Did I Mention I Won The Lottery? Read online

  More bags were unpacked in the kitchen from the beautiful, such as the delicate crystal champagne goblets that had caught Rebecca’s eye, to the practical such as the state of the art spice rack that held every spice she could possibly need and more.

  She boiled the kettle, a stainless steel retro version that had made Rebecca gasp when she saw the price and filled the cream ceramic caddy full of teabags before making herself a cup in one of the pretty new china mugs. Daniel always said china was a waste of time, too hard to keep clean, too easy to chip and break, pretty but pointless. Rebecca had always loved the feel of proper china and now a selection of pretty flowered mugs sat in one of the cupboards.

  Curling up on one of the raspberry settees she held the mug of steaming tea in her hands and gazed out onto the garden. It was far too cold to go out and explore and she hadn’t really seen much of it when she first viewed the house with Annie. Perhaps she should ask the gardener to stay on. She liked gardening but there were trees to prune and grass to cut, it might be too much for her to keep on top off herself. Her daydreams were stopped short by the ringing of the doorbell and for the next few hours Rebecca didn’t have time to think about anything as she directed beds to various rooms, made copious cups of tea for various shivering delivery drivers and unpacked feverishly as box after box of items arrived at the door. It was 5.00pm before she finally stopped. Her back was aching, her knees sore, her shoulders tight but Rebecca was probably the happiest she had been in years. It was dark outside, the sun had barely made it out all day and now it had disappeared altogether and Rebecca could hear the wind howling through the trees. But the house was aglow with warmth and light. She had figured out the lighting system along with the switches that closed the curtains but for now she was happy to leave the windows uncovered. The contrast between her beautiful warm house and the cold April evening was one she was enjoying. The bedrooms were finished. Beds, quilts, mountains of soft down pillows, warm cuddly throws, all were in place. The new TV stood in the living room and the kitchen cupboards were full of pans of every size and shape and an entire new dinner service. Rebecca stood at the foot of the staircase and looked down the hallway towards the living room at one end of the house and then towards the sprawling kitchen in the other direction before heaving a sigh of ecstatic relief.

  She had done it. There was lots more to do and buy but Rebecca already felt at home in a way she had never been in Darlington. And she never wanted to leave.

  But leave she had to and wrapping herself up tightly she called another taxi, she would seriously have to address the issue of buying a car for when she was in Leeds, and went first to Quebecs where she packed up her belongings, paid her bill and said a sincere thank you to the staff and then to Parklands to visit Gwen. Her mother was still in her bed and this time Carol had joined her and the two were chatting happily as Rebecca entered the room.

  ‘Oh I can feel the cold air on you,’ Gwen declared. ‘Come in and get warm.’

  Rebecca shrugged off her coat and scarf, thinking that the room was nowhere near as warm as it should have been.

  ‘Are they having trouble with the heating again Mum?’

  ‘Yes,’ sighed Gwen. ‘Poor Mrs Wendover has been poking and banging at that boiler all afternoon but it’s not making much difference.’

  Just then one of the other staff members appeared at the door with a little portable radiator. Parklands had a supply which they wheeled out whenever the heating let them down.

  ‘Here you go Gwen my love,’ said Rita cheerfully, ‘an extra radiator, a hot water bottle and an extra blanket. Don’t want you getting cold! I’ve just left the same in your room Carol love.’

  Rebecca plugged in the radiator, threw the blanket over Gwen’s legs and passed her the hot water bottle. Perhaps she needed to speak to Mrs Wendover sooner than she had planned.

  ‘Are you OK?’ she asked Gwen who was arranging the hot water bottle by her feet.

  ‘Oh I’m fine. Warm as toast now and feeling much better. The doctor came this afternoon and said everything looks good and the pain killers he left me are all I need when it starts aching. You look tired darling, have you had a busy afternoon?’

  Rebecca smiled and flopped on the edge of Gwen’s bed. ‘I’ve had a very busy day Mum, in a nice way and I’ll tell you all about it as soon as I can it’s just that…’

  Gwen waved her good arm in the air, ‘Oh I wasn’t prying! I know you’ll tell me when you’re ready and I’m sure it will be worth the wait.’

  Rebecca smiled tiredly ‘I think it might Mum, I think it might. Do you mind if I don’t stay? I’ve actually got a taxi waiting downstairs for me and I …’

  ‘Of course not! Why didn’t you say. Go, go and I’ll see you later.’

  And Rebecca kissed Gwen goodnight, said goodbye to Carol and to Rita who was still delivering blankets along the hall, grabbed her coat and went out into the cold air for the last time as the taxi took her home.

  She had a wonderful evening. Not caring about heating bills she had the house toasty warm. There were logs left behind so she lit a fire in the vast grate and after a couple of failed efforts had a blazing fire going. She took out the rest of the champagne Annie had left and made herself a meal of smoked salmon and ciabatta and curled up under the red throw, watching Bridget Jones Diary in absolute peace and contentment. Eventually as her eyes grew heavy, she turned down the heating, turned off all the lights, finally drawing the curtains and then made her way upstairs. She was thrilled with her room. A lovely sales lady had watched her struggling at the vast choice before her and had helped Rebecca put together a bedroom full of colour and warmth which echoed the colours in the lounge. Spread across the bed was a luxurious duvet cover in a soft champagne colour and a throw of red velvet decorated with gold. Rebecca contemplated having a bath but decided she was just too tired and instead she slid into her very own nest of goose down and Egyptian cotton sheets and fell asleep almost before her head had hit the deep, fluffy pillows.

  It was Thursday and Rebecca hadn’t spoken to Daniel since Saturday night. Other than the brief notes they had left for each other on the Sunday there had been no communication between them at all. Rebecca stared at her phone. Perhaps he didn’t want to speak to her. Perhaps he would never contact her again. She could stay in Leeds and she never had to tell him about the money, the house, the lies. She would just never hear from him again. She would have to tell Gwen and the children of course, how else could she explain living in a grand house such as Beech Grange but she didn’t have to tell Daniel if he wasn’t speaking to her.

  Sighing Rebecca put down the phone. It wouldn’t work, she had to go home and confront him. But not today, not right now and she pushed aside the feeling of dread and turned on the range cooker to warm up her croissant and spent 15 minutes trying to understand the amazingly complicated coffee machine that eventually produced a cappuccino that tasted exactly as though she had bought it from a café.

  After using the rain shower in her ensuite, Rebecca dressed and went downstairs, padding into the kitchen which never failed to give her a shot of happiness.

  She decided to phone Helen. She hadn’t spoken to her for a few weeks. In fact, Rebecca worked out, she had last spoken to her the Friday she had bought the winning lottery ticket. Helen had lived in the house opposite Rebecca and Daniel in Greyshott Lane. She and Rebecca had hit it off the moment they met and with children almost the same age they found their lives matched each other’s in more ways than one. Helen had been devastated when Rebecca moved, almost as upset as Rebecca herself and the two had stayed in touch and met whenever they could. Helen had fallen pregnant unexpectedly a year before Rebecca had moved away which curtailed her freedom to visit Rebecca quite as much as she would have liked but the two friends always tried to fit in a lunch every few months.

  ‘Hi Helen, it’s Rebecca.’

  ‘Rebecca,’ squealed Helen. ‘I was just thinking about you. Your old house has just come up for sale again and
it reminded me of how much I cried the day you moved out!’

  Rebecca felt her heart jump. Her old house. Her beloved old house where her children had grown up and she and Daniel had actually been happy. Maybe she had been wrong to go for a big expensive house. Maybe she should have just gone back to the old village and picked up the life she had enjoyed so much. But did that work, going back? Was it ever the same?

  ‘Where are they going?’

  ‘Oh somewhere bigger and better,’ answered Helen dismissively.

  Rebecca’s old house had been bought by a young couple who had children almost the exact age as Toby and Sarah and Rebecca had convinced herself that pretty soon Helen would have a new best friend in Greyshott Lane. But although there was nothing wrong with the new couple, Helen had never really taken to them and they seemed happy to keep themselves to themselves.

  ‘I wonder who we’ll get next. Shame it couldn’t be you!’ laughed Helen.

  Rebecca’s heart was still fluttering. What would Helen say if she told her it could actually be Rebecca. That Rebecca had won 15.7 million on the lottery and had just bought a new house back in Leeds. That Rebecca could, if she wanted, buy her old house in Greyshott Lane.

  ‘Actually,’ she started then brought herself up short. Not yet, not until Daniel knew.

  ‘Actually what?’

  ‘We might come back to Leeds, in fact I’m certain that I - we’re coming back to Leeds. Not Greyshott lane but we are coming back.’

  Helen’s squeals almost deafened Rebecca and she had to hold the phone away from her ear laughing.

  ‘Oh Bec that would be absolutely wonderful! Really? Really! I never thought Daniel would give in and let you come back but how fantastic! Do you know where you’ll be living? Oh don’t make it too far away Bec.’

  Rebecca thought about where she was standing, less than 4 miles from Helen’s house.

  ‘I’ll make sure it’s not too far away,’ she promised wondering when she had become so adept at lying, ‘don’t worry!’

  Helen brought her up to date on all the news, including that their other great friend Emma was currently on holiday.

  ‘In the Dominican Republic would you believe!’ said Helen. ‘How the other half live.’

  Rebecca thought of all the brochures she still had secreted around the house in Darlington. There were a few there for the Dominican Republic.

  Emma’s husband had been promoted over and over again at the small law firm where he worked in Harrogate and as a result he and Emma had moved out of their house on Greyshott Lane a few years ago and into a bigger house, a wonderful old property full of charm and character but still almost within walking distance of the old village and their friends. Emma wasn’t at all changed by the improvement in her circumstances and spent her husband’s money freely and with a smile on her face. Helen would openly admit to both Emma and Rebecca how jealous she was.

  They chatted for a good half hour before Helen had to go and still smiling Rebecca put down the phone. What a relief it would be when she could stop pretending and tell her friends of her good fortune. Helen may be jealous of Emma and she would undoubtedly envy Rebecca her good fortune but she would still be delighted for her and Rebecca had every intention of sending some of her money in the direction of her friends once everything was in the open. She stretched out on the settee. She would be able to invite all her friends around for Sunday lunch. They could all sit around the huge kitchen table and inhale the smell of roasting beef while they drank wine and laughed and chatted. Rebecca couldn’t wait.

  Chapter 10

  Rebecca spent the next few days visiting Gwen, thinking about buying a car and doing yet more shopping. She had wandered around each room of Beech Grange making a mental note of what she needed. It hadn’t occurred to her that a lot of the things she was planning to buy she could have collected from the Darlington house. Or rather, it did but she disregarded the idea. She didn’t want anything from that house. She wanted to start again with bright, new things, nothing to remind her of the unhappy years of her life. She intended to go back on the Saturday morning train. She couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her house but she knew that she had run out of time. To move on with her exciting new life she had to tell Daniel. He had to know everything, about the money and the house.

  So come Saturday morning she made sure that everything was secure, that the alarm was on and she called for a taxi to take her to the train station.

  It was almost lunch time when Rebecca opened the front door of the house she no longer thought of as home. Her heart was hammering and her throat was dry but she was determined that this time she would tell her husband.

  The house was quiet. Walking into the kitchen Rebecca could tell Daniel had been living on takeaways by the countless empty boxes that were stacked next to the bin. The sink was full of plates and cups were all over the work surface interspersed with beer cans. Daniel didn’t actually tidy up after himself at all. He always expected to come home to a clean kitchen but Rebecca had noticed years ago that he just presumed that she would clear away his mess. If he buttered a piece of toast the knife covered in butter would be left on the surface as would the crumbs from the toast. When Rebecca suggested that he use a bread board, he had shrugged and taken no notice.

  The door slammed and with a thumping heart Rebecca turned around as Daniel came bursting into the kitchen.

  ‘Bec! Where on earth have you been?’ and then he brushed passed her to pick up the post that Rebecca had brought in and placed next to the kettle.

  Rebecca stared at him open mouthed. ‘Where have I been? You know where I’ve been, I left a note and you haven’t bothered...’

  Daniel waved his hands in the air impatiently. ‘Yes, yes. I know where you’ve been but why have you been so long? I expected you home days ago.’

  Rebecca watched as he flicked through the post not even sparing her a second glance. Her anger started to boil over.

  ‘I’ve been with my mother,’ she snapped. ‘My mother who was taken into hospital and you didn’t....’

  ‘Yes!’ Daniel almost yelled. ‘I know all that. But why have you been away so long? Gwen’s fine and I expected you to come back days ago.’

  ‘Yes she is fine but…’ Rebecca stopped. ‘How do you know she’s fine you never rang me to see how she was.’

  Daniel seemed inordinately interested in the post but having finally looked at every envelope and finding nothing he flung it down on the surface amongst a pile of crumbs and for the first time looked Rebecca in the eye.

  ‘I phoned the hospital of course. They told me what had happened. Then I phoned the next day and they said she was ok. I phoned Parklands on Wednesday when you didn’t come home and they said Gwen was fine so I’ve been expecting you ever since. Is that a new coat?’

  Rebecca shook her head. It was whirling and her heart was still pounding, partly in anger and partly in confusion.

  ‘You phoned the hospital? But why didn’t you phone me? I left you my mobile number.’

  Daniel stared. ‘That was your number? I didn’t even know you had a mobile and you didn’t tell me where you were staying. The coat?’

  Rebecca looked down. She was wearing the trench coat she had bought the week after winning her money.

  ‘Er, yes it’s new. It was cold in Leeds.’ she said defensively.

  ‘Nice.’ Daniel said and then walked out of the kitchen to the living room.

  Rebecca wondered if she was dreaming. This was not the conversation she had been expecting.

  She followed him into the living room.

  ‘Daniel I need to tell you…’

  ‘I wanted you to come home because I’ve got some news,’ said Daniel.

  ‘News? OK well I have some too and I need to tell you...’

  ‘It couldn’t be better news really Bec.’

  Daniel was smiling. Actually smiling and Rebecca realised that she hadn’t looked at her husband properly since she arrived back. His eyes were b
right, his face relaxed, he looked almost cheerful.

  ‘News?’ she asked.

  ‘Great news Bec. Our problems are over! It’s a new life for us, no more money worries. No more worries in general.’ He was grinning as he spoke, watching Rebecca for her reaction as he rubbed his hands in glee.

  Rebecca grabbed the back of the settee to stop herself falling. Oh dear God, was Daniel about to tell her he had won the lottery?

  ‘What is it?’ she asked faintly.

  ‘Peter sodding Thompson that’s what Bec,’ he paused to make sure he had her full attention. ‘He’s leaving!’