365 Days (Part 2) | ✓

357. Gamble

357. Gamble: Be inspired by a casino or lottery ticket.

"I-I won," he said in disbelief, his eyes looking back and forth between the numbers in the newspaper and the ticket. They matched. They actually matched, and no matter how many times he kept checking them, they still kept matching. Forty years of playing the lotto and he had never won, until today. Until today, December 27. Until today, sitting at the breakfast table in his plaid pajama pants and cheap sleeping t-shirt.

"I won!" he said, louder, his stunned irises moving up to look at his wife across the table. She was perusing one of her many cookbooks, and it was a moment before she registered his words.

"Won?" she questioned, taking off her reading glasses.

"I won," he said for the third time, holding up his lottery ticket. He had bought it at the gas station around the corner, like he always did when he had to refill his tank. It had just been a dollar, but his wife always shook her head and called it foolishness and a waste of money. He didn't see the harm... especially now that his numbers matched up.

She stared at it. Slowly and then all at once, a light of understanding appeared in her eyes. She gasped. "You won? But -- oh my gosh!"

It was almost too much to fathom. He had won. They would be rich. In this tiny moment, something shifted.

A wide grin split his face. Everyone likes to come out on top, and he just did. Maybe he could retire. Maybe he could buy a yacht and sail to Spain! Anything was possible.

"How much?" she asked.

"How much?" he repeated, coming down from his dreams. He checked the paper again. There was a list of tickets that had won, and as he ran down the list and found his own number, his smile wilted.

"What is it?" his wife asked. "False alarm? Did you get the numbers wrong?"

He sighed and set his ticket down. It had been precious a second ago. "No, I won alright," he said glumly. "I won ten dollars."