The Bartender
Laura had just left home for her freshman year of college. Her school was a few hours away from home, and she was enjoying a new sense of freedom with her new friends. They loved staying up late, attending concerts, and hanging out downtown at their favorite late-night spot. She has started enjoying and living her life.
Once, she went to a place where only 18+ people were allowed; however, Laura and her friends could still hang out inside. One night, Laura ordered a soda, and she found herself face-to-face with a handsome bartender. Her eyes caught that person in her first watch.
Catching His Eye
The bartender introduced himself as Jack, and the two found themselves chatting for longer than necessary. They didn’t notice time passing until one of Laura’s friends came to the late-night spot to see where she had disappeared to. She reluctantly said goodbye to Jack and went back to her friends, but found herself looking over at him every so often.
Every time she did, he was already staring at her, and they shared shy smiles. Before she left that night, she went to the bar to say goodbye, and Jack asked for her number. If only she knew what saying yes would lead to.
Getting Serious
The two quickly began dating seriously. Laura fell hard for Jack, despite the fact that he was six years older than her and didn’t have the most reliable job. She was young and in college—she didn’t mind if he didn’t have a serious career.
However, her parents did, and when Laura brought Jack to meet them for the first time, they hoped this was only a phase. They thought she was far too young for him, and he clearly didn’t take life seriously. They made subtle comments, hoping she would get the hint, but Laura was too far gone. She was too deep in his love now.
Moving Fast
Laura and Jack continued dating throughout college. He only ever wanted her to visit his work once a weekend since having her there was too distracting while he worked. This sounded like a compliment, and Laura knew he wanted to focus on doing his job well. On the nights that she did come, she only had eyes for Jack and never noticed when other girls would talk to him.
After all, it was his job to be friendly—the number of tips he got every night depended on it. She loved their routine and how fun and easygoing Jack was. However, they continued dating more seriously, and a couple of months before Laura’s graduation, Jack had some essential questions for Laura.
Moving In
Laura had been contemplating moving home after graduation since she wouldn’t be able to afford her own place. Unfortunately, that would mean she would be a few hours away from Jack, and they were both unhappy about this idea. In Jack’s eyes, the only solution was to have Laura move in.
She was overjoyed that he’d asked her to live with him. She knew the apartment was a fixer-upper, but she didn’t care at the moment. Her infatuation with her boyfriend made her blind to any unbecoming details. Unfortunately, these blinders also kept her from realizing problems outside of the apartment.
Getting a Job
After graduation, Laura decided to get a job. She found a waitressing position at a restaurant nearby. She would walk 20 minutes both to and from the restaurant every time she had a shift, using the journey to listen to music and think about the life she and Jack would have in the future. She thrived as a waitress, making both friends and tips easily.
Both her co-workers and customers were drawn to her friendly demeanor and she felt good about her first job out of college. After late shifts, she would go and see Jack at his work, but after a few months, she began to realize things had changed.
The Rumors
It hit her one night when she walked into the late-night spot and immediately noticed a girl talking to Jack. While it usually didn’t bother her, she couldn’t help but notice the way Jack was also leaning toward her.
Then, she noticed the way his co-workers and even the regulars she recognized would look away if she made eye contact with them. She came over to Jack, but he was nonchalant about the whole thing and addressed her casually. She shook off the weird feeling in her gut as she went to the bathroom—but what she saw there only made her feel worse.
Written on the Wall
Though she’d been visiting Jack at his work for over four years, she hadn’t ever really paid attention to what was written on the bathroom walls. However, that night, something caught her eye—the name “Jack.” As she looked at the wall, she saw phone numbers, mentions of romantic encounters, and inappropriate remarks, all somehow leading back to Jack.
She cringed at some of the things she read. It was a very shocking thing for her, and she did not understand what was happening there. There’s no way it could be her, Jack, could it?
Trust Me
Laura rushed out to talk to Jack, but when she brought it up, Jack was quick to dismiss all of her questions. “If you can’t trust me, then we can’t be together,” he sternly told Laura. Jack also told her that, in love, trust is crucial to make a relationship happy and stable. He was right—she must’ve just been feeling immature and insecure.
She tried her best to push her doubts from her head. After all, she loved him, and that was enough—wasn’t it? Later, she convinced herself that everything that happened was the outcome of her overthinking.
Say Yes
She knew she had made the right decision when, one night, Jack got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. He began to tell her how much he loved her and wanted to spend a rich and fulfilling life with her, and she squealed out an excited “Yes!” before he could even finish. She was so excited to start this new chapter with Jack.
Though she knew she was young, this was precisely what she wanted, and her love for him would conquer all. All they needed was each other. Before she even started to plan her wedding, there was something she had to do first.
Cutting People Out
Laura didn’t waste much time before she began to cut out people in her life, both from her social media and in real life. If her relationship was going to survive, she only wanted people in her life who were supportive and had no part in spreading negativity. She understood that no one would help her at her worst, and that the people around her were hypocrites.
She was confident that this was a mature decision, and keeping her circle small would allow her to focus on building her relationship. She’d decided only to keep her family and a few friends. However, she had no idea how badly this would affect her future.
Preparing for the Wedding
Now that there were fewer people to worry about, wedding planning became much more accessible. There weren’t many seats to account for—which was good since a bartending and waitress job didn’t allow them to spend much money on the event. Laura’s parents contributed a bit of money, though they weren’t thrilled that Laura had decided to marry Jack.
Still, they tried to put aside their feelings as they helped their daughter get ready for her wedding. They provided her with significant financial assistance to make the event remarkable. But parents know best, and their doubts would eventually prove to be right.
A Small Ceremony
On the day of the wedding, Laura put on her thrifted wedding dress, and smiled distractedly as her sister, Carla did her hair and makeup. All she could think about was how excited she was to marry the love of her life. She walked down the aisle with her parents, who’d plastered their best fake smiles on their faces and looked at Jack standing at the altar.
The ceremony was perfect, short and sweet, and Laura couldn’t have pictured a better day. As the newlyweds ate cake and danced around the room, they were in a state of bliss. But the bliss wouldn’t last long.
The Realities of Marriage
Almost immediately, the couple realized that married life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Though the only thing that had changed in their life was their relationship status, it soon became apparent that the couple had more problems than they realized. They barely saw each other since both worked long hours and when they did see each other, all they could do was bicker.
They fought over little things that bothered them, and Jack often came home late with a bad attitude. Before long, it wasn’t just their internal problems that were affecting the couple. Both of them get a little worried, as things are not working as per their expectations.
Money Problems
Their pipes burst randomly one evening, and the plumber found a deep-rooted problem within the plumbing system. Not only did the landlord refuse to pay for the plumbing fixes, but just a week later, he raised their rent. They could barely manage as it was, and these expenses were unaccounted for.
Jack thought a promotion might help them with money, but the owner refused to give Jack a management role, crediting the rumors and other behaviors as the reason for his decision. This furthered Jack’s bad mood, which only got worse when Laura wanted to talk with him about an idea she’d had.
Pursuing Her Dreams
It had been a few years since Laura officially graduated college, and she had trouble finding a higher-paying job with her degree. She wanted to go back to school to study something more specific, which she hoped would pay off in the future when she found a good career. She dreamed about moving to another place and starting a family.
She thought that after getting a professional degree, she would get a decent job and fulfil all of her dreams. Laura often chatted about how exciting it was to think about their future and starting their family, but after bringing it up again one evening, nothing could’ve prepared her for Jack’s reaction.
Trying Her Best
After talking about moving and kids once again, Jack lost it and snapped at Laura. They were already struggling financially, and he was stressed out to no end. Laura was shocked at his intense reaction, but she decided to drop it, and she made sure she kept her yearning for these things to herself.
She took up extra shifts at the restaurant to try to make extra money and show Jack how committed she was to their relationship. She has pushed all of her limits of working to make everything sorted. No matter what she tried, she couldn’t help but notice how much Jack was changing every day.
Growing Distant
Laura put her trust in fate and began to buy lottery tickets. She had a little extra money she inherited from her grandmother, who had passed away a few years before. It wasn’t much, but maybe it could help them win a small amount. Then, some of their problems could be solved, and they could even go on a vacation to rekindle their romance and relax from their daily stress.
Months passed, and Laura realized the money was dwindling fast. She desperately wished one ticket would prove lucky and she could finally convince Jack to be less distant when he came home. Unfortunately, the tickets never won, his mood never improved, and Laura’s loss of faith in her relationship was even scaring her.
Family Gatherings
On the nights Jack had to work late, Laura would drive hours to go home and get some comfort from her mom. Her mother hated seeing Laura so upset. She told her that marriage took a lot of work, but secretly, she worried for her young daughter, who seemed to be experiencing far more difficulty far too early in her relationship. Family gatherings were challenging as well. Laura stayed away from Jack so people wouldn’t see how distant he’d become.
She would make herself busy in the kitchen while she enlisted her sister Carla to entertain him in the living room. She thought giving him space would be the way to save her marriage, but she was losing faith. Then, one day, without warning, the perfect solution to all of their problems appeared.
As Luck Would Have It
As Laura did every time she bought a scratch card, she watched the TV to see if her’s was a winning ticket. However, this time was different. As the final number was called on the television, Laura almost fell over as she double and triple-checked her ticket.
She couldn’t believe it. The numbers staring back at her were the exact numbers on the television. Her mind immediately began racing as she thought about all the things they could do with the money. She almost dropped her keys as she raced out her front door. It was the happiest day of her life.
First Things First
Laura immediately left to go collect her winnings from the office downtown. She was already thinking about the trip to Hawaii they used to talk about, so immediately after she collected her check, she booked two tickets to Maui. She would figure out the details later—after all, now she had oodles of money to spend on hotels and excursions.
For now, she rushed to get home, knowing Jack had already gotten home an hour ago. A lot of things were running in her mind at that time. She couldn’t wait to tell him the news. However, she had no clue what was waiting for her at the house.
Telling Jack
When she walked in, she called out Jack’s name. “I have a surprise for you,” she sang out, expecting to find her husband sitting on the living room couch. As she walked around, she saw signs that Jack had been home—a sock on the floor, a jacket thrown over a chair—but no sign of Jack himself.
Then she circled back around to the kitchen and saw a piece of paper on the fridge with her name on it in Jack’s handwriting. That hadn’t been there when she left an hour or two ago. As she opened the letter, she never could’ve prepared herself for what she was about to read.
The Letter
“Laura, I’m sorry to say this to you, but I’m leaving you,” the letter started. Laura’s hand came to her mouth as her eyes scanned the page as fast as possible. She had to read it a few times to really grasp what it said, but the message was clear. Jack had left her for all kinds of reasons, according to the letter.
She hadn’t noticed his new haircut or when he had new clothes, and she didn’t want to be intimate as much as he did. To him, it felt like she never showed him love, and he was tired of it. But his leaving wasn’t even the worst part.
Family Betrayal
It was the last line of the letter that really angered Laura. Jack had said he’d be back for his stuff when Laura was at work so she wouldn’t have to worry about seeing him. Then he and her sister Carla would be running away to West Virginia so they could live happily together. Laura couldn’t believe it.
Her little sister and her husband running away together? This felt like the most painful deception. Sadness, anger, betrayal, and nausea all passed through Laura at once. How hadn’t she noticed the signs?
Recognizing the Signs
Laura took a second to think back. She had noticed Jack’s distance and his bad mood, but as she read the letter, she couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed more specific details before. She should’ve paid more attention to the extra late nights at the bar, the weird looks from coworkers, and the things written on the wall.
But mostly, she should’ve paid attention to the extra time Carla spent with him, especially at family events. It was suddenly so clear. Laura allowed herself a few minutes of sobbing before she took a breath and thought about what to do next. She wouldn’t let her husband get away with the last word.
Writing an Email
The first thing Laura did was start to pack. She packed her cutest bikinis and clothes, allowing herself to get excited about her trip. She packed the essential things that were necessary for her trip. Then she threw all of Jack’s stuff into trash bags and set them by the front door.
She’d make it easy for Jack to grab it and go—it was the least she could do before she shoved her news into his face. Laura looked at her half-empty closet, satisfied with her work, and walked back into the kitchen. Then, she began crafting an email.
Getting it Out
Laura typed furiously, her fingers barely keeping up with her thoughts. She wrote about all of the things she had done that were her versions of showing love. She wrote about how he was never home but how she stayed in the marriage because she truly did love him.
She responded to his disappointment in her and finally, she addressed the fact that she was leaving her for her sister. She wished them both the very best, but told them never to contact her again. Finally, with a sort of satisfaction, she typed out the big news.
Dropping the Bomb
In one final paragraph, she wrote out a final goodbye. She said that Jack could come anytime during the day in the next two weeks to pick up his stuff. After all, he wouldn’t have to worry about her being there since she’d be in Hawaii, a trip she’d planned for the two of them after winning $37 million.
If her winning the lottery wasn’t satisfying enough, she made sure he knew that since they lived in a community property state. She had bought the winnings using money she’d inherited from her grandmother, he wasn’t entitled to a single penny. With that, she signed her name and sent the email.
Packing Up to Go
With adrenaline coursing through her veins, she called the airline, got a refund on one ticket, and changed the other ticket to a flight the very next morning. There was no point in prolonging the start of her new life any longer. She went to sleep that night, less sad than she thought she’d be. Jack had shown her exactly who he was at the perfect time.
If he had waited just an hour to tell her, she might’ve shared her fortune with him without even knowing about his relationship with Carla. She would fully process her feelings of abandonment and betrayal in Hawaii, but her millions of dollars would definitely help ease the pain.
Looking to the Future
When Jack and Laura got married, they promised to love each other through life’s ups and downs. While Laura was trying to find ways to fix their relationship, Jack decided to take a different path. Luckily, he showed her who he was at just the right time, giving Laura the last laugh. Talk about luck.
We hope Laura is able to heal from this painful split, and we wish her a lifetime of happiness as she reaps the benefits of winning the lottery. She truly deserves it.
