Purplerabbit
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Rank:Posting Wizard
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From: United Kingdom 
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:09/21/2010 13:33)
Chapter 2.
Getting home was a big relief for Maria, but it didn't stop
Charlotte's words going around in her head. You clearly hate it here,
why not find something else? Could she dare even think about leaving her
job when she might not find anything else? Sure, she had GCSEs, but
nothing big like a degree which Char was going for. No, it was
impossible, she couldn't give up the regular income even if it was to
better herself. They didn't give handouts to ordinary people like her;
she wasn't a single mother or handicapped and she didn't want to go on
the dole. Didn't they make you look for work, anyway? And would they
even consider someone who quitted voluntarily? Doubtful.
Looking in the freezer and finding a chicken kiev and oven chips,
she turned the electric oven to 220 degrees and whilst it heated up, she changed out of her
uniform. It had been strange eating dinner at 7 in
the morning for the past 7 days, but this was the last one and she was
so glad. She went to the bathroom and dragged a comb through her short
hair. Maria may not wish to give up on her career just yet, but the one
thing she was determined to do was find a bloke this year. And not one
who shopped in Big Buy, either. Most of them were creeps. No, Saturday
night would find her at Kelly's, the biggest night club in town. 3 days
to decide what to wear, not to mention persuading Rita to join her. Too
early to call her best mate yet, she'd be getting ready for work. She'd
do it tonight, after getting a good kip. Rushing back to the kitchen,
Maria saw the pilot light had gone out and she put the food in to cook.
"It'll be fun, I haven't gone out in ages." Maria was begging with Rita.
"I don't know, Ria. I've been to Kelly's 3 times in the past
fortnight and there's no real talent there." Rita was reluctant to say
the least.
"So we'll just go to let our hair down. We can have fun, can't we? Single girlies out for a drink."
"Or 8! OK, you've talked me around. But if the music's crap, promise me we'll move on to Diva."
"Deal!" Maria was really pleased. She was going stir crazy in the
flat on her own even if her life recently had just been work, food and
sleep. Tomorrow would be shopping for the perfect outfit.
(Message edited by Purplerabbit On 09/21/2010 13:37)
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Purplerabbit
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Rank:Posting Wizard
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From: United Kingdom
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:09/21/2010 13:34)
Chapter 3.
The weather was not the absolute nicest, in fact it was stair-rods
out there, but Maria was on a mission to find the right clothes for
Saturday night, the answer to her dreams (and hopefully not the
nightmares). She always took the bus to town as it was only £1.50 which
was cheaper than petrol and parking and stopped her buying too much to
carry. She checked her purse for the right change and grabbed her
brolly.
Contrary to her belief that people would not want to venture out in
this weather (and it was a Thursday morning), the bus was packed and
she stood the whole way with somebody's wet brolly brushing her leg. Oh,
lovely!
Thankful the journey only lasted 20 minutes, Maria alighted at the
'shop stop' and hit the town. Debenhams first, then. Which was a
washout, nothing suitable that she had in mind. Where had the really
clubby stuff? Then it hit her; Mandy’s! Mandy’s was a special place that
only those in the know were informed about the bits out the back. To
any casual shopper, it was a tat shop. But to the select few (and Rita’s
friends, yeah, how else would Maria have found out?), it was a haven to
the ‘youngsters’. 25 and shopping with the teenagers! But it wasn’t
tacky, Mandy’s stuff really did suit tweens to 30.
Maria made sure nobody she knew was watching as she climbed the stairs to the doors. Mandy herself was manning the till.
“Ria! How’s it going, girl? Haven’t see you for about a month!” Mandy’s bubbly personality shined through.
“Not bad, Mandy. Going clubbing for the first time in, well, let’s just skip that. With Rita, as it goes.”
“Cool, cool. Quiet today, so you’ve got the good clobber to
yourself. Some really good pieces came in yesterday, half the stock
gone! Can you believe it?”
“Sounds like you’re doing well, Mand. I’ll have a squiz, then.”
Maria opened the curtains that hid the back part of the shop. Half the
new stock gone, but still rich pickings. She shouldn’t have wasted her
time in Debenhams. Skirts, shirts, blouses, tops, t-shirts, trousers,
hoodies, and in all the colours you’d love to own. She picked out a
purple and red mini-skirt, pale blue top with a massive daisy motif and a
shocking pink hoodie. Clashing was all the rage these days. She tried
them on, was satisfied and took them back around to Mandy.
“Great selection there, m’lady!”
“Thanks, I hope it’s not too OTT.”
“Looks about right to me from what I’ve seen out there. You may not have
been out in a while, but you’re keeping on top of the style. Let me
ring these up.” Maria winced as the total was read out and handed over
her hard earned. Mandy grabbed a paper bag and put the clothes in.
Maria couldn’t believe how quickly she’d got her task done. Just a
push-up bra to get and she could go home and rest. One quick trip to
Marks and even that was done.
Getting back in the door, she kicked off her shoes and took her
purchases to the lounge to look at again. Pulling the clothes out, she
felt an extra piece of paper, much bigger than a till receipt, about A5.
She dragged it out and stared. It had just 7 words in bold print.
DO YOU
WANT TO
CHANGE YOUR
LUCK?
And a website address, tiny in purple at the bottom.
www.luckything.com
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Purplerabbit
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Posts:2254
From: United Kingdom
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:09/21/2010 13:35)
Chapter 4.
Work was dragging, even though the shop was packed out. Just one
hour into her shift and Maria was itching to get out. Tonight was
Saturday Night and she needed maximum time to get ready. Counting was
hell, so she scanned all the items very slowly, scanning targets be
blown!
Her first break at 12pm went by far too fast. She used it to call
Rita to check for the 50th time that everything was set for that night
and she hadn’t broken out with Chicken Pox or anything contagious.
“For flip’s sake, Ria! You’re like a cat on a hot tin roof. Do you
think you could cool it before you have an aneurysm?” Rita was actually
trying to eat her lunch and got annoyed when it was disturbed.
“I’m sorry, I just feel something’s going to happen tonight! I wish I’d booked a hair appointment now, but it’s too late.”
“Your hair is fine, chick! The colour is great, the style is fab.”
“I’d love to be more daring than scarlet, but Lannigan would have
me shot if I went for something like purple, blue and red streaks.”
Maria sounded quite down.
“You’re still putting in the purple spray tonight, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, but it’s not the same. Oh well, my 20 minutes are up. Better
get back to the belt.” Maria wandered back down to the tills and signed
on to number 3. They only had 8 tills because their shop was so small,
but on a busy Saturday afternoon that wasn’t enough and the customers
were giving her evils as she sat in the uncomfortable seat. 2 hours, one
more half hour lunch break (at 3pm) and another 2 hours and she would
be free.
Maria couldn’t get her key in the door quickly enough and she only
paused to reflect what she would do if it broke off in the lock.
Probably scream as her party clothes were in the flat. But the door gave
way to her pressure and she was in the tiny bedroom in 20 seconds. She
grabbed the bag of clothes and emptied it on the floor, where that
stupid, enigmatic flyer fluttered to rest. She would have to ask Rita
about that, she’d know why Mandy had put them in the bags.
Getting quickly in the clothes, the rest of the evening was spent
doing make-up and messing about with hair. Her deadline of 10pm arrived
and she was ready. Dead ready!
Rita was waiting in the alcove of the club. She knew Larry on the door
and didn’t have to queue, she was seeing Stevie, who owned the club, so
drinks were free all night. This was why she’d visited so often!
“Babe, you look lush! You do those clothes more justice than some silly teenage girl.” Rita was full of compliments tonight.
“Cheers Rita. You’re spanking the hell out of your outfit, too!” It
was true, Rita was smashing in her day-glo leggings, puff-ball skirt
and ripped top. They linked arms and entered the lair.
Maria did ask her mate about the Luck flyer, but Rita didn’t have a
clue what she was going on about. She suggested she ask Mandy herself
but it didn’t sound like something the shop-owner would put in her bags.
“Probably some ruddy lottery scam. Odd wording, though. ‘Do you
want to change your luck?’ Don’t most people?” So Maria resolved to
tackle Mandy over it. Maybe she was being paid to get suckers on this
website? Definitely didn’t sound like her.
‘Go on now, go! Walk out the door!’ The music boomed out. Could the
songs be any suckier? How was she going to pull if there was nothing
decent to dance to? She saw the typical leary drunk binge-drinking gals
with their WKD shaking their chests and screaming the lyrics at the top
of their lungs.
Maria looked over to the bar and Rita was still getting off with
Stevie Kelly. She wanted to move on to Diva, which she’d promised Rita,
but the tables were turned. So Stevie was the owner? Didn’t mean he
couldn’t move on with them.
“Rita, let’s get to Diva’s before they put up the charge.” Rita just went on snogging. “Fine, I’ll go on my own then.”
“S’OK with me.” She finally broke for breath. “I’m happy enough here and I’m short on cash.” Back to the lips.
“You’re the one who wanted to go!” Maria shouted.
“Oh, you didn’t Babe?” piped up Stevie. “Don’t you like my club any more?”
“I thought I wanted a change of scene, Sexy. But I was wrong.” And
that was the end of it. Maria picked up her coat and grabbed a waiting
taxi. The rain put her off the idea of walking.
This was much better, the music was not tacky and the talent was
out! Only in the club for 10 minutes and she found herself on the dance
floor, jiving to Queens of the Stone Age. This fit bloke kept looking at
her and singing during the ‘Don’t tell anyone’ part of the lyrics. He’d
do, oh yes, she’d met Mr. Alright for Tonight.
She danced closer and when the song finished and ‘Run for the Hills’ started up, he motioned for her to follow him to the bar.
“Hey, my name’s Mikey. What you having?”
“Smirnoff Black, ta. I’m Maria, um, Ria.”
“Which is it? Maria or Ria?” Mikey asked waiting for the drinks
he’d ordered for them. Carling for him, not a girlie blokey, then.
“Friends call me Ria.”
“Consider me a friend then, Ria.” And he gave her a very sexy smile
as he handed over the drink. “On your own tonight?” This was asked as
they walked to his booth.
“I had a mate with me, but she stayed in Kelly’s.”
“That club is crap! It’s gone so downhill this year. The music is
the rubbish you get at a wedding reception and I avoid those like the
plague.”
“Even your own?” Stupid question alert! Brain gone AWOL. Maria blushed. Mikey laughed hard.
“Yeah, right! Nobody has managed to tie me down yet. Give me a
chance, I’m still living my childhood out.” He looked about her age, she
hoped he wasn’t immature.
The chat went on and they got cosy. He started putting his hand on
her knee. As the night wore on, the hand got higher. They were very easy
in each other’s company and soon their lips were locked.
“Is your place close?” he panted, breathless.
“Yeah, but still a taxi ride.” Maria was also catching her breath.
“Doesn’t matter. The sooner we go, the better chances of finding
one. Let’s get out of here.” He was practically dragging her as she was
trying to continue the kissing.
“OK,” she gave in.
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sam1950
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Rank:"Old-Timer"
Posts:918
From: Australia 
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:09/21/2010 17:41)
This is your first story isn't it Abbit. Seem to remember reading it at the other place. A great story Edit for spelling (Message edited by sam1950 On 09/22/2010 18:31)
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Purplerabbit
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Rank:Posting Wizard
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From: United Kingdom
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:09/22/2010 15:01)
Hi Sam, yes, this is the 1st one. Thanks!
(Message edited by Purplerabbit On 09/22/2010 15:07)
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Purplerabbit
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From: United Kingdom
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:09/22/2010 15:05)
Chapter 5.
The light was streaming in through the window and Maria couldn’t
ignore it any longer. Had Mikey opened the curtains to waken her gently?
There was nobody else in the bed and the vacant side felt cold. This
wasn’t a good sign, it meant either he had left hours earlier or she had
dreamt him up. Her legs felt sore and, leaning over to see the floor,
she could see her hastily discarded clothes of the previous night
scattered everywhere. No, he had definitely existed and been in this
room, this bed. She turned to the side and looked at her clock. 1pm.
Ouch! No wonder there was no sign, but why hadn’t he woken her? She
looked on the pillow. No note.
Wincing as she walked down the stairs to make a cuppa, she kept her
eyes out for any sign that he intended to see her again, such as his
phone number. No such luck. Great, he’d been another commitment-phobe,
even for just a couple of dates. She wasn’t after the great romance of
the century, but it would have been nice to see him again. Memory coming
back, it had been a fantastic night, everything seemed to be right. Oh
well, time to get over herself.
She tried calling Rita, but couldn’t get an answer, so she settled
down in front of Bridget Jones’ Diary for the 10th time. When that had
finished, she watched the sequel and when the credits rolled on that
one, she took out all the chick flicks in her DVD collection and watched
them one-by-one until she fell asleep in the early hours of Monday
morning. Thankfully, it was her day off on Mondays.
Maria decided to cheer herself up by going shopping, like any
normal, sane, single girl. She grabbed her purse and keys and waited for
the bus. And waited. And waited. 20 minutes went by without one turning
up. The trouble with old fashioned bus stops was there was no
electronic sign to announce when the next bus was due. Resigned to her
fate, she trudged back and got the car going. It was only a little
Metro, but it would get her to town.
The other joy of not getting the bus (the first was using up
petrol)? Finding a parking space. It was Monday, Monday when everyone
else should be at work. So why was she having to park in the most
expensive car park again? She found a space there, OK, but it was 50p an
hour more than the others. The day wasn’t going great.
Maria had to walk past the bus station on her way to the shops and soon
found out why there were no buses; there had been a bomb scare and the
whole thing was shut down. Really, they should have closed the city
centre and probably did, for the first hour. But the council was getting
used to them being pranks and couldn’t be bothered to keep its citizens
safe any more.
She had the strange flyer in her hand, so went to Mandy’s. A
strange stillness was in the air, was it her imagination, or was it too
quiet? She got to the shop and opened the door.
“Maria! I wasn't expecting to see another customer today.” Mandy seemed in a bit of a flap.
“What’s going on? I know there was the bomb scare at the bus station.”
“Darling, it’s not just the station. People have had to walk to the
next town over because there was a car bomb threat! Didn’t you see the
signs?”
“Signs? No, I didn’t see any signs.”
“I bet those bloody kids have been playing up again. It wasn’t safe
here an hour... Wait! The danger must be over.” And as if by magic, a
street warden walked in the shop.
(Message edited by Purplerabbit On 09/22/2010 15:25)
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Purplerabbit
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:09/22/2010 15:05)
Chapter 6.
“Mandy, we got the all clear so we took the signs down. You should
get customers soon, just to warn you. Oh,” he looked over at Maria.
“Looks like you’ve got one! I’ll leave you be to serve.” And just like
that, he tootled off.
“Well, that explains that. The bus station was still closed when I
walked past. And the car parks were full, but I think I understand why,
now.”
“Yup, strange day, hope my takings don’t suffer. I guess they’ll get word to Pewtley about people getting their cars.”
“Bet they get their parking free and I was just too late. Always my luck.”
“Luck? Aren’t you the first one here? Take your pic, hun!”
“That reminds me. Why are you putting these in your bags?” Maria handed over the flyer. Mandy looked at it several times.
“I’ve never seen this in my life! This was in your bag from here?
Let me check.” Mandy pulled over the stack of paper bags and started
opening them. She went through the first 10. “None of these have a flyer
in. Want to look?” Maria grabbed a pile and started looking through.
She didn’t see a scrap of paper in any of them.
“I don’t understand. It was with the clothes.”
“Are you sure it didn’t fall off a shelf or something?”
“Nope, I saw it come out of the bag.” Maria was adamant.
“Well, I don’t know, Ria. Sorry love. Have you tried the URL?”
“No, I don’t have a computer. I guess I could try the library and use their free internet. Hope it’s open after everything!”
“You do that. Just had a thought, the car park barriers should be
up or how else are they going to get out for free? Think you’ll still be
in luck, somehow!” Mandy actually winked.
Maria went on through to the back, but she somehow felt the flyer
tucked in her pocket trying to get her attention. Every time she tried
to concentrate on item of clothing, the thought of websites and luck hit
her brain. It was no use, it was time to go to the library.
“Do you have your card?” The assistant on the desk sounded like she asked this 100 times a day and probably did.
“Um, I thought I had it, but I don’t appear to. It must be in my bag at home, sorry.” Maria felt bad.
“OK, right. You need to fill out a booking slip and take it
upstairs to Internet Reception. I don’t know how long the wait is.”
There was a wait? Hadn’t everyone been evacuated? Maria grabbed a pen
and filled in the piece of paper, then she trudged upstairs, out of
shape as she was. She went to the desk and handed over the slip.
Looking around, she could see a few computers taken, but
by no means all. It was obviously something the assistant got asked a
lot and she stated she didn’t know to prevent the question.
“OK, you’re at terminal 8. You have 15 minutes.”
“15? I thought we could use these for 2 hours.” Maria was puzzled and worried. Would it be long enough?
“That’s for people who have their cards. Since it takes too long to
check you’re a member of the library, you get 15 minutes.” Too long to
check? That was ridiculous in this technological age! But she didn’t
want to use her precious time arguing, so we took herself to her
designated computer. She sat down and logged in with the details given
to her. The first thing she had to do was change her password. What to
use? She knew it had to memorable and include numbers, so she typed in
LUCKY123. It was accepted. She opened a web browser and wasted no time
by typing in www.luckything.com. What felt like minutes took about 10
seconds. The machine whirred away and brought up a page. Maria just
stared at the screen.
TODAY IS NOT YOUR DAY TO CHANGE YOUR LUCK. TRY AGAIN LATER.
She hadn’t typed anything else in, was this some kind of joke? How
could it know who she was? Feeling dejected, she didn’t use up any more
time and left the library.
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Purplerabbit
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From: United Kingdom
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:09/22/2010 15:06)
Chapter 7.
Rita tried to stay very still as Stevie applied the ice-pack to her
face. She winced as the cool hit the heat radiating from the bruise on
her cheekbone. A big sigh escaped her lips as she thought back to how
this had happened.
Firstly, there was Saturday night, just 2 days ago, when she’d gone
clubbing with Ria. Silly cow had gone off in a huff because the music
was not to her tastes. She’d chosen the flipping place! Maybe if she’d
gone with Rita’s suggestion in the first place, Rita wouldn’t have seen
Stevie and the girls would probably have had a good time in Diva’s. She
doubted Ria would have had luck on her own, needing the pull of Rita’s
better looks and sexy body to get the mens’ attention and more than
likely wound up getting a taxi home around 1am on her own. Poor, sad
Maria, she really was desperate!
Anyway, where was she? Oh yes, musing on the incident. So, she’d
gone back with Stevie and stayed at his. They slept in until about 11am
and made love again. Rita got out of bed at midday and made bacon
sandwiches for lunch. There was a knock at the door.
Stevie had called down to Rita not to answer, he’d get it, but he
was too late or too quiet. Rita cheerfully went out in his dressing gown
and pulled open the door. A little brunette woman of about 30 stood
there and her expression changed from one of cheerfulness to one of
shock and then anger.
“Is Stevie there?” She asked rather abruptly. Rita did not know this strange woman and decided to lie.
“Think you’ve got the wrong house, love.”
“Don’t be stupid, I’ve been here loads. Who are you?”
“Me? I’m just his sister. He’s not here, anyway.”
“You could have just said that. Tell him Laurie called.” And she
clacked off in her high heels. Gucci, no less. Who the hell was Laurie?
Stevie descended the stairs.
“Who was at the door?” he asked.
“Jehova’s Witness. Nothing for you to worry about. I told them to
piddle off.” Rita really wasn’t happy about strange women knocking on
her boyfriend’s door. She’d find out more before passing on messages.
So, the evening had gone by with no further interruptions, although
Stevie seemed a bit on edge and had the TV volume on lower than normal.
Rita left about 8 in the evening and took the bus back to hers. She
hadn’t asked what was bothering him, she was sure it was something to do
with Laurie.
Monday had come around and Stevie promised to take her to
the pub, although she had to make her own way there. Before she left,
she checked her messages. No, nothing there. She quickly dialled 1471
and her mum had been the last to call, but hadn’t been concerned enough
to let her know why. She briefly wondered if Maria had called but had no
way of knowing as the girl was frightened of answering machines.
Sometimes she wondered why she was even friends with the woman.
She got to the pub before Stevie so chose a booth and ordered a
glass of white wine. After half an hour, she checked her watch and
inwardly cursed the bloke. Nearly an hour after their arranged meeting
time, he finally sat opposite her. “Car troubles,” he briefly muttered.
Whilst he was at the bar, Rita had company. Laurie slid herself into the vacant seat.
“What the...?” Rita protested. Stevie was heading back to the booth and Laurie waved at him.
“Where were you yesterday, Stevie? I called around like we said,
but only your sister was in.” Damn, Laurie had given away the game.
“What are you talking about, Laurie? I was in all day. What the
hell are you doing here?” He hadn’t corrected the ‘sister’ part.
“I followed you when I saw your car. I was heading back to yours.
She,” pointing at Rita, “told me you weren’t in.” Rita started feeling
unwell.
“Reet, what did you do?”
"Um, well, I.” And suddenly Rita heard this CRACK and felt like her
face was going to explode. She fell back against the seat and saw
Laurie standing there, looking furious and nursing her fist.
“Stevie? WHO THE DAMN HELL IS THIS AND WHY WAS SHE BARELY DRESSED
IN YOUR HOUSE YESTERDAY?” The question was so loud the whole pub stopped
what they were doing and stared at the ruckus. Rita was quickly on her
feet.
“Well, who the hell are you and why should I be passing on messages from you?” She asked defiantly.
“Me? I’m just his effing wife, darling.”
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Purplerabbit
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:09/22/2010 15:07)
Chapter 8.
Maria got a call from Rita the next day.
“Can you believe it? I can’t believe it. I challenged him and he
said they weren’t divorced or separated. They are bona fide man and
wife!”
“So, how does he explain this mess, then? He can’t be having a wife and seeing you. It’s not fair on either of you.”
“Well, obviously neither of us knew about the other. The funniest
part was just after she smashed my face in, she made Stevie wear his
drink. I don’t know, Ria. He says he still loves me.”
“So is he giving her up?”
“She’s got the money and she owns the club, so he’d lose everything if he divorced her. She won’t let him go.”
“She can’t have met his family if she believed you were his sister,
though.” Maria was wondering just what sort of marriage this was.
“She’s never really been bothered, he says. It’s him she’s with, not
his family.” The conversation went on and Maria mentioned the odd thing
with the luckychance website. Rita couldn’t care less as her love life
was in tatters and the moronic woman was going on about dumb fake
websites. She mumbled something about having to be somewhere and put the
phone down.
Maria stared at the handset dumb-founded. Rita wasn’t normally like
this, she hadn’t even asked how it had gone at Diva’s so Maria didn’t
get the chance to tell her about Mikey. Oh, yes, Mikey. Definitely not
coming back in to her life. Shame, they seemed a good match. Well, he
had seemed immature, so probably not a keeper.
Maria was back at work and watching the seconds tick by very
slowly. This was usual, but the waiting for her break was worse than
normal. What was eating her? Did she want to call Rita again? No, that
wasn’t it. Was she hungry? No, she’d had breakfast only an hour ago. Did
she need the toilet? She was comfortable in that department also. So
what on earth was it?
Then it hit her: TODAY IS NOT YOUR DAY TO CHANGE YOUR LUCK. That
was yesterday. Was it her day today? How was she going to check? The
library! And that was why she wanted a break. Right, sit still, time
WILL pass.
Time passed, just at the rate of a sloth sleepwalking. 2 hours
crept by so slowly she could’ve sworn time was going backwards. She
greeted each of her 20 customers on auto-pilot and didn’t notice when
items didn’t scan, which meant a few freebies going their way. On the
dot of 11am, she locked her till, grabbed her things and went.
Going through the usual rigmarole at the library reception, she wished
the dipstick on the other side would get on with it. Given the slip, she
couldn’t get up the stairs fast enough.
“Terminal number 15,” was all she heard upstairs. She stopped
herself from running to the computer and had logged in and brought up a
web browser all before she had sat down. She typed in the URL that was
burned into her brain. www.luckything.com. She was half-expecting the
message from the previous day to come up. It didn’t, there was a new
one.
IT IS STILL NOT YOUR LUCKY DAY – PLEASE WAIT A WEEK AND TRY AGAIN.
A week?
(Message edited by Purplerabbit On 09/22/2010 15:33)
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Purplerabbit
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/01/2010 15:18)
Chapter 9.
Could she really hold out for a whole week? Making sure to log off,
she picked up her bag and made her way back to the supermarket. It had
all taken less than 5 minutes, so she had a quick coffee from the staff
vending machine. She was back at her till before the 20 minute break was
up. Strangely, she didn’t feel down, or anything else, just kind of
numb.
As the day wore on, Maria actually started to feel a bit lighter,
as if a weight had been lifted. Soon, she was actually settling down to
serving customers without watching the clock. Lunch came and went whilst
she sat in the break room and ate some chicken soup. The rest of her
shift was done with a smile on her face. Everybody commented on how
happy she seemed. Some even asked if she was going on holiday.
The bus was on time and turned up just 2 minutes after she got to
the stop. The traffic was light for the time of day and got her home
quickly. She got her keys out of her bag and went in her flat.
“Darling? I’ve got next week off work, so if you’d like to visit
for a few days. Or I could come to you? Let me know. Tootles!” Her mum
had left a message and it was a good one. She’d been trying to get to
see her for ages, but one or the other had always been busy. Maria
herself had Tuesday and Wednesday off work, so that would fit in fine.
She went to check what she had left in the fridge and found enough
ingredients to make a mushroom omelette. That cooked and eaten, she
settled in for a long soak and read in the bath.
Maria left a message for her mum before she left for work the next
day. She felt good about the Wednesday ahead of her and felt a skip in
her step, but kept it down as she thought she’d seen some people looking
at her funny on the bus. Why was she in such a buoyant mood? She knew
she’d felt anxious the day before, but couldn’t recall why. Oh, it had
obviously passed and didn’t matter to her now. Right now she had to
concentrate on scanning those groceries.
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Purplerabbit
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/01/2010 15:21)
Chapter 10.
Saturday came around quickly, even quicker than usual. The week so
far had been good and busy, which meant no time to get bored. Tonight
was Charlotte’s leaving thing, so Maria was only work until 3pm in order
to get ready. She felt sorry for Amelia, the girl who would take over
from her and work for 12 hours. She was only 16 and this pattern would
probably ruin her for life. Well, it wasn’t her problem, she’d done her
penance.
Maria had a tough time choosing what to wear. There were 5
different items strewn over her bed and she had put them all in the
‘possibly’ pile. At this rate, her entire wardrobe would be ‘possibly’.
Finally, she settled on a black and white checked shirt dress over a
pair of dark blue jeans. She found a pair of heels to go with the
ensemble and dragged her ‘posh’ coat out of the wardrobe. This was a
long, woollen, belted item that she only wore on special occasions as it
was quite expensive, but she had got in the sales.
At 6.30pm, she got in to her little car and drove to Old Orleans in
Prent. She found a road with free parking after 6pm and made her way to
the restaurant. She was glad of the coat as the parking wasn’t that
close and the cark park that was closest cost a fortune for each half
hour (damn short stay).
“Maria!” Charlotte had spotted her. She threw her arms around her, already a little worse for wear. “I’m so pleased you came!”
“I’m glad you invited me, I don’t think I could face baked spud yet
again!” Maria shrugged out of her coat as Charlotte led the way to the
table and her seat. They would be facing each other. Next to Charlotte
was Jase. They greeted each other in the manner of work colleagues,
neither too friendly or too distant.
The menu was quite diverse and most of the table took their time
choosing their meals. In the end, Maria plumped for spit-roast chicken
and fries. After a good 40 minutes, the food started to turn up.
Thankfully, nobody had ordered a starter, otherwise the others would
have got hungry waiting. They had all been tucking in to the
complimentary popcorn as it was.
Every single plate had been emptied of its contents and all patrons were
satisfied by what they had eaten. There had been an ice-cream eating
competition, which Mike, who Maria had met for the first time tonight,
had won. Quite how he got the frozen stuff down him so quickly, she’d
never know. It would’ve given her brain-freeze for sure.
After the bill had been divided and paid up, they all lumbered out
and headed to a pub with a late licence. From then on, the rest of the
evening was spent yelling at each other over the very loud music and
trying to make all present get bladdered. This did not go well for
Maria.
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Purplerabbit
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/01/2010 15:23)
Chapter 11.
What the hell did I do last night? Oh my gosh, I’m naked! Is
this my bed? Pretty sure it’s not, it seems a bit large for mine. Just
how much did I drink? I remember Charlotte daring me to drink that
Bacardi, gin and Baileys mix. Oh, that was a big mistake! My head, it’s
killing. Tell me it’s still Sunday. Whose bed is this? Please tell me I
didn’t make the biggest mistake of my life! Shoot, I hear a noise. It’s a
bloke and he’s coming back to bed. I’ll pretend I’m asleep. Oh my God,
it’s David! Not one of the managers, how will I ever face anyone at work
again? What’s he doing? What’s he doing with his hands? Ooh! Well, he
obviously doesn’t think he’s made a mistake! Hey Mister, you can’t get
Radio 1 on those, so stop tweaking! I think he’s trying to wake me up.
Turn to face him and... Oooh, he’s got lovely, soft lips. Now, I don’t
mind this bit at all! Try to push his hands away, oh heck, he’s moving
them downwards.
“David! What the hell am I doing in your bed?” Maria was being very
firm. She may have been out of it last night, but she was all too aware
of what was happening now.
“Maria, don’t you remember? I had to prop you up to get you to a
taxi and you said why didn’t you just come back to mine, so, not being
completely sober myself, I said alright. Once we got back, you were all
over me and pulling both our clothes off at the same time. Didn’t bother
me, a shag is a shag, right? You were good, actually. Really good. So,
want to go again?”
Maria was horror-struck and dumbfounded. She literally could not
find the words so she just slapped her supervisor across the face and
jumped out of bed in her birthday suit.
“How dare you! I was completely razzed last night and you think
just because I crawled into bed with you that I’d feel the same in the
morning? I can’t believe this!” And then she realised how she looked and
grabbed the sheet, which completely exposed David. He just lay there
looking smug. He did have a nice body, but he was her boss! She grabbed
her clothes from the floor. “I am so out of here!”
“Oh, don’t mind me and helping clear up your mess last night. Your
drinks did not leave a pretty colour upon exiting your body. You’ll be
back!” This was thrown at her as she got out of the bedroom and down the
stairs.
Oh hell, what a mess! She refused to think about it whilst she stood on
the bus to take her to her car. Hadn’t things been going well lately and
this was a downer? But why was it a downer? Was it really the stigma
attached to sleeping with a work colleague, someone superior, no less?
Or had it been his cocky attitude, although he had seemed slightly
sexier just as she was standing there in no clothes? Would he blab to
just about everybody at Big Buy, certain customers included? Trying to
avoid thinking about it had inadvertently made her ruse on the situation
during the whole ride. She got in her car and drove home, thinking
about what to eat instead.
Monday arrived and it was back to work. Maria didn’t see David
right away, but he was in the canteen when she went for her break.
“Maria,” he nodded curtly at her. She had done a lot more thinking when she’d gotten home. She knew she had to say something.
“David, I think I reacted badly. It was such a shock being in your
bed. I never... well, I never really thought of you that way.”
“Neither had I, but I don’t think it was a mistake, even after you
slapped me.” He rubbed his face, you could see the impression of a light
hand-mark there.
“Yes, I’m so sorry about that. I... oh, screw it!” With that, she grabbed his face and kissed his beautiful lips again.
“Oh, so you’re coming around to the idea of me?”
“You really are a cocky sod!” In answer, he reached out and
squeezed one of her breasts. “Hey! So, you want to go on a date some
time?”
“Absolutely! How’s Friday sound?” Friday would be perfect and she
told him. Soon after he left and she wondered why she had changed her
mind. She guessed not being able to get the image of him naked out of
her mind hadn’t helped much.
“Hey, you know that bomb the other day?” He’d stepped back in
whilst she ruminated. “It was the number 17. You catch that bus, don’t
you?”
“Bomb? Don’t you mean bomb scare?”
“Nah, the scare was only because a bus was blown up on the way to
Hedgley. Think it was the 9.16 to town. See you later, Lover!” Maria
froze, maybe her heart stopped for a few seconds. Hedgley was the last
stop on her route to town and the 9.16 was the one which had failed to
turn up.
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Purplerabbit
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/01/2010 15:24)
Chapter 12.
Having been told that she could have been blown up, Maria shook her
way back to the till. Mr. Lannigan could see she was white and not
concentrating, so sent her home. She tried to protest, but even she
realised she was suffering from shock and decided to get a taxi home.
She been on a safety course where they were warned that shock could lead
to accidents. She could walk into the road without realising and get
hit by a passing vehicle. Better to be safe than sorry and hang the
cost, it was a one-off.
She headed straight for her bed and unplugged the telephone. She
wanted to sleep, to not think about it. Of course, her dreams were full
of images of buses exploding, chaos everywhere. She couldn’t sleep, so
she went to make some hot chocolate. Her mobile rang.
“Hello? Maria speaking.” She had to answer it in case work wanted her back after all.
“Maria, it’s Mum. I can’t get through on the house phone and I never know when you’re at work.”
“Mum? Oh, I’ve had a little shock today, so I’m not at work.” And she went on to explain what happened.
“Maria, that’s dreadful! Are you OK? No, that’s a silly question,
of course you’re not. Do you still want me to visit tomorrow?”
“Can you come tonight? I don’t want to be alone.”
“OK Baby, I’ll look at trains and text you. I’ll see you later, Sweetie.”
Maria was grateful for her mum’s call, she really did need somebody
to be there with her. She couldn’t think straight at all and didn’t
dare touch anything in the kitchen, not that she was hungry anyway.
The text said her mum would be arriving at the train station at
6.15pm and she would get a taxi right over to Maria’s. When she got
there, her daughter was a bit of a wreck. She had pulled several things
out of cupboards and drawers and just left them strewn around the flat,
and she had a vacant look as she stared at the TV, which was switched
off.
Julia came and sat next to her only child and put her arm around
her. Maria broke down into heaving sobs. Julia took Maria to bed and
tucked her in.
“Hush now, little one. You weren’t there, it’s all over.” Julia
didn’t know much about post traumatic shock, but knew it couldn’t be
solved with a cup of tea this time. She left her to cry it out and
picked out a DVD to watch whilst ringing up for pizza.
Maria was grateful it was her day off and her mummy was here! She hadn’t
seen her since Christmas, too long in her opinion. Something else crept
into her brain, though; it had been a week since her last visit to
www.luckychance.com and she had been told to return today. Would her mum
mind if she took off for a bit to visit the library?
“You’re not going anywhere, young lady. You were in a right mess
yesterday and I doubt you’re over it that quickly.” Mum was being firm.
“No, honest, Mum, I’m perfectly fine now. I really have to go to the library.”
“Well, what do you need so urgently? Tell me that!”
“There’s this particular book that they notified my was in and I need it for research.” Was her lying convincing?
“They can do that? What research? You work in a supermarket, what could you possibly be researching?”
“I was thinking of getting an exotic pet, but I need to read up first.” This really was thinking on her feet!
“Huh, well I suppose if you must, you must. But don’t be long and I’m driving.”
(Message edited by Purplerabbit On 10/01/2010 15:43)
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/03/2010 16:56)
Chapter 13.
“Mum, you’re staying in the car,” Maria would be found out if her
mum joined her in the library and wondered why they were heading for the
computers, away from the books.
“But why? What’s the problem now?”
“I’m not going to be long and if you come in, you’ll want to look at fiction.”
“Well, yes, I do need a book to read. I can always post it back to
you when I’m finished.” Damn it! Why did her mother have to be so
practical? Then she had an idea.
“Come on, then. But I may have to go upstairs to collect the order, so you stay with the fiction.”
“Fine by me, Love.”
Entering the doors to the modern building, Maria got out her
library card that she’d remembered to bring this time. She first went to
the section on animals and, pulling out any old book on lizards, she
hid it in her coat. That would come in handy later.
“As I thought, I’ll have to go upstairs to collections, Mum. I’ll
see you down here when it’s done.” Having happily deceived her mum,
Maria tripped lightly up the stairs to bag a terminal.
At the reception desk, she handed over her card. The receptionist
looked up at her as if to say You again? Whoa, you’ve got a brain in
your head after all! She was directed to desk number 3 this time.
She did the usual and entered www.luckychance.com in the address
bar. She could hear the computer whirring away once again, but this time
it sounded different.
The screen suddenly went bright blue and brought up two words in red.
MARIA LIPTON
Maria stared at the screen. What on earth? How did the website know
her name? The screen flashed again, this time bright green with pink
type.
DO NOT WORRY
Once more it changed, a white screen with purple words.
YOUR LUCK IS CHANGING
And then the computer suddenly went off and smoke issued from the
back of the unit. Library staff came running over when they saw what was
happening.
“What happened? What did you do?” Whilst Maria was being bombarded
with questions, the receptionist from the internet desk stood there
looking smug. Maria knew she hadn’t liked her.
“Amy! Get back to your desk!” The Head Librarian wasn’t happy with the girl. She shirked back to her post. “Look, Miss?”
“Lipton. Maria Lipton.”
“You do know you’re not supposed to have drinks in here? This is why.” She’d clearly thought Maria had spilt something.
“Valerie?” It was one of the technicians. “It’s not the kid’s fault,
some of the wiring has become crossed. She was lucky not to get hurt.”
That ‘L’ word again.
“I apologise, Miss Lipton. I hope this has not ruined things for you.” And don’t sue us, she didn’t add.
“Actually, I hadn’t quite finished. Can I use another computer?” She wanted to know what would have happened next.
“Of course, step this way.” Valerie led the way to another terminal and left Maria to do her work.
www.luckychance.com brought up the message
Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage
Most likely causes:
• You are not connected to the Internet.
• The website is encountering problems.
• There might be a typing error in the address.
What you can try:
Diagnose Connection Problems
More information
She sighed. Then thought. Now she was terrified. Could the website
have done that to the other computer? That was impossible, wasn’t it?
But so was it knowing her name. And it was right, her luck had been
changing recently. The bus, the bloke (though only a one-night-stand),
the free parking, the new man in her life and now the computer almost
blowing up.
She slunk back down the steps to her mum, who was waiting by the check-out desk.
“I thought you would be quicker. What was all that commotion up there, were you involved?”
“No Mum, something wrong with one of the computers.” Maria pulled
out the book she’d taken earlier. “I’ve got the book, let’s go, shall
we?”
“Lizards? Don’t expect me to visit if you get one.”
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Purplerabbit
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/03/2010 16:57)
Chapter 14.
Maria pretended to be engrossed in her new book whilst Julia did the washing up.
"You know, Mum, you don't have to do that. I was gonna get around to it."
"Oh yes, eventually. Just like you'll eventually sort your life
out." It was her mother's usual speech. "Don't you think it's time you
settled down with a proper career and in a nice house?"
"Mum, I'm happy as it is. The flat isn't too bad and my job is rather secure."
"Didn't the apartment down the hall get burgled just last month?"
"Well, yes but the Richards didn't have as much security as I do."
"And you're 25. I hope you don't expect to still be working on the
tills when you're 30. It's not like you don't have a brain to use."
"Mother! What are you trying to say about supermarket work?" Maria didn't like where her mum was going with this.
"It's not my place to say, Darling. But I would like to see you at
least looking at other avenues sooner rather than later." Maria kept her
mouth shut and her temper cool. "Anyway, to other matters. What would
you like for dinner?"
"Mum, I won't have you cooking for us. I was going to get some pizza in."
"Yes Dear, that's really healthy." Another point scored. "Well, if
you insist on providing the food, I'll let you get on with it. I
couldn't see much in your fridge, anyway." Make that 2 points. "I'll
have anything with meat and peppers, thank you." So Maria got on the
telephone and got the order sorted.
For the first time during the visit, Julia was silent whilst she
ate her dinner. They decided to watch a mindless comedy as they had the
pizza. The only sounds to be heard were the munching and laughter.
Not long after the food was consumed, the telephone rang. Maria
left the film running for Julia as she went to answer the call. It was
David, wanting to make sure she was OK. He suggested he might call
round.
"There's no need, really. I've got my Mum here as she's staying until tomorrow evening." Maria was reassuring.
"Ah, I don't want to meet your mother just yet." That step was a bit big for David.
"Anyway, I'll be back at work on Thursday, so you can check me over then."
"I'll make sure to be thorough. Well, you sound good, I'm surprised how quickly you got over the shock."
"Ah, I'm a real toughie. I'll see you Thursday." She put down the
receiver and walked back into the lounge. Her mother was having a good
chuckle to herself as the film had just got to a very funny scene.
The credits rolled and the two women went to their respective bedrooms.
The film had been longer than they had thought, so they were both
feeling rather tired. As they hadn't really done much that day, they
were going for a ride into the countryside and look at a few museums and
stately homes.
Maria woke up with a strange feeling in her stomach. When her mum
saw her, she didn't like the look of her and suggested they change their
plans for the day; they could do this the next time Julia was up. But
Maria was resolute. They both knew it could be a long time before they
were both free, Julia found it very hard to get time off and Maria
worked strange shifts. So, they made the trip out as planned.
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/03/2010 16:58)
Chapter 15.
The ladies got to Chilton Manor just after 11am the next day. It
was a very impressive estate on 100 acres of grounds. The gardens were
kept immaculate by a team of gardeners and the building and grounds were
open all year around, except Christmas and Easter. Lady Chilton needed
the funds to ensure the upkeep of absolutely everything and would have
opened these 2 days as well if she wasn’t supposed to show an outward
reflection of Christianity. Lord Chilton would have preferred his home
stayed private, but didn’t get any say in the matter.
Maria walked through the door and picked up a brochure. She tried
to read the words, but they kept moving about on the page. She handed it
to Julia, who read aloud.
“’The magnificent Chilton Manor is approximately 250 years old,
which is young compared to some of Britain’s stately homes, but has
character all of its own. There is a staff of 30 employed to keep a
tight ship, which includes gardeners, cooks, maids and cleaners.’
They’re welcome to come around to my house, eh Maria?”
“Um, sure whatever, Mum.” Maria felt hot and started to take her
coat off even there was no heating and it was a cold winter outside.
“Maria, I don’t think you should have left the house. You look so
pale.” Julia felt Maria’s forehead. “Darling, you’re burning up.”
“No, I don’t want some fish, I want pork. I want... want... to.”
And with that, Maria fainted away on the floor. One of the guides came
dashing over.
“Is she OK. Should I get her some tea?” the guide asked.
“Tea? Why would you offer that? She doesn’t even like the stuff!” Julia wondered if the guide was all there.
“Oh, we normally offer it in a crisis. I’m not sure what to do now, though.” She stood helpless.
“It’s fine, I will get her to the car and give her some air.” What
sort of training had this woman had? Tea! No wonder the British got
stereotyped! Julia managed to scoop up her daughter and get her back
outside, which they had not left that long ago.
“Mum? What happened?” It had been 15 minutes and Maria was coming round on the backseat as Julia drove her back to the flat.
“You fainted, Sweetheart. I said you shouldn’t have gone out. I’m
going to get us home, pour you some orange juice and tuck you in. I’ll
stay with you until I have to leave for my train. I would stay another
day, but changing tickets now will add £50 to my fare.”
“OK, I will not be adding to that bill! But I don’t want to go
home. I feel like I spoiled your visit.” Maria was cross with herself.
She’d caused nothing but trouble.
“Don’t be silly, Darling. I enjoyed being with you and that’s all
that matters. You’re not well enough to be anywhere but bed, so that’s
where you’re going. And no arguing.” And that was an end to it.
Julia hadn’t been joking about the tucking part; she made Maria get
in her jammies and then helped her into bed and pulled the covers over.
She made a hot chocolate and put it on the bedside table. She sat in
the room, reading a book, until it was time to leave. Then she got in
the taxi that had been booked and waved to her daughter’s bedroom
window. That was the end of Julia’s visit.
(Message edited by Purplerabbit On 10/03/2010 17:08)
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/03/2010 16:59)
Chapter 16.
Maria was still feeling dazed the following day, so she rang into
work. Thankfully, David answered the call. That saved her calling him
separately. He said she didn’t sound at all well and not to come in
until she was better. She took his advice and went back to sleep.
At 2pm, there was a knock at the door. Wondering who would call
when she should be at work, she put on her dressing gown and opened the
front door. Sally from the flower shop down the road was standing there
with a huge bunch of flowers, including yellow Germini, Iris, blue
September, blue Lisianthus and Solidaster. It was such a pretty display.
“These are for me?” Maria asked.
“Yes. A gentleman rang up and ordered ‘nice flowers for a special
woman’. I was so pleased, I think you deserve these more often! You’re
always popping past with a smile and hello for me.” Sally passed the
flowers over. Maria wasn’t sure what to do with them, so put them on the
ground for a moment. She caught sight of the card. ‘To a very special
woman. Hope you get better soon, you’d better! Love David.’ Love? This
seemed slightly quick to Maria. In fact, it was all too much for her and
she collapsed next to the delivery. Sally rushed to her side and tried
fanning her face. It worked and Maria was back to consciousness.
“Flip, that’s the second time! It’s why I’m at home. Ugh, my head’s spinning!”
“This sounds serious. I think I should take you to hospital.” Sally was very concerned.
“I can’t go to hospital! It’s only fainting.”
“Maria, it could be anything. Come on, I insist. I’ll get these in a
vase and you’re going, whether you like it or not.” Not would be
Maria’s answer, she hated hospitals ever since she’d seen her Grandma
dying in one. Sally found a vase, filled it with water, put the flowers
in and put it on the windowsill. Meanwhile, Maria got into some clothes.
Then they both got into Sally’s car and headed out.
Maria was tense as she walked into the hospital, like
most British hospitals it was quite a modern building (because all the
old ones had been knocked down or preserved) and had that sterile feel.
Sally led her to a seat and got the forms to fill in from the enquiry
desk. She asked Maria the questions whilst she filled in the form for
her. That task done, she handed the form back and sat with Maria.
Thankfully, her Junior Assistant, Tess was holding the fort and thought
Sally was still delivering.
“So, who’s this David that makes your head spin?” Sally had never
known Maria have a boyfriend, let alone one who would buy her flowers.
That’s why she always appreciated Maria’s greeting as she wasn’t a
recipient but still had that smile for her.
“He’s a guy at work I’ve just started seeing. I’m quite worried that he’s going a bit fast and I think it made the blood rush.”
“He’s obviously liked you for quite a while, then.”
“I guess.”
The wait was long and tedious as all the emergencies were seen
ahead of Maria. She knew she wouldn’t be priority. Now, if she’d
collapsed in a public place, that would be a different story.
After 4 hours, she was eventually seen to. The triage nurse
assessed her and it was another hour wait as she was right down the
bottom. But, then things moved on quite quickly. The doctor told her it
could be anything, but suspected her blood sugar was low and drew some
blood for tests, the results of which would be available in a week.
Maria was advised to make sure she ate regular meals and not to diet at
the moment. She and Sally went back home and had hot chocolate with
sugar in.
(Message edited by Purplerabbit On 10/03/2010 17:13)
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Sometimes I just want to put on a bunny outfit and scream
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Kaliarii
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RE:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/04/2010 02:13)
I can't decide which of your stories I like best, Prpl... You will have to keep writing 'til I decide.  I remember reading this one at the other place, but I'm glad to see it here... Much easier to find, lol.
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Purplerabbit
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From: United Kingdom
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/04/2010 05:50)
Chapter 17.
The next time Maria saw David was Saturday. He had the day off, so he called around to the flat to see how she was doing. She was still getting the dizzy spells, but feeling much better and hadn’t fainted since Thursday.
“Hi David, thanks for the flowers. They were beautiful and an, unexpected surprise. Come in.” She led the way to the lounge. He sat down on the sofa and she went into the kitchen to make drinks. “Coffee?”
“That would be lovely, thanks.” Maria came into the room with the 2 steaming mugs.
“Just how you have it at work. Um, I think I need to talk to you.” She sat in the chair, away from the sofa. She sat hunched over with her knees slightly apart. The stance showed she wasn’t comfortable.
“Talk away, Babe.”
“Yeah, it’s actually that I want to talk about.” She crossed her legs. “I saw the card, just before I fainted.”
“Oh, well that’s good.” David seemed a bit unsure as Maria frowned.
“No, David. You put ‘Love’. I’ve only been seeing you, well, not actually seeing you a few days. We didn’t even make our date. So all there’s been is a one-night-stand.”
“Don’t say that!” David got to his feet and stood in front of Maria. “I do love you! I’ve watched from afar, sitting at your till and smiling for all the customers. You’ve got such a gorgeous smile!”
“Oh, so when you said ‘A shag is a shag’ you were covering your true feelings?”
“Well, yeah. I wasn’t sure how you felt so I showed bravado. You seemed OK about us.”
“But Love? I don’t love you! I like you, I think you’re cute, but I barely know you other than to joke with at work.” Maria could see she was really upsetting David. He didn’t wait a moment longer.
“I think I better go. Thanks for the coffee.” The drink was untouched. Maria tried to go after him but was stopped by a blinding headache and a ringing in her ears. She sat back down.
“Shite, that didn’t go well. I better not be pregnant!” She wished the test results would come quicker.
The headache stayed with her all evening. The buzzing died down but did not stop completely. It was hard to sleep in this manner, but she eventually got so exhausted that she finally rested.
Sunday was another day for a visitor, this time it was Rita, looking for a good moan.
“Well, he’s been talking to her again. I am so sick of this. He’s stopped all the secrecy now I know about her, so it’s even worse!” She’d barely got in the door before she started on. Maria made them both a cuppa and sat next to Rita on the sofa.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Rita. Maybe you should give up on Stevie.”
“Give up? Are you mad? I love the stupid git, how can I give that up?” Rita wasn’t even noticing that Maria looked ill and was rather quiet. She went on. “No, the silly bitch should give him up.”
“It’s a pity he won’t leave her.”
“But he’ll lose the club!”
“I know that, you said before.” At least some people took things in. “But why is it in his name, Kelly’s?”
“It’s not, he took her name when they got married, part of the deal. So it’s her club through and through.”
“What rotten luck. Ooh” Her head started throbbing again, so she went to get some ibuprofen.
“Do you mind not getting up when I’m talking?”
“Sorry, headache. Just going to the bathroom.” She took herself upstairs and got the painkillers from the bathroom cabinet. Then she splashed some water on her face. She took the pills and winced at her reflection. She looked so... ill. She only knew of one case where the woman had looked worse through pregnancy, Rosemary’s Baby and that was fiction. So she was ruling that out with a big, black marker.
Why did Rita have to go on so much? Wasn’t she supposed to be a concerned friend? Maria decided to get her to leave as soon as she could, she just wasn’t up for this bashing. Coming back down the stairs, she could hear Rita was on the telephone. Coming into the lounge, she saw her hang up her house telephone. The damn cheek!
“Sorry Babe, just had to make a quick call. Headache gone?” Rita didn’t look sorry.
“No, I’ve just taken something. Phone call? Have you got somewhere to be?”
“No, no, just something niggling at me. No, you’ve got me the whole afternoon!” Oh, terrific. And Maria did indeed suffer the whole afternoon.
(Message edited by Purplerabbit On 10/04/2010 05:56)
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Sometimes I just want to put on a bunny outfit and scream
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Purplerabbit
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/04/2010 05:51)
Chapter 18.
“Hello, Miss Lipton?” Maria had not managed to get to work all week. Each time she got dressed, she felt ill and got back in her pyjamas. Now it was Thursday and her telephone had rung shrilly.
“Hello, yes? This is Maria Lipton,” she replied.
“Ah, hello Miss Lipton. I’m calling from the hospital and I have your test results.” This was it, she would finally know what was going on.
“Right. Yes?”
“Actually, Dr. Matthews has asked that you come in to see him. He wants to discuss something.”
“Can’t he talk over the phone?”
“I’m afraid he stressed the face-to-face approach. Would you be able to come in today?”
“Uh, yes, I guess I could. I’m off sick and going to hospital would back that up! I’ll get there as soon as I can.” Just one problem; how was she going to get there? She didn’t feel well enough to drive and she just couldn’t face the bus. She called up Rita.
“Rita speaking.”
“Hi Rita, it’s Ria. Are you busy right now?”
“Not if you want to go to the pub!”
“No, I’ve got to go to the hospital. Can you drive me?”
“Um. Uh. Er. Actually, I am rather busy, Maria.”
“Oh. What are you doing?”
“There’s this really good film on and I don’t want to miss any. The adverts are just on, so it’s lucky you called now or I wouldn’t have answered.” She had to be joking.
“I thought you said you’d go to the pub?”
“I meant after the film has finished, but I now see there’s another film after, one I’ve wanted to see for ages. Ooh, ad break’s over. Gotta go!” Maria held the handset whilst the dead tone could be heard emitting from it. She had been serious and now she had put the phone down on her. It obviously hadn’t been enough for her to wreck her Sunday.
There was nothing for it. Maria ordered a taxi which showed up 10 minutes later. She told the driver to take her to Mintown Hospital and sat back in the seat.
Arriving back at this building didn’t instill Maria with any more confidence than the first time. She went over to the enquiries desk and asked for Dr. Matthews. She was told to take a seat and heard him being paged over the tannoy system. As he didn’t appear straight away, she got a cup of water from the cooler. As she sat there, she noticed a man with a broken leg and he noticed her at the same time. They looked at each other for a bit and then it clicked.
“Mikey?” She uttered this single word because it was the man who had let her down badly.
“Yeah? Do I know you, you seem familiar.” He didn’t even recognise her! Well, she wasn’t going to give him any clues.
“Do I? Oh well. Broke your leg recently?”
“Yeah, just last week. I tripped on some stairs. My fault, but I’ll sue them anyway as I’ll be off work for a while.”
“Oh, so you’re going to lose some earnings?”
“Nah! I’ll get paid sick leave.” Oh, so he was that kind of man. Maria was beginning to thank her lucky stars.
“Right, well, hope it doesn’t heal too painfully.” Just then, a young doctor approached Maria.
“Miss Lipton?”
“Yes. Are you Dr. Matthews?”
“Indeed I am. Would you like to step this way?” And she followed him to his office. It wasn’t a huge room, but seemed quite cosy and she felt comfortable sitting in the patient’s chair.
“Can I just ask? Shouldn’t Dr. Sparrow be seeing me?”
“Oh, didn’t you get a letter?” Maria shook her head. “Oh dear, hospital administration strikes again! Yes, we’ve had to juggle some of our patients about as he’s trying to ease his case-load. So I am now your physician.” He had an easy way of talking and seemed quite youthful for a doctor, but weren’t most of them these days? Barely out of medical school and getting right to work.
“OK, at least I know where I am now. So why did you need me to come in? Did you find something bad?”
“Well, that’s just the thing, Miss Lipton. We didn’t find anything at all.” Maria stared for a moment.
“Nothing?” She found her voice. “So why have I been so ill?”
“It’s baffled us, too. Nothing abnormal. Your blood sugars are fine, you’re not anaemic, nor are you pregnant.” Relief swept through Maria. That could have been a disaster after a bust relationship. “I had to bring you in because I don’t think you would have believed me over the telephone. So, even though we can’t give you good news, I don’t think there is anything we can do.” He looked at her and could see she looked healthier than when she was in the waiting room.
“It’s the strangest thing, but I feel better coming in here and being told I don’t have anything nasty. Isn’t that weird?”
“I must admit, you don’t look so pale as when I first saw you. Are you sure you’re OK with this? You aren’t going to demand a second opinion?” He had looked very worried. Now he looked curious.
“Nothing of the sort. Wow, my headache’s gone and I don’t feel light-headed. I feel... hungry! Thanks so much doc,” she said, shaking his hand. “I’m going to get a pizza!”
“Don’t over-do it, though. You don’t want a re-lapse.” He was amused by her sudden change of mood.
“Of course. I’ll take it easy.” She went to the door and looked at her new doctor. He was smiling and it suited him. “See ya!”
Maria was all excitement as she waited for the bus. She could get back to work and... Hmm, a little detour, perhaps. The library would be open and her library card was in her purse. Should she risk the website again? It couldn’t blow up a second time, that was a fluke.
She got to town, went straight to the familiar building, which felt like it was welcoming her with open arms. She went through all the rigmarole and found herself at a computer in no time. She had come in at odd times and had never had to wait around. Wasn’t that lucky? A smile played about her lips.
She went on the luckychance website and it gave her a message. All normal type, black on white.
Hello Maria, your luck is nearly done.
To get true love, you must have fake love and obsessive love.
To find happiness, you must stop making yourself miserable.
To find friendship, don’t choose losers.
You were CHOSEN. You deserve luck, real luck.
Do not pass here longer.
www.makeitmine.com
What was this? This was no longer a joke. She entered the new URL. The screen flashed and came up with
NOT YET
(Message edited by Purplerabbit On 10/04/2010 06:00)
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Sometimes I just want to put on a bunny outfit and scream
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Purplerabbit
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/04/2010 05:52)
Chapter 19.
Maria was not upset as she walked out of the library, much to her surprise. She actually felt relieved. Something told her things were going to be alright, just as long as she paid attention to the message that had been relayed. Now, she just needed to work out what it meant. And obviously, once she hand untangled the mess of her life, the new website would reveal its secret.
Something already struck her as she walked through town. She knew what was making her miserable and had to do something about it. Somebody had already given her the clue right before all this had happened. She just needed to get up the courage to find happiness.
She didn’t rush as she walked to the bus stop that the number 56 would stop at. It was only 10 minutes and the bus turned up, so she got on and flashed her pass at the driver. Too quickly time passed and she was outside the Big Buy doors she knew so well. Trepidation was the key word as she walked in the supermarket and approached David, who just happened to be on the shop floor by the checkouts.
“Maria? You’re not on shift today, are you?” he asked.
“Hi David. No I’m not. I’ve come to see Mr. Lannigan. Although, I think I should speak to you, too. You left mine in rather a hurry. And I haven’t seen you since then.”
“If you insist. Let’s go upstairs, out of the way.” So they went through the staff doors at the back on the shop and ascended the staircase to the canteen. “So, what more do you have to say to me?”
“I have to apologise for the way I reacted, but the way you feel about me is not healthy, for me, I mean. Please, don’t get upset or angry. I’ve learnt some lessons in the past month and I need a change in my life. This place is one of them. I am moving on and so will you. You will forget me and find someone who deserves you. You will be good to the right kind of girl, just don’t hide your feelings this time, show her you care. You’ll be scared now and so am I. But soon, we’ll both sit back and enjoy the adventure.”
“You’re leaving? Why?” David couldn’t help but be curious.
“I am just not happy here. I sit there, counting minutes to the next hour, the next hour to getting closer to going home. I don’t know if I can do better, but I can’t do this anymore. Charlotte was right, I should have gone with her.”
“So, you’ve come here to...”
“To hand in my resignation. I guess I will have to work my week’s notice, even though I’ve not been here for a while. I’m surprised they didn’t ask me to come in on my days off when I got better.”
“I think we’re not so desperate now we have some new blood. I guess you’re leaving at the right time. Actually, there is a new girl, Hannah. Maybe I should take your advice and ask her out?”
“I think that would be a good idea. Well, I guess I better see Lannigan, then. Thanks for understanding.”
Mr Lannigan did expect Maria to work her notice, but as David said, she wasn’t deserting a sinking ship, so the Manager had wished her well. “You’ve always been one of my best employees, Miss Lipton. You could have made Supervisor one day.”
The first day of her final week would be Saturday, the day after tomorrow. So, she had ticked off one task of three. To find happiness, you must stop making yourself miserable. Yep, she wasn’t going to be miserable, but didn’t she need money? She hoped the details would iron themselves out when that website would admit her.
The next day, after a short bus ride, she was wondering around town in her own little bubble when she almost walked into somebody. She looked up to apologise.
“Dr. Matthews? How are you?” She was very surprised to see her GP standing there.
“Miss Lipton, what a pleasant surprise! I’m fine, thanks.”
“I meant to ask you, how come you needed to see me at the hospital? Shouldn’t I have seen you at the doctors’ surgery?”
“Oh, that. I was just covering for somebody and your results came in at the same time. Rather than wasting time in me getting back to the surgery, I just had you come to the hospital whilst I carried on my work over there. I’ll be seeing you at the surgery in future, don’t worry.”
“Oh, I wasn’t worried, just curious.”
“I must say, you’re looking so much better now. I guess you’ll be back at work soon.”
“Yes, my shifts start again tomorrow, but only for a week. I just quit!”
“I must say, it agrees with you! Say, you won’t believe this, but I’m a doctor at a loose end. Would you like to get a coffee?”
“Oh, that would be nice. I have nothing better to do, beats going back to an empty flat. But is it professional?”
“If you don’t tell, I won’t tell. It’s just coffee, after all.”
“Of course!” And they popped into a little coffee shop just up the way.
(Message edited by Purplerabbit On 10/04/2010 06:07)
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Purplerabbit
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/04/2010 05:53)
Chapter 20. It was Monday morning and Rita was in a bad mood. Once again, Stevie was out with Laurie and she was fed up with it. He’d been spending more and more time with his wife and leaving Rita dangling like a bit of cold spaghetti. She decided to throw caution to the wind and go into town, even though she had no spare cash. She had no time for the traffic in front of her and made a few dangerous manoeuvres around some of the slower cars. Flipping Sunday drivers, especially on a Monday! She made a right turn into the multi-storey and parked the car at the top, closest to the shops. She put her ticket in her handbag and headed into town. Maybe this had been a bad idea. She’d seen loads of stuff she wanted but it was all just too expensive. She made a mental note to ask Stevie for some cash. Rita walked around a bit more and decided to go to Mandy’s. Mand would be OK getting paid later. Hey, maybe she could even blag some freebies! She made her way along her well-trodden route and stepped through the familiar, welcoming doors. Mandy was serving a customer, so Rita just went and hung around by the counter. “Yo, Mand! What’s up?” she asked when the till was free. “Oh, hi Rita. I don’t really have time to chat today, I’m kinda busy, I’ve got re-ordering to do,” the proprietor replied. “Hey, that’s cool. I was looking for some wardrobe fillers, but hoping for a loan?” No messing about for Rita. “Loan? Oh, you want to try ‘Buy now, pay never’. I told you after the last time it wasn’t going to happen again. I am not a bank, Rita.” Mandy was really angry Rita was asking again. She was absolutely positive she’d never seen the money for that designer t-shirt but Rita had fobbed her off somehow. She wasn’t going to let it happen again, £29.99 was a big chunk! “Oh, come on! I thought we were friends!” “We are friends, but I’ve got to run a business. Like I said, I need to re-order stock and I can’t afford to give out freebies.” “I never bloody said free, I asked for a loan. You know I’m good for it.” Things were getting heated. “Do I, Rita?” “What is that supposed to mean?” Rita had her hands on her hips. “We’ve known each other all these years and suddenly you turn on me!” “I think you’ll find you’re turning on me because I won’t give you free clothes.” “I DIDN’T ASK FOR FREE CLOTHES, YOU STUPID COW!” Just as all hell was breaking loose, Maria saw the commotion as she was walking past and ran in the shop.
“What on earth is going on here?” she asked.
“Mind your own sodding business,” Rita burst out.
“Do what?” Maria retaliated.
“You always have to be where you’re not wanted, moaning about this and that.”
“Pay no attention, she just wants hand-outs, as usual. You know, Rita, this is the only reason you bother to see me anymore.” Mandy had had enough. She didn’t care if it was about to kick off.
“Oh, screw you and your clothes, Mandy. See if I ever bother you or your precious shop again.” Right then, Maria grabbed Rita by the shoulders.
“Do not talk to people like that! I’ve had it, all you do is walk over people, use them for your own gains. I don’t know why you hang out with me, you obviously have no respect for me.”
“Bang on, girl!” And Rita slapped Maria around the face, sporting an evil grin. She left the two women to pick up the pieces.
Just as she got outside, her mobile rang.
“Rita? It’s Stevie. Don’t try to find me, Laurie and I are back together.” Silence. (Message edited by Purplerabbit On 10/04/2010 06:11)
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GIs1stluv
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Anyone have some ketchup?
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/05/2010 05:06)
Keep it coming PR!
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Purplerabbit
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From: United Kingdom
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/05/2010 07:15)
Chapter 21.
Maria and Mandy saw Rita take a call on her mobile and then drop
the phone. She picked up the broken pieces and ran off in tears.
“What was all that about?” Maria wondered out loud.
“I don’t know, I’m not likely to find out and I don’t care, either,” replied Mandy.
“Hmm, I see what you mean. Well, I was just on my way to work, not long to go.”
“To go to what, Hun?”
“Oh, I’m leaving Big Buy. I hate my job and need to find something
more worthwhile. Maybe I’m mad leaving with no job to go to, but I was
given some good advice.”
“Well, good for you! I’m sure something will come up.”
“I really hope you are right. Oh well, I’d better get to that
place as I still have to work my notice!” Maria left the shop and
walked past Rita quietly sobbing on a bench. Her face was still
smarting from the slap, so she didn’t stop to find out what the problem
was, if there was any justice it would be something to do with Stevie.
After a pretty boring day at the supermarket, Maria was sitting in
her lounge, mentally ticking off the points in the message from
luckychance.
To find happiness, you must stop making yourself miserable. She
had handed in her notice and had only 4 more days of misery, which
weren’t so bad now she was leaving.
To find friendship, don’t choose losers. She had finally got shot
of Rita, the biggest loser in her life, who had clearly never liked
her. It had all started at school and Rita was very insecure. She had
latched onto Maria right away as somebody with confidence and just sort
of hung about. Even though they had grown distant over the years,
they’d never parted ways and things had finally come to a head. Of
course, they’d had their fights over the years, but this really was the
end. It should have come years earlier, but Maria was too scared to
lose her as a friend as she had gained more respectable company like
Mandy and Stevie. Maria wasn’t using her, but felt if she stopped being
friends, she’d somehow get a bad reputation. How silly that seemed now!
So, to point 3. To get true love, you must have fake love and obsessive
love. So, fake love. That had definitely been Mikey. Not love, exactly,
but the guy hadn’t even remembered her when he saw her again! Fake
something. And obsessive love. Yeah. The way David had acted had been
so strange. But now she had told him to forget her, he was moving on,
at least Hannah had accepted his invitation to dinner and seemed really
pleased. Looked like he was going about it the right way.
True love. She’d made a start on this, but had come upon a
stumbling block. Between Friday and today, she had met the man of her
dreams, but she was waiting for a call from him to say they had the
all-clear. She knew it would take time and she must be patient, but
this was LOVE, damn it! Quick work, but she knew it in her heart and he
felt the same.
The days went by so slowly as she worked and waited. She went for
a drink with Mandy on Wednesday evening, having realised they should
have been friends if it had not been for Rita.
“So, how’s things going with the new guy? What’s his name again?”
Maria had been telling Mandy what had been going on with her love-life.
“Ryan? Oh, I haven’t heard from him since we talked about our
problem. We’re being good, but I wish he’d get a yes or no and I could
go on!”
“What about that website? The new one?”
“Heck, I’d forgotten all about it! I’ll take a look tomorrow in my
lunch break. I hope I’ve made enough changes for it to count, but I’m
not in charge.”
“It all seems strange to me. One website, controlling your life to steer you on the right path. Sounds like Fate or Destiny.”
“I’m not sure I believe in all that guff, Mand.”
“But maybe you should start!”
“Hmm, we’ll have to see what happens tomorrow.” The 2 friends
shared a bottle of red wine and a taxi to Mandy’s, where she left
Maria, and then to the flat.
As Maria went into the kitchen to make a hot chocolate, she
noticed the book of lizards she had picked up as an alibi for her mum.
She wasn’t sure about an iguana, but maybe she should get some kind of
pet to cheer up her empty flat. But would Fate like that? She giggled
to herself and went to bed.
So, along came Thursday and it was time to go back to the library. If
her luck ever did change, she would get a laptop to stop all this
to-ing and fro-ing. So, enter library, climb stairs, get card out, hand
card to Internet Desk, find allocated computer, sit down. Out of pure
habit, she nearly typed in www.luckychance.com, but stopped herself in
time. She thought for a moment and then typed www.makeitmine.com into
the address bar. She took in what was on the screen.
WELCOME, MARIA LIPTON!
YOUR LUCK HAS WELL AND TRULY CHANGED!!!
Click for more info here
Just then, her mobile vibrated. It was a text message. ‘Babe, it’s
done! They said yes! Meet me @ 8 @ Red Lion for drinks. Ryan xxx’ Could
it be true? The waiting was over and they were free! Maria clicked the
here link.
CONGRATULATIONS!
YOU HAVE WON A HOLIDAY FOR 2 IN THE BAHAMAS!
DETAILS AND TICKETS WILL BE SENT TO YOUR HOME ADDRESS!
And then the screen went blank. Maria realised everything that had
happened had concluded and happily went home to get ready for her date.
The couple really had clicked from that Friday liaison. Even
though she knew she shouldn’t, Maria had felt herself getting more and
more attracted to the man opposite her, but little did she know he was
getting the same feelings. They agreed to meet again the next evening
after her shift at the shop. It became so obvious to each other that
there was more than friendship here, there was a natural companionship
and they had such similar tastes. They discussed the one thing stopping
them and he knew he had to do something about it, so all bets were off
until this wonderful Thursday. Now Maria entered the pub with her head
held high. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw him sitting there,
looking absolutely gorgeous.
“So, I guess it’s Ryan and Maria, now, not Dr. Matthews and Miss
Lipton,” she said as she sat down and he gave her a peck on the cheek.
“That sounds about right, Maria. Happily, I have you moved off my
patient list and we are fine to be together, not breaking any ethical
rules. Oh, I feel so wonderful!”
“Me too, Ryan,” she raised her glass of wine he had already ordered. “Here’s to us.”
She sat in the shade of the tree, a huge palm with its fronds waving in
the welcome breeze. Was this Paradise? How had she come this far from
being a lowly checkout girl in a huge supermarket, one faceless cog out
of thousands in a vast machine? The waiter brought over her Purple Rain
and as she sipped, Ryan came over to join her.
She felt like the luckiest woman alive.
The End.
(Message edited by Purplerabbit On 10/05/2010 08:27)
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Purplerabbit
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/05/2010 07:15)
Thank you Sam, you saved me a lot of looking time!
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GIs1stluv
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Anyone have some ketchup?
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From: USA
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/05/2010 10:09)
Thanks for the ending PR. I feel like there's a hole there though. You left off with Maria having coffee with the doctor and didn't mention the chemistry between them or anything. Or maybe I'm just missing it.
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oregonpandora
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I used to think I had mellowed in my old age. Tur
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/05/2010 10:42)
Another great story, PR!!!!
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I used to think I had mellowed in my old age. Turns out I just don't give a shit.
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Purplerabbit
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From: United Kingdom
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Re:STORY - (Checkout) Till My Luck Changes
(Date Posted:10/05/2010 14:51)
GIs, that's the point, I didn't want people to know Ryan was the doctor until the very end.
Glad you all enjoyed it!
usertype:3 tt= 0
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Sometimes I just want to put on a bunny outfit and scream
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Close it
