His wife was working late, again.
This was how it had to be for the time being. This was how they were surviving. His wage was very low; something she had complained about consistently for more than three years. In fact, ever since he got the job of parking lot attendant at the council buildings, she had never stopped talking about it. He was well and truly sick of it and had seriously considered taking off once or twice, but he figured he would probably end up worse off. Anyway, it was the extra overtime she was given from time to time that enabled them to put food on the table and little else. She never stopped reminding him of that either.
He was hardly aware of the front door opening. He’d been dozing in front of the television for over an hour and had obviously nodded off. On the screen, several numbered balls were running down tubes and lining up at the bottom. He instinctively went to his pocket and brought out his ticket. He did this quickly because he had never told her about his long time habit of buying them. Without her knowing, he had never stopped. He could hear her in the kitchen putting the kettle on; something she always did when she got in.
She was in there just long enough for him to match the numbers on his ticket with those that appeared on the screen. He put the ticket back in his pocket and tried some heavy breathing to get his nerves under control. Before she came in with her tea and her usual cold greeting, although he’d never regarded himself as any kind of actor, he would have to act naturally. He realised that until the matter was settled and the two point three million was fully confirmed, he would have to give the performance of his lifetime!