Lucky Girl by Jamie Pacton (novels for beginners txt) 📕

Of course, it’ll take a while to process, and taxes will have to come out, so this is entirely symbolic for now. But the money is yours.”

I clutch the slip of paper, feeling a huge sense of relief. It was always our plan that she’d give me the money, but I wasn’t sure she’d actually go through with it. “Can I buy a car? And maybe get you a new truck?”

Mom laughs. “Yes. You can buy whatever you want. I know it’s a lot of responsibility and a lot of money, but I trust you to do the right thing with it. All I ask is that you finish high school. Then you can do with your life as you want. And I’ll be here to support you as best I can.”

My hand trembles as I hold up the slip. “Are you sure you want to give me all of it?” It was part of the plan, but suddenly it seems unfathomable that all this money is mine.

Mom nods. “I’m absolutely sure. It was your ticket in the first place, and I’ve got a lot of my own stuff to figure out. In case you haven’t noticed.” She gestures to the house and the yard. “But I was thinking we could start by unlocking our bedroom doors and trying to tell each other things. Maybe we could even to do some things in the world together.”

“I’d like that,” I say. And that’s the truth.

She gives me another hug. “Now, go get ready. We’re meeting your grandma and Doris soon. Doris has been calling me all day, and I told her I’d treat her to a fancy dinner and explain things.”

I hug Mom again and then head up to my room. I’m still stunned that the millions of dollars are mine, but I’m also absolutely ready for wherever this ticket will take me.

EPILOGUE

Dear Dad,

I think this will be the last message I ever send you. Not because I won’t be thinking about you, but because I’m working really hard to live in the present and look to the future. I miss you. I will every day, and I’ll never stop wishing we’d had more time together. But I’ve got to live my life without you in it, and I’m finding a way to be okay with that. Though it still sucks.

I’m sure Mom has told you some of the things that have happened, but seven months have passed since I won the lottery and Mom turned in the ticket and gave me the money. I’m now filthy rich and trying to be smart about it. I graduated high school a few weeks ago, which was both exciting and anticlimactic. As I suspected it would be, given the fact that the last year has been so weird and exciting and terrible. School wasn’t always easy, but people got a lot kinder toward me when they realized how I was going to spend some of my (well, officially Mom’s) winnings.

I guess I should tell you what I did with them:

After I got the money, I gave a huge chunk of it to Bran. He’s been here for it all, and he’s the best friend I could hope for. Then I put half of my portion aside in investments and savings, so I can live on that for the rest of my life. I gave Mom and Grandma both a few million, and I took the rest and gave it away. I donated a bunch of money to Sylvia Earle’s ocean fund, and I set up a trust for other charitable donations in the future. I also funded a bunch of GoFundMe campaigns from the Lakesboro Facebook group, paid off people’s medical bills, and helped set up some scholarships. I sent Bea and Cheryl, the witch couple I met at the Harvest Festival, enough for an amazing vacation, and I even threw a huge party for my entire senior class. It was really fun, and though I certainly don’t see myself as some kind of savior, I’m glad I could at least I could do a little bit of good with this money.

Mom’s doing well. At least I think so, and Grandma is keeping an eye on her. Mom has been in therapy for months, and she quit her job at the storage place (Doris was super sad to see her go and also baffled that she didn’t tell her about the ticket, but they’re still besties). Also—hallelujah—Mom cut off all her grief hair. So that’s a good thing. She has also cleaned up some of the house—really, she has. We video chatted the other day, and she took me on a tour. You wouldn’t even believe it was the same house as before. (The hallway is clear, and all toys in the yard are gone!) Mom also used part of her lotto money to buy that old abandoned grocery store in town. She’s been fixing it up and will open it later this year as a play area, community center, and trampoline park for kids of all ages and their families. I’m proud of her. She’s no longer collecting people’s memories but rather helping them make new ones. You’ll like this, Dad: Mom’s calling the center Daniel’s Place, after you. Which makes me cry a little bit every time I say it.

I’m living in Maui now—I took the first plane out of here the day after graduation. Actually, Mom, Grandma, and I came here in December over Christmas, and I bought a condo on the beach. (Just like that, cash sale, it was incredible.) I love watching the sunset every night, and I’m learning to surf. I’m also volunteering at the humpback sanctuary, and I’ll start a bachelor’s program in marine biology at the University of Hawaii in the fall. Which means I’ll move to Honolulu for that, but I’ll be back here in Maui every chance I get (especially to see the whale migrations in December and January!).

Mom worries