A Dream Home

Brooke toweled off her athletic, 28-year-old body with a sigh. For the thousandth time, she wished she had her own pool so she could swim laps whenever she wanted. Patrons of the public pool at the recreation center were only allowed 1/2 hour time slots since they reopened following the COVID 19 outbreak. That wasn't even enough time for Brooke to do her mile swim, let alone some cool down laps. Plus, the indoor pool was only 20 yards instead of the standard 25.

Born a Pisces and named loosely after a trickle of water, Brooke had always loved swimming, feeling more at home in water than on land. But she had college loans to pay off, and having finally moved out on her own, she was responsible for all of her own bills for the first time in her life. She knew she wasn't likely to get a pool for many years, barring some crazy event, like marrying someone wealthy.

At the moment, she was more focused on her career than her love life. With great grades and a business major, she had landed an excellent job as the manager of Crystal Vortex Resort in Sedona, Arizona. It was a demanding job, but she enjoyed challenges.

With rent being astronomical in the sought-after community, Brooke chose to get an apartment in nearby Cottonwood. The 20-30 minute commute didn't bother her. It gave her time to reflect or listen to music.

Brooke had two close friends. Cindy worked the front desk at the resort, and Roger had been Brooke’s best friend since they were in high school. He was flamboyantly gay, but that only added to his personality as far as the girls were concerned.

Brooke was set to meet them for dinner at the Tavern Grille in Old Town Cottonwood, so she showered and dressed hurriedly. Their Friday night dinners were something she looked forward to every week.

By the time she found a place to park and made it in the building, they were seated and had ordered the first round.

"Hi, guys!" she greeted with a genuine smile. "Sorry I'm late. You know me and swimming. I had to use up all my time."

Roger and Cindy chuckled. They had both tried to race Brooke and got lapped within 200 yards the previous summer.

Cindy teased, "I'll bet your dream home would have an indoor and an outdoor pool."

"No," Brooke said, "I've had it all planned out since I was in fifth grade. I would have a pool all the way around my house, like a moat. That way, I wouldn't have to do any flip turns. Also, I would have a tower with a slide spiraling around it into the main part of the pool. You would climb the staircase inside the tower to get to the top. Wouldn't that be fun?"

Roger, who wasn't nearly as athletic argued, "You can have your fancy pool. I may put in a hot tub, but of course, I would focus on impeccable decorating. If money was no object, I could really do a number on a three bedroom house." He looked at Cindy, "What about you, love? What would you do if you could build your dream house?"

Cindy thought for a minute. "I want a big family, so I would want five bedrooms, a large family room, a separate dining room, and someone to clean it all."

Roger bumped her arm, "Good choice. I've seen your housekeeping, or the lack thereof."

"Hey!" Cindy grumbled, "I'm not that bad. I clean." Then she mumbled, "Every other Saturday."

All three friends laughed. Brooke held up her glass and said, "To dream homes. May we all get there eventually." They all clinked glasses.

Roger changed the subject, "Where are we going to celebrate your birthday next week, Brooke?"

Brooke dropped her jaw open.

Cindy smiled widely, "You didn't think I noticed your birthday on your paperwork when you started working at Crystal? I keep track of everyones' special days."

Roger grinned, "She's been reminding me for weeks. We thought about springing a surprise, but we didn't want to risk you having an obligation."

Brooke said, "We can meet here again if you like. I don't care, as long as I spend time with you guys."

"Fine," Roger nodded, "but we're covering food and drinks."

"Deal."

*

The week went by quickly. Brooke was busy every day, sometimes working into the night, but she made sure that everything was caught up so that she could meet with her friends Saturday for the celebration.

When she got to The Tavern Grill, she was surprised by balloons, flowers, and her favorite, carrot cake. Cindy and Roger were beaming with pride.

Roger said, "We didn't know what to get you, so we pitched in." He handed her a beautifully wrapped gift.

Inside, was a book by her favorite author, Ottessa Moshfegh. "This is perfect!" she exclaimed, "I've been wanting to read this one. Thank you both." She gave them hugs.

"There are a few extras in the box," Cindy pointed out.

Under the book, Brooke found her favorite guilty pleasure, a Chocolove bar with almonds and sea salt, and a bunch of lottery tickets. Brooke counted nine. "Cool! I never play the lottery, but I heard the Powerball is up to $154 million. That would be a game-changer. Do you know when they're announcing the numbers?"

Cindy nodded, "This one is tonight at 9:00. We got nine tickets because you're 29. We're going to catch a taxi to my place after this and you guys can crash after we party there. We'll get my neighbor to take us back for our cars in the morning."

When they got to Cindy’s, the friends busted out some board games, listened to music, and chatted. They almost forgot to turn on the news at 9:00, but caught it just as the Powerball numbers were being displayed. "Quick, write them down!" Roger shrieked.

"Calm down!" Cindy yelled back. "We can always look it up online."

"I'll get them," Brooke called, grabbing her phone. She took a picture of the screen with the numbers.

Cindy laughed, "I should have thought of that."

They took three tickets each and started checking the numbers. One by one, the tickets were cast aside, until Roger screamed, "Oh, my God! I think you won! I think you won!" He handed Brooke the ticket. "Check this! I think it's all the numbers."

All three gathered around and confirmed the matches one by one. Every number matched. The three friends hugged and jumped up and down.

"Brooke," Cindy squealed, "You can build your dream home!"

*

Brooke was the only winner. She was given two choices. She could take a smaller lump sum, or she could take an initial payment followed by 29 payments, one each year. As young as she was, she opted to take the annuity option. Her first payment would set her up very well.

Brooke had her dream home built and gave a sizable donation to Habitat for Humanity so that others could have homes too. She also gave enough money to Cindy and Roger for them to pay off all of their debts and have some for fun. The rest, she invested. She continued to work at Crystal Vortex Resort for a while, and then decided to do some traveling. She met a nice guy who didn't realize she was rich until she finally showed him her home two weeks into dating. By then, he had proven himself to be a kind and honest gentleman. Despite lots of swimming, he never could keep up with Brooke in the water.