Cindy's Luck

"I've won!" Cindy collapsed in joy on the boutique floor after briefly glancing at the winning lottery numbers on her cheap mobile phone. Finally, her luck had arrived. Now she could relax and give up her job as a cleaner at her step-sisters' boutique.

She decided a celebration was in order. She wanted to go somewhere fun like her favorite nightclub. She could never afford to go but now she could! It would be the ideal place to celebrate her newfound life. After all, it was Saturday and soon she'd be rich. She knew she was entitled to have some happiness in her life. Besides, it was a popular place these days. The many adverts along street walls and outside shops said it all. It was the place where all girls her age craved to be on a Saturday night. The Oasis nightclub was a travesty these days. Even her step-sisters were seen there on the weekends and Cindy wanted the chance to go there too.

Plus, the DJ of her dreams would be there tonight. She had fancied him for ages but knew he wouldn't be interested in someone like herself. He was usually seen with the best and well-known prettiest girls around, who wore expensive designer dresses. Cindy knew she'd never been someone like that. Her step-sisters were always hanging around him but he hadn't dated one of them yet.

Of course, now that she'd won the money, she could live up to his expectations. She stared ahead at a dress on a model that was standing near the shop window. She moved closer to it. It was an expensive satin red dress laced with a sparkly gold hem. Its sleeves hung loosely off the shoulder which gave a daring appeal to it. There were matching red, sparkling sandals with petite slim heels that she was sure she wouldn't be able to walk in.

Before leaving work, she went into the back room of the boutique and retrieved the dress hanging on the rail, and placed it safely into a carrier bag along with the sandals. There were only two of these dresses and the other one was hanging on the mannequin at the front of the shop. She would make sure that it was returned early the next morning before anyone discovered it missing. She knew it wouldn't be a problem as she was always in the boutique first to do the cleaning.

Having the keys just made it convenient for her. Anyway, if anything was damaged, she would pay for them out of her winnings.

To make it exciting, she decided to hire a limousine to take her in style. It would be the highlight of her evening. She'd discovered the card thrown in the front door. She'd found it by chance as if it were a miracle. The driver; it turned out would accept the rest of the money once she'd received her winnings.

At eight o'clock Cindy arrived at the nightclub. She noticed the crowd of people lingering outside it and panicked. What if they didn't let her in? She couldn't face that.

"Excuse me," the driver interrupted, "do you want me to drop you right outside?"

"That's a good question, but I'm not sure. What do you think?"

"If you want to make an impression, then I would suggest you stop in front of the place."

"Okay do that," Cindy blurted out before she could change her mind.

The driver opened the door for her and she emerged from the car realizing a crowd of people was watching her. She wasn't scared, but happy and excited. She was glad she'd come after all.

"Go and have some fun. I'll wait for you here at the end of the night," said the driver.

"Thank you."

Cindy made her way up a vast amount of steps towards the entrance door feeling a rush of energy well up inside her. She knew the DJ of her dreams was inside and she couldn't wait to see him.

The man at the door let her go straight in. She could hear the music beat loudly. The thunderous tunes of pop music and the sound of the DJ's voice above it rippled through her veins as she stepped inside.

She slowly moved in and noticed him standing on the stage ahead. He was even more handsome in person. He was famous for his DJ work and now, at last, he was here in her favorite nightclub that she could never afford to go to except on this one night.

After knocking a couple of proseccos down her, Cindy headed for the dance floor. The music was blaring as she danced her way through the crowd and bumped into the one guy she didn't think she'd meet.

"Ah… oh…" she screeched crouching down to console her foot.

"I'm so sorry. Are you okay? It's all my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going."

She wasn't worried about her foot when she saw the man in front of her. She gradually looked up and saw the DJ standing beside her. Her heart pounded and it was beating erratically. Everything else around her was like a quiet murmur in the distance. She realized he was touching her arm and guiding her away from the crowded dance floor towards a nearby seating area.

Once there, he helped her to sit down. "Are you feeling okay? Do you want me to get you a drink?"

"I'm fine but if you insist, I'll have a glass of prosecco."

"No problem. I'll be right back."

Cindy waited for only a minute. She drank the prosecco quickly and placed the empty glass on the table.

"I was thirsty."

"I thought so."

"It's all that dancing."

"Do you come here often?" he asked.

"No."

"What's your name?"

"Cindy."

"I'm Mark, the DJ actually."

She couldn't stop staring at him and she couldn't believe she was here sitting with the one person she thought she would never meet.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked.

"I'd love to."

He held her close as they moved to no particular rhythm, as a fast, raving tune set the dance floor alive. The noise was blasting but she didn't care. She was with Mark, the DJ.

They danced for ages and at one point she thought she saw her step-sisters. She didn't want them to see her wearing the dress from their shop, so swirled around Mark so they wouldn't notice her. After a while, he said he had to get back to the stage and to his work. He said he wouldn't be long and would be back soon. She decided to wait for him but then the driver appeared with bad news.

"I'm sorry to be a nuisance dear, but I have to leave right away. It's my wife. She's gone into labor and she's waiting for me at the hospital. I can take you home now or you'll have to get a taxi."

It was midnight already and she knew she had to be at work early tomorrow morning to return the dress.

"That's okay. You can take me home now."

"Oh thank you and to make it fair, you don't need to pay me any more money for tonight dear."

"Are you sure? You don't need to do that for me."

"It's not a problem. I assure you."

They rushed out of the nightclub. She couldn't run, because her feet were killing her and her foot still hurt. The sandals were small and dainty. They weren't made for running in.

She was outside rushing down the entrance steps when her right foot slipped, losing the sandal. The driver was waiting with the door open and she tried to turn back, but it was getting late and she noticed Mark behind her looking for her.

Sitting in the back of the limousine, she turned to see Mark pick up the red sparkling sandal and then watch her disappear into the distance.

The sandal was the least of her worries. She could pay for them. It was Mark she would miss. She'd never see him again, but she knew she would remember this night forever.

At home, she checked her numbers again and realized she'd only gotten four numbers out of six, but she was still glad for the extra money. Eighty pounds wasn't bad for a lottery win.

She knew it was a shame that it couldn't have been a million, but she'd had a great night.

"Oh well, at least I met Mark and had a brilliant night with him," she told herself.

The next morning, she headed to work early and put the dress back in its place. She was prepared to pay for the sandals since she'd lost one of them. It would be a souvenir of her one night of glamor.

"Hello again," said a well-known voice behind her that made her shiver with excitement. "I think you left something behind last night."

"You!" She gasped as she turned around. "How did you find me?"

"I got the telephone number from the back of the limousine you were in. The driver was very helpful. I told him I needed to return this sandal to its rightful owner."

"I see."

"If it fits the girl I'm looking for, then I hope she's prepared to go out with me tonight," Mark stated.

She slipped her foot easily into the red sparkling sandal, as he took her hand and led her away with him. As far as she was concerned, she'd won her million lotteries after all and the fairy tale to go with it.

The End

(Also published on Medium).