Some of my stories start off as short stories, but they take on a life of their own and turn into full novels. In the Lovers From Beyond series, Vivian's Escapades was meant to be a short story, but it ended up being a full novel. Similarly, my first Heartbreakers short story turned into an entire trilogy. That's what happened here with Finding Paradise. Originally, I had a 25 to 30 page story in mind, but it expanded into its own title within the Amor Prohibetur series. I am presenting Part 1 of this novel in 4 installments. I thought it would end there, and this is a complete story in itself with a clear conclusion to it.
*****
Finding Paradise
Valerie Nunez was in a bad mood when she pulled into her driveway. Her whole day at the hotel had been nothing but one pile of steamy shit after another. During the drive home, she'd listened to more commercials than actual music, and then some asshole had cut her off and scared the crap out of her so much she'd swerved into the next lane. Of course, this set a different car in the other lane to honking its horn and flipping her off. Valerie figured things could not get any worse that day, until she saw her husband's car parked on the street, a full three hours before he usually got home.
Something was wrong, the slim Hispanic woman felt, as she exited her SUV and slammed the door shut. Unfortunately, the stupid hem of her maid uniform had gotten caught on the door, and by slamming it while her body was in motion, Valerie had very effectively wrenched the fabric apart. Like an idiot, she was stuck to the driver's door. If there was any luck in the world, her outfit wouldn't be torn too badly, she thought. As the woman opened up the car door, she winced. The fabric had gotten caught on a sharp corner. There was a nice little tear now, big enough for her to stick three or four fingers into, which meant she'd have to pay for a brand new fucking uniform.
"Please, God, let this day be over!" Valerie pleaded out loud. She looked up at the sky, which was looking more gray than blue nowadays, before she trudged into her house.
Valerie's husband of just over twenty-five years was sitting on the edge of the couch, stooped over with his head facing the floor. Both man and wife were in their mid-forties, but while Valerie hadn't gained much weight in all that time, her husband had added some twenty pounds around his formerly lean middle.
"Nick, what's wrong?" She asked, forgetting her mountain of troubles to go and sit by her man. "You look like somebody died."
Quietly, Nick shook his head. He should be getting his hair cut soon, she noticed, as she didn't like it when Nick's hair started looking bushy around the ears.
"Nick, please don't tell me that somebody died." She said. Her day had gone bad enough; she didn't think she could handle any more bullshit. "Nick?"
"It's not that." He said, lifting his head. He sighed before he looked at her. "I quit my job today."
"Please tell me you're joking." She replied. "I know you've been having trouble at your job, but I won't be able to pay next month's mortgage without you. We agreed, Nick! You and I agreed that you wouldn't leave your job until you found another one!"
Valerie expected for a big argument to start up between them. She was surprised when Nick simply stared off into their cozy living room. Her husband looked as if he was in a state of shock.
Suddenly, the woman began growing suspicious. "Nick, is there something you want to tell me?"
Here it comes, she thought. Her husband worked as a manager for a security guard company. Nick had probably fucked some secretary and ended up getting her pregnant, or maybe he fucked some other guard's wife, or maybe he fucked some client's wife. She was convinced that Nick had fucked somebody's wife! And the way her husband's mouth was moving with no words coming out of it, that was a sign of guilt! Here it comes, Valerie thought, as she saw her husband gulp and take a breath in. This was it; the end of their marriage was going to happen right here, right now...
"You know how my buddy George always plays the lottery?" Nick started.
"That's such a waste of time!" Valerie shook her head. "I can't believe that man gets all of you to pitch in like that. You might as well flush all that money down the toilet!"
"It's just ten dollars."
"Ten dollars a week, but how much money is that at the end of the year?"
"Anyway," Nick shrugged her off. "I guess George heard the winning numbers on the radio. He left his rounds and drove back to the office. I was there when he came in. He was jumping up and down while saying he'd hit the big one. Nobody put money into the pot this week, because we never win. George had the ticket in his wallet. He pulled it out and he asked a secretary to pull up the winning numbers on her computer. Guess what? The numbers matched. One of the other guys who always puts money into the pot said he meant to put some in this week, but George said that didn't count. We all agreed a long time ago; if you don't add to the pot you aren't entitled to the winnings. George got into a fistfight with that other guy in the office. I had to help break them up."
"I don't understand." Valerie wondered. "What does this have to do with you quitting your job?"
"I know the other guys are going to start harassing me the same way."
"Because you broke up the fight?"
Finally, Nick had built up enough courage to face his wife. "Honey, I know you told me not to, but I gave George my ten dollars this week."
"So?"
Nick let out a soft chuckle, before he turned away and stared across the room again. "Val, don't you get it? I was the only other guy that pitched in with George this week. He won the fucking lottery. That's the big fucking Lotto for the entire state of California. We're going to split the winnings."
Valerie's mind had been going off in an entirely different direction. Only now was she starting to grasp what her husband was saying. "Well, if you did win some money, I hope it's enough to help me pay the mortgage next month."
"The jackpot this week is at sixteen million dollars." Nick disclosed. "I don't know how much will be left after taxes, but right now it looks like I might be getting half of that money."
Valerie was not accustomed to thinking in terms of eight million of anything, least of all dollars. She understood why her husband had been sitting there in shock, as she was feeling the same exact way now.
Money changes people. That's what Nick told Valerie. You'll see, he said, when your family finds out, they'll change, too. The couple had a big fight over that. On Nick's side, he didn't get along with any of his relatives except for one brother. His family had gone one way while he'd gone the other, and there was very little contact between them.
Valerie scoffed at her husband's prediction, as she went on to boast of their good luck to her side of the family. Nick didn't know what he was talking about. Nobody was going to change. She would roll her eyes as she considered the absurdity of it. Her mother and her sisters laughed right along with her. The days rolled along, with Nick sitting at home deciding what he would do about his winnings, while Valerie kept going to her job at the hotel.
Unexpectedly, Valerie's sisters started showing up at her house more and more frequently, and they always brought their kids along. Little Juanito needs this, they'd say, and little Carmelita needs that. It would be nice if we could afford to fix this washer, to buy that new car, or to hire a man to clean up the yard for us. One sister even intimated that with so much money, perhaps Valerie might see it in the goodness of her heart to pay off her mortgage. Valerie was appalled. Every one of her three sisters showed up at her house asking for a handout, even the sister she barely spoke to!
"Nick doesn't even have the money yet." She explained. "The lottery people are going to put him on TV with the coworker that won with him. They're going to give them the first official check on the TV show."
The date for the TV show came, with Nick and his friend George having to take a train from San Diego to Sacramento to receive their first combined check. That night, every relative Valerie ever had went to her house. Her father and mother came over, her sisters brought their husbands and kids. Even a few uncles and aunts Valerie hardly ever saw decided to make an appearance, with their grown children and grandchildren in tow! Valerie had two adult children. Valentina, twenty-three years old and going to college in Nevada, couldn't make it. Alex, short for Alejandro, was twenty-one and attending a local university. The moment Alex walked in and finished greeting his many relatives, Valerie told him to stay close so he could help buffer away the rest of the family and their incessant requests for gifts and money.
Valerie actually became disgusted with her family, as they were openly talking about how they planned to spend Nick's money. Her mother said Nick should pay off everyone's mortgage, a request that prompted all three of her sisters to start bobbing their heads. They were talking about her husband as if he wasn't a living person anymore, but a bank vault. Two of Valerie's sisters went through a wish list of what they expected Nick to pay for. One sister kept following Valerie all over the house, intentionally getting between her and her son, all the while dropping hints about money.
