in which Laura-Marie gambles pointlessly

We went to Albertson’s for a specific thing and ended up buying other stuff too.  The checker asked us if we played Monopoly.  “Sure,” I said.  “There are instant wins, right?”  She said yes.

She was counting a ton of tickets, and I wondered why.  I thought it was an odd time, to make us wait.  Then she handed us 48 tickets, which shocked me.

“It must be the last day,” I told Ming.  “Maybe they want to get rid of them.”

When I was on my way in, a guy standing by the door asked me a question I couldn’t hear.  “What?” I asked, but I kept walking.  He mumbled that I should buy him some fried chicken.

I was really revolted by the idea.  “No,” I said.  I guess because I don’t eat chicken?  I was surprised by the strength of my reaction.

Ming looked at the receipt and told me 48 tickets was the amount we were supposed to get.

I started ripping open the tickets.  I realized I was gambling.  Normally I’m opposed, but it seemed silly to not get whatever free thing there might be a ticket for.

My fingers turned blue from the blue print on the tickets, but I got through them all.  We won four things, and then there were four tickets that were for two more tickets.

So Ming went to get the free things–crackers, water, candy, and aspirin, all particular brands and sizes.  I stayed in the minivan.

He came back empty-handed.  “What happened?” I asked.

He explained that none of the things we won were in stock.  Some there were empty places on the shelf.

“Did you tell someone?” I asked.

“Yeah, she just looked at me,” Ming said.

All that gambling for nothing.  When I washed my hands, the blue mostly came off.

We’re leaving for a short trip.  We’re staying in a little house by a river.  We bought some mosquito repellent.  Wish us luck.