"No, I'm completely serious," the woman's voice on the other end of the line replied cheerfully, "You really have won a vacation trip courtesy of Tropical Adventures Unlimited!"
"This is a scam," Elizabeth shot back, "You're going to tell me all about this wonderful vacation and all I have to do is send you a couple hundred dollars to reserve my slot, right?"
The woman on the phone laughed, "Nope, this is an all expense paid vacation and we'll forward the plane tickets, hotel reservations, and travel itinerary to a local travel agent that you specify at absolutely no cost to you.
"Seriously, no scam."
Elizabeth hesitated, trying to figure out how this person had managed to get her restricted cell phone number as well as what angle the scam was trying to play.
"Fine, so how did I enter a tropical vacation contest and not even remember it?" Elizabeth asked angrily.
"Ummm, just a sec," the voice replied as Elizabeth began to hear the sound of papers being shuffled, "Ah, here we are.
"The information that I have is that Tropical Adventures Unlimited was just one of three grand prizes being offered in a raffle for..." the owner of the voice cleared her throat in sudden embarrassment, "Well, um, Passionate Play for Women."
Elizabeth felt her checks begin to burn as she remembered the adult toy party she'd attended over a month before. She also remembered that she'd entered the raffle more out of not wanting to hurt her best friend's feelings who had hosted the party than any real desire to win some oversized monster dildo that had to have been made for a horse or some weird lotion.
"I didn't know the raffle was for a vacation," Elizabeth finally stammered when she found her voice again.
"What did you think the raffle was for," the woman on the other end said in amusement.
Elizabeth stammered into the receiver for a moment until the woman laughed, "It's fine.
"But now you need to make a choice since the vacation package has three different locations for you to choose from.
"The first two are both in Hawaii, the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel and Fairmont Orchard which are both on the Big Island.
"Then there's The Lodge at Chaa Creek in Belize."
"Wait, Belize and Hawaii!" Elizabeth asked in amazement.
The voice on the other end of the line seemed to hesitate for a moment before she cleared her throat.
"Well, there is one other location, but we normally don't offer it," the woman said hesitantly.
"Oook..." Elizabeth replied.
"Well, there's another resort that we are affiliated with," the woman said slowly, "And I wouldn't even be mentioning it except for where you bought your raffle ticket.
"We also have an opening for Dionysus Beach Resort in Tahiti."
"Tahiti!" Elizabeth squealed in delight.
"Ms Winslow, I really have to point out that the Dionysus resort is very much oriented for adults only," the woman quickly added.
"This has got to be a scam!" Elizabeth said in amazement.
"I assure you it's not Ms Winslow," the woman said with a laugh, "If you'd care to make your choice I can find a travel agent near you and send the package to them for you to pick up as soon as tomorrow."
"Tahiti!" Elizabeth said in an instant snap decision.
If this was a scam she would never have to pick up the package from where ever the mysterious person on the other end of the line decided to send it to.
"Tahiti it is then," the woman replied, "But I have to tell you again that this is an adult's only resort."
Elizabeth had the sudden mental image of a beautiful blue lagoon, beach lounge chairs scattered across pure white sand and then added a dozen screaming children running rampant around and through them.
"That sounds perfect," Elizabeth said instantly.
"Well, Ok then," the woman replied in an amused voice, "Give me just a second."
Elizabeth listened to the soft clacking of the woman's keyboard over the phone as she daydreamed of palm trees, cool ocean breezes, and beaches of pure white sand.
"All done," the woman said in a brisk voice after only a minute, "I've got your trip reserved and I've found a travel agent just a few blocks from you.
"You can stop buy anytime in the next week and finalize the dates for your trip and start packing!"
"That's it?" Elizabeth asked in surprise.