After the Win

Notes from the storyteller. This is another in my small series of stories from the depths of my imagination. There is no descriptive sex in this story either. I am still do not consider myself an author but a storyteller, and do hope you agree with this. You must remember that this fiction from my imagination. All persons are of legal age in all states and nations. Thank you for reading and for any comments you place, not to mention your kind vote. This, as are all my stories, was written for my own merriment and to relieve some boredom but I offer it to you readers in the hope that you enjoy it. I have no editor; thus, all mistakes are mine alone.

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Stephen James Armstrong was a very normal looking 43-year-old man whose wife had died from ovarian cancer 3 years earlier. He had been retired on Social Security Disability for several years due to a failed foot and ankle surgery that kept him from his normal line of industrial construction work. He had been very surprised when he was told that he could not fulfill the terms of his contract and job description for his company and they had placed him first on the company's short term disability for 3 months, at which time he had to go onto long term disability via the long-term disability insurance polity he had held for years through his company.

After almost a year of drawing a monthly check the insurance company told him that he had to apply for Social Security Disability Retirement and that they would provide an attorney for him and would do all the paperwork associated with his claim. About a month after his claim was submitted he received a letter stating that he had to appear at a certain doctor's office in another town for an examination and a doctor's disability rating. He had never heard of this doctor before and assumed he was either a doctor hired by Social Security to disapprove claims or else a tame doctor hired by the insurance company to make sure he was approved and thereby removing him from their list of monthly payees.

He was greatly surprised when 6 weeks after his examination he received a letter from Social Security stating that his disability claim had been approved and that he would start receiving a monthly retirement check the second Wednesday of every month starting with the next month and that they would back date his checks back to the first month of his disability, but that he would have to repay his insurance company for most of the amount they had paid him on the long term disability insurance payments.

Medicare coverage for him would start 29 months from the official date of his disability. This is strange as the government says you cannot work but will not pay for medical treatment for 2 years and 5 months. Funny how our government works...Not! He always thought. His disability really did not stop him from doing most of his favorite activities, but did slow him down greatly. But it did prevent him from standing to long or doing any of the climbing around in pipe racks, high steel and such his normal work required, hence his approval as that work was all he had ever known or done.

When all was said and done, he was bringing home almost as much on his disability as he had been while still working, so he just enjoyed being retired and stayed home with his wife of 19 years. They traveled and enjoyed life and just being with each other until she had an annual physical and it was discovered she had an advanced case of ovarian cancer and passed away only 5 months after the discovery. He was devastated and was now alone, all alone it seemed. While he did have two daughters that he was very close to, they were now married with their own children and families to care for. Even in a crowd he felt alone. He had a couple of lifelong friends that he sometimes had a beer or visited with, namely his attorney and the local chief of police. But he seldom got the chance to really visit with them or any of the other friends due to their businesses natures. He loved to boat and fish but had no one to enjoy it with on a regular basis it seemed. Yes, he was depressed and he knew it, but had done nothing about it. This all changed suddenly one Wednesday night.

Earlier that day Steve had stopped to fill his pickup truck with gas and went inside while the pump was running to buy a soda and a candy bar. He dropped a $20 bill onto the counter by the register and told the clerk to give him the change amount in the form of a quick pick ticket for that evening's Power Ball lottery drawing which was projected to be in the neighborhood of $540 million, which was a pretty nice neighborhood to be in he thought, laughing at his own joke.

Picking up his ticket and candy bar, he took his soda and went back to his truck outside at the pumps and after putting away the hose got in and drove to his home and yet another night of watching the mind numbing lack of action on television. 265 channels on this satellite system and nothing worthwhile to watch he was always saying, and he usually just surfed the channels until some hunting and fishing or do it yourself show captured his attention and he changed to the new program.

During one of his seemingly endless channel surfing's, he saw an advertisement for the brand of candy bar he had bought earlier and he then remembered both the candy bar and the lottery ticket he had left in his truck and went out to get them. Another half hour had to pass before the lottery people would have their drawing and likely change some lucky person's life forever.

When it was nearly time for the Powerball drawing, Stephen found the right channel and then went to the bathroom and then to the kitchen for another soda. He knew he was drinking to many of them and that if he cut back just a little he would lose a few pounds along the way without too much effort on his part. The problem was that he liked the taste of the sodas. He thought it could have been worse and that he could be addicted to the taste of beer.

He picked up his lottery ticket as the announcer started into his usual spiel and then the first number was drawn and he had that number on his ticket. A few seconds later and the second number was announced and low and behold, he had that one also. When the third number matched his ticket, his first thought was that one more number and he could make his money back. He had that number and was now happy. When he had the fourth number on his ticket he started to really pay close attention to every word the announcer said and when the fifth number called was right there on his ticket also he could not believe it, as just this amount of numbers could mean he was now a millionaire. Nervous as he could be and shaking like a leaf, he anxiously awaited the final number, the Powerball. Here it comes...

YES!! He had it on his ticket. He was a winner. T H E W I N N E R!! Damnation. What to do now. What to do now... $540 million before taxes. Somewhere around $340 million if he took a lump sum payment. IF he took a lump sum payment??? Of course, he would take a lump sum payment. Were they freaking nuts? Hell, Yes, he would take a lump sum payment. Hopefully he was the only winner so he would not have to split the prize, but even if he did he would still have more money than he ever imagined or could ever spend.

Where could he turn in his ticket and claim the cash? He would have to research what to do now. He knew that the first thing was to sign the back of the ticket but that was alI he knew about what to do with a winning ticket. He started thinking to himself about how he could keep his name out of the media? He did not want anyone but his daughters to know and if he could keep it from their husbands he would.

He was thinking, 'I have been alone and without many friends for years, but I bet that if word got out about this I would be the most popular man in town. Not gonna happen folks. Not gonna happen at all as I am moving before any of those glad handing suckers reach a hand out for some money. And I have no relatives in the world except for my daughters and grandkids but I bet that if word of my name gets out I will have a million long lost cousins, and some of them might even be white (Ha! Ha! Ha! He joked). In their dreams. It ain't gonna happen, folks. It ain't gonna happen. I might have to take an online class or two on how to be a hardass, and I would if need be. I was not going to be anyone's touch, mark, victim, or whatever else you wanted to call it.

'Right now, I am going on line to the Powerball website to see if they offer any suggestions about what to do and what not to do at this stage and with my ticket. Forget about sleep, as I know there wouldn't any use at all in even trying to go to sleep. I am awake and can be most anywhere before they even open in the morning. I wonder how long it will take to get my check and be out of there. Not very long I hope, but we are dealing with a government entity. Let me look online to see where I need to go to present the ticket. Let's see now. Damn...anything over $250,000 has to be claimed in person at the state headquarters. Well, at least I have a full tank of gas for the trip" he thought as he laughed at the situation. He could be in Austin in four or five hours, providing he did not get too sleepy on the road and have need of actual sleep.'

Stephen got to thinking and wondering how safe going to the lottery office might be as everyone would know that there was a winner so what were the odds or possibility of someone trying to steal the winning ticket from them before it was presented to the claim office. Surely not, not in this day and time. Of course, it was a lot of money and people had been killed for a whole lot less. Besides, he really did not trust anyone he did not know and he did not know any of that whole group. He decided to call the local police department where the lottery headquarters was when he got there and tell them the situation and ask for an escort or else he would be armed when he entered the building if it was allowed, which he doubted. Maybe as he was arriving so early the potential bad guys would be caught off guard. Maybe that might be the best approach.

For right now, he was going to go fill a thermos or two full of black coffee and head out in a few minutes. He did not want to get there too early and make a spectacle of himself and possibly draw the attention of someone he did not want to notice him in the first place.

While the coffee was brewing, Stephen packed an overnight bag and left a note saying he had gone fishing for his girls who usually dropped by for coffee every day at some point and he did not want them to worry when they could not find him anywhere. He decided to take a quick shower to freshen up a bit and maybe wash a few more cobwebs away.

At last he was ready to hit the highway and start this life changing trip. He was not looking forward to any part of the drive, but was definitely looking forward to the end results, his daughters would be ecstatic and as they were such great daughters to start with they were going to get the first blessings.

Stephen arrived at the lottery headquarters site about 6 in the morning, and saw a sign saying that even though they opened at 8:00, no one could claim a prize until 8:30. Oh, well. He went to what looked like a nice truck stop with a very busy restaurant attached to serve the truckers. He fueled his pickup and then went into the restaurant and after being seated and served coffee he ordered bacon and eggs with biscuits and gravy and fried potatoes along with some orange juice. The waitress just looked at him and said "No grits?" Stephen laughed and said "Not today but thanks for asking."

He had bought a newspaper from the stand just outside the door on the way in and was about to open the paper when he saw one of his neighbors at the register paying for his meal. Stephen quickly pulled the paper up in front of his face and the man went on outside after finishing up with his bill. Stephen wondered for a minute why his neighbor was so far from home and realized that his neighbor traveled in his work almost every day. He was safe again he believed.

"Come on 8:30. Hurry up and get here so we can get this over and done with". He knew that the time would probably seem like it would take forever to pass while he was waiting for either his check or word that a wire transfer had been made to his home bank. Bank? That brings up another situation. If he had all that deposited into his home bank account, then soon the word would leak out. He had another account in the town he and his wife had lived in before moved to get better care for her cancer. That account, while still active, had not been used in 5 or 6 years. He could have the money deposited there and then transfer it around to other banks as he saw fit. Yes, that is what he would do. Maintain a low profile at all costs. He then wondered if he could get the Lottery people to give him a few million for his home bank and the rest to the seldom used account. That way he would have money available, but no one would know he had won the big amount and if someone leaked that he had a million in the bank, that would be all that was shown. No, he decided. It would be best to have the entire amount deposited into the second bank and then he could make whatever deposits he thought he might need into what had been his main bank. Yes, that would work just fine but he would think on it more as he waited.

It was time.

Stephen had already driven to the Lottery office building and parked and had been watching the people around the office to see if he could detect any potential trouble, but all he saw was what looked like normal activities all around, and there was what looked like a fairly large police and security presence too, which made him feel better. Stephen took a deep breath and swallowed hard and opened the door to face the start of the rest of his life.

When Stephen got to the door of the lottery office, he paused once more and took a deep breath and almost pinched himself to make sure he was not dreaming and was in fact experiencing the things he was doing and was going to be doing very soon.

He pushed open the door and was met by a uniformed security guard who asked him his business and when told he was there to claim a prize the guard smiled and offered his congratulations and said to pick up a claim form from the table along the wall, and to fill it out and then join the line coming out from the claims counter. Stephen did just that and was soon in front of a desk with a slightly overweight bleached blonde woman with what looked like a forced smile on her face. He thought that over time someone working in a job like this could turn cynical. When she asked him for his ticket to scan it into her machine for verification of winning numbers Stephen handed it to her, but held onto it for a second and looked at her and told her not to say anything out loud when she saw what the prize was and that he really wanted to keep his name a secret, and also wished to keep his family members isolated from nosey and obnoxious reporters and others.

When she ran the ticket through the machine, her eyes got large and a real smile came across her lips and she looked at Stephen and then got up and went to talk quietly to what must have been the shift leader as he was at a desk in the center of their work area. The man at the desk evidently told the clerk to take him to an office down the hall where they could talk without being overheard as that was where they went without a word to anyone. Once inside the little office the woman smiled at him warmly and told him congratulations and asked if he really wanted to keep his identity as quiet as was possible. He told her that his biggest wish was that no one ever found his name due to the problems it could cause his family. The lady told him that she understood and would do what she could to keep his identity secret. He told her he appreciated it greatly as he had small grandchildren to consider and was worried about possible kidnappings and such. She took his claim form and his personal ID to make copies and left the office for a short time.

When she returned she had a whole shelf of papers for him to either fill out or sign so he got to it with her help. There were many pages of tax questions to be answered as the various governments would each want their piece of his pie, a bigger piece than he got if they could he thought. At least the state of Texas did not tax lottery winnings, which saved him several million. Then there were the assorted agreement forms and then his banking forms for the deposits. He had $75,000 transferred into his regular bank as that would not raise too many eyebrows and the rest into his old and little used account at the bank where the family used to live before his wife got sick and they moved to be closer to the Medical Center.

These amounts would allow him to buy some things he wanted and to give his daughters some ready cash to use while he set up the trust funds he was going to establish for each of them. He had decided not to give anything to his grandchildren as he was giving a lot to his daughters and they could provide for their own children. Or was he wrong in this line of thought? He would think on it and talk to some people before he made a final decision. At least everyone should be happy, for a while anyhow.

Stephen just sat there at the desk and sipped at his coffee and thumbed through several old magazines without actually seeing what was printed on the pages when the woman he had first talked to came up to the desk and asked if he was about ready to finish up and then get the heck out of there. Stephen assured her he was more than ready to do just that and they shared a small laugh, then she led him through a door into a much nicer area and was offered more coffee and asked to be seated for a minute or so.

Once in the nicer area, a well-dressed man came over and introduced himself as the local director of operations, and he had to ask, make a pitch really to see if they could get Stephen to change his mind and accept the publicity and that they all needed to keep their jobs, or so it seemed. Stephen listened and then apologized once more and said again that he did not want the unwanted notoriety and lack of privacy such public knowledge would present, not to mention all the unsolicited requests for him to give away his winnings to this cause or person and then there would be the multitudes of long lost but newly found friends and family each smiling brightly while holding out their hands, so thanks, but no thanks, he would pass on the publicity.

After trying one more time to change his mind and failing again, the people there congratulated him warmly and gave him documentation that his wire transfers had gone through and that the deposits had already been credited to his accounts per his requests.

Stephen shook everyone's hands one more time and thanked them for their help and for expediting everything and left. He did notice what he thought was everyone looking at him strangely on his way out, but that could of well been his paranoia about this whole thing. He still could not believe this was happening to him.

As he left the offices where they had been and reentered the main part of the building, Stephen was wondering if people were looking at him and knowing he was the winner. He quickly left the building and got to his pickup and fired it up and pulled out onto the road and turned away from the Lottery offices, all the while watching to see if he was being followed or not. If he was, he would take evasive action soon, but for now was going to just let them follow along and wonder.

Stephen kept a careful watch for the five miles before the first major interchange on the highway and did not spot anyone following but exited and made a couple of sudden turns before re-entering the interstate, and still no tail, so he was starting to feel safer.