and said she would come over to my place a little later on. She wanted to spend some time alone with her Dad and process the events of the weekend. I kissed her goodbye at the door and made my way down the street back home.
While I was walking back the magnitude of what had transpired in the past 24 hours was still swimming around in my mind. I was going to have to make some pretty heavy decisions in the weeks ahead, especially about my own personal future. What was that going to look like? It was only a couple of months until my 26th birthday and I didn’t have to work another day in my life if I didn’t want to. I could do anything I wanted with the winnings. I could take care of my parents, even though they would never take money from me for anything. This was a different situation though. This was a stroke of good fortune that could have happened to any of us. I didn’t consider it an accomplishment at all. I viewed it as a reset. It was like landing on the ladder square that takes you to the top row in a game of snakes and ladders. You just bypass all the turmoil and uncertainty of all the other levels and enjoy the good fortune you’ve been allocated. You’ve basically won the game.
I was approaching my building when I noticed a car parked near the entrance open a passenger door. A blonde woman in her mid thirties got out, her gaze firmly fixed on me.
“Hello.” she said. “Are you Danny Peterson?”
“I am. Who might you be?” I asked.
“Hi Danny, my name is Eleanor McEvans. I’m a reporter with the Daily News.” she stuck out her hand in my direction.
Oh shit, I thought. News certainly travels fast. I cautiously offered my hand as the driver of the car also got out and joined us, a giant camera was dangling from a strap on his shoulder.
“We heard from the casino PR department that you and your girlfriend had won a huge jackpot, so we’d love to do a piece on you for the newspaper. Can we come in and have a chat? It’s just me and my photographer James here.” He offered his hand which I shook somewhat apprehensively. I didn’t know how to respond, but I knew from common knowledge that inviting the media into your life for anything seldom had a good outcome.
“Um , uh…” I stammered. “I am not sure right now, Eleanor. I literally just got back an hour ago and I am a bit frazzled, to be honest. I also don’t think I want a million people I don’t know from Adam pitching up here asking for handouts if they find out where I live.”
“We’d never publish your address.” she said. “We really just want to ask you about the experience and what your plans for the future are. In other words, what are you planning to do with all that money?”
“Sure, I get that but seriously, I can’t even think about what to have for lunch right now, let alone what I am going to do in the future. Maybe we can schedule something for tomorrow, or the day after once I’ve had a chance to settle down?”
I just wanted to get inside my flat so I started walking towards the stairs. She followed me through the foyer like she’d been invited in.
“It’ll just be a few minutes, Danny. I promise.”
I stopped at the first step and turned towards her. “Look Eleanor, I understand you are just trying to do your job, but please… understand that I value my privacy, so no interview now, okay? If I change my mind I will be in touch with you. Do you have a card?”
This seemed to stop her. She’d probably already decided in her reporter brain that following me up to my front door uninvited was perfectly okay, but now I was saying no and being assertive but still leaving the door open. She wasn’t expecting that.
Who knew how long she and the photographer had been parked outside my building waiting for me? And how did she know what I looked like? She fumbled through a large woven grass handbag she was carrying, eventually fishing out a metal tin that she unfolded to reveal her business cards with the familiar Daily News logo on them. She handed me a card. I looked at it and under her name was the title Junior Reporter. This was obviously a big scoop for her.
“Please call me, Danny. I promise you I would never betray your privacy. I really need this story.” she said with a well practiced smile.
“Okay, sure. I will give you a call tomorrow once I have had a chance to unwind. Promise.”
I turned away and started back up the stairs to the third floor. She was still standing in the same place when I reached my front door and looked out over the courtyard.
She waved and shouted up in my direction. “Congratulations, Danny. I’ll be waiting for your call.”
I waved back tentatively and unlocked my front door. The familiar smell of home relaxed me almost right away. If I had a phone installed I would have called Jessie to warn her about this Eleanor reporter because I was pretty sure she would simply head over to her building and try her luck there after getting nowhere with me.
How dare the casino just give our address to the newspapers? Fortunately for Jessie the building she stayed in had recently installed an access control intercom system, so Eleanor wouldn’t be able to simply waltz up to her front door and put her on the spot. But she might still try buzzing the flat or sneaking in when somebody else came in or went out. Damn it. I had to warn Jessie somehow. I could go to the callbox but then I might have had to engage with her again if she was still staking me out.
Then I remembered that my neighbours Dave and Jenny had a phone. I’d ask them if they wouldn’t mind if I used their phone for a quick call. I would pay them of course. I still had the little leather bag full of cash with me. I unzipped it and pulled out a R10 note, stuck it in my pocket and went to knock on their door.
Jenny came to the door, not wearing much in the way of clothing, just a weird set of hippie dungarees covered in paint splotches, the front flap barely hiding her boobs.
“Hey lover boy.” she smiled. “You kids having fun next door?”
“Yo Dan!” came Dave’s voice from deeper inside the flat. “You not at work today?”
“Hey guys, I just need to ask you a big favour and then I will explain the crazy weekend I’ve just had. Can I please use your phone to make a quick call to my girlfriend? I promise I won’t be more than a minute, happy to pay for the call.” I held up the money.
“Of course you can use the phone, dear boy. You don’t have to pay for it.” Jenny said. “Besides, I don’t have change for ten bucks.”
“I won’t need any change.” I said. She waved me into their bohemian domain. It was furnished in futons and scatter cushions, macrame tapestries, house plants and dream catchers seemingly hanging from everywhere. UB40 was playing softly in the background and I caught a whiff of incense coming from somewhere.
“Phone’s just outside the kitchen.” she said, sashaying back to the living room. She sat down on a large cushion in front of a small easel where she was painting something. Dave had the morning newspaper spread out in front of him. He was doing a crossword.
I remembered I didn’t know Jessie’s number by heart yet.
“Oh, do you have a phone book by any chance?” I asked.
“On top of the fridge.” They said in unison.
Once I had looked up her number I called it and Jessie answered after a couple of rings.
“Hey babe, listen. There’s a reporter from the daily news who was just here at my place wanting to do an interview. I said no for now, but I think she will probably come over to your place and try to get you to agree, so if she does just tell her that we’ll call her tomorrow, okay?”
“Sure, thanks for the heads up, Danny. I will see you a bit later on. Dad’s gotten quite emotional about Mom, so I am just gonna stay with him for a while.”
“No problem.” I said. “Maybe we should all go out for dinner tonight. What do you think? Will it cheer him up?”
“That’s a good idea. Where should we go?”
“I’m sure we’ll think of something.” I said.
After I ended the call I turned towards the lounge. Dave and Jenny were both looking at me curiously.
“Thanks so much, guys. Really appreciate it. Now I’m sure you want to know why there was a reporter here wanting to interview me.”
“Get your arse in here and spill the beans.” said Dave, pointing to a spare futon. “Sit. Want something to drink?”
“No thanks, I just had a cup of coffee and I don’t think I should have anymore for a while – still on a bit of a wild buzz from the weekend.”
“Oh boy, this sounds juicy. What have you been up to?” he asked.
I sat down and told them the story. Their faces morphed from curious to shock and then total disbelief.
“Get the fuck out of here.” Dave said first. “You won how much?”
I told them again. He looked at Jenny and in his dry Doctor humour said “You did buy Dan a nice Christmas present last year, right, Jen?”
We all laughed.
“Well congratulations, chap.” he went on to say. “I think it’s congratulations, but I just have to wonder about whether this is a good thing or a curse. I have heard of a few people who suddenly come into great big pots of money going completely off the rails, so I hope this isn’t going to happen to you. You’re going to need some good people in your corner, especially to bat away the snakes who are definitely going to come slithering your way.”
“I know.” I said. “I have a bit of a plan coming together in my head. I just need to talk to a few people at the bank who can help me get it properly invested, you know. Obviously I want to spend and enjoy a bit too, but yes, I know those riches to rags stories quite well.”
“I’m sure you’re going to be in good hands, Dan.” said Jenny, her breasts now agonisingly close to popping out of the dungarees as she adjusted her position on the cushion.
“Thanks guys. Look, I hate to be rude but I really need to lie down and rest for a bit. I haven’t had a full night’s sleep since sometime last week. I’ll see myself out, don’t get up.” I was more concerned about seeing Jenny suffer an embarrasing wardrobe malfunction than being polite.
“Gotcha buddy.” said Dave, turning his attention back to his newspaper. Jenny waved as I left. I put the cash note on the table with the telephone on it as I walked out and closed their door. They were an awesome couple.
Back inside my place I stripped off the new clothes and lay down on the bed. Pretty soon I was fast asleep.
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