“You’re not supposed to throw them away.”
“I didn’t throw it away. I put it in my purse. It’s got to be here somewhere. Is this it?”
“That’s from November.”
“See that line? I always draw a line across the ones I’ve checked.”
“Is that it?”
“That? That’s from drycleaning.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t think I picked up that drycleaning. It was just old coats I was giving away.”
“I don’t know how you find anything in there.”
“It’s got to be in here. It wasn’t a winner anyway. I always draw a line.”
“And you remember drawing a line?”
“Yes.”
“You drew a line?”
“Yes. I think so.”
“You think so.”
“I kept it. You can double-check it.”
“Has that one been checked?”
“It’s from January.”
“There’s no line through it.”
“Maybe I didn’t have a pen handy.”
“But are you sure it’s been checked?”
“Pretty sure.”
“Pretty sure. You know how many millions of dollars go unclaimed every year? I read that somewhere. Millions. Scratch tickets, they’re notorious.”
“If I re-trace my steps.”
“The government must be raking in money hand over fist from those unclaimed scratch tickets. People like us. Buying the little dream.”
“It wasn’t a scratch. I don’t buy the scratch, you know that.”
“What’s that?”
“That’s from June.”
“June? Of what year?”
♦
Born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Frances Greenslade has since lived in Winnipeg, Regina, Vancouver, Chilliwack and now Penticton. She has a BA in English from the University of Winnipeg and an MFA in Creative Writing from University of British Columbia. By the Secret Ladder and A Pilgrim in Ireland (Penguin) are her first two books, both memoir. Her novel, Shelter, was published in Canada by Random House in 2011, in the US by Free Press and the UK by Virago in 2012. It has been translated into Dutch, German and Italian. She has taught English and Creative writing at Okanagan College since 2005.
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