Page 5 of The Winning Ticket

“Good to see ya, mate.” Will is the first through the door, and he gives me a quick hug and a handshake before leaving space for Chris to walk in and greet me the same way.

I’ve known Chris since kindergarten, and we met Will in grade eleven when he moved up from Sydney with his family. I’ve known Chris’s fiancee, Morgan, for as long as I can remember, and she has been my best friend since long before Chris noticed her in grade eight. She’s also best friends with Will’s girlfriend, Annelisa, who I’ve known as long as Chris and the five of us have been a tight-knit group forever.

Will lets out a whistle when he gets his first look at the apartment.

“Jesus, this place is way too much… I’m almost dreading bringing Annie here tomorrow night. She’s going to want to move in,” he says.

“Yeah, honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever been in a place this nice before. It felt weird putting beer in the fridge. It seems more like a champagne sort of place,” I reply, shaking my head.

I point towards the fridge, and they both help themselves to a beer before wandering around for their own tour, seeing what I mean about how over the top the place is.

After several exclamations about random things, like the giant projector screen in the media room and more Blu-rays than we have ever seen, they join me on the terrace, where I’ve already started grilling the steaks I’d bought earlier. We chat while I watch the food, but they are both preoccupied, staring at the view.

“This place is amazing. You can use voice activation for all the lights and power points! How’d your old man take it when you told him about this place?” Will raises an eyebrow and takes a mouthful of beer.

“About as well as you’d think. He thought it would be good for someone else… He told me to sell it before immediately reminding me that my life is out there and I have to keep working for him.” I busy myself with turning the steaks, trying not to dwell on the conversation I’d had with my father when I’d found out about the apartment.

Jack Boyd had made it clear that people like us didn’t live in places like this.

Will shakes his head but doesn’t comment further. He did a few weeks of his apprenticeship with Dad. He only lasted a short while because he missed Annelisa too much and found a placement back in Brisbane instead. But those few weeks were enough to know how tough Dad can be.

“Oh, Morgan wanted me to mention that we’ll have Bri with us tomorrow night. She’s due back from Sydney sometime in the afternoon.” Chris accepts the plate I hand him while I close the lid on the barbeque.

“Oh really? Is she just back for a holiday?” I ask, trying not to sound too interested.

I haven’t seen Morgan’s little sister since she moved. She graduated a year after us and moved down there not long after. Last I heard, she has some high-end marketing job and is living with her boyfriend, who Chris can’t stand. I’d had a secret crush on her for most of our childhood and teen years. I kept it to myself because girls like Brianna Watkins did not end up with the tradie who lives in the bush.

“Nope, she’s moving back. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but she broke up with the asshole boyfriend. She can tell you the rest if she wants to. Morgan has gone into full mother-hen mode.”

We head back inside and start digging into various store-bought salads while we continue talking.

“Wow. Is she okay?” I ask.

“She will be. She started the drive this morning. All I’ll say is that it was a messy break-up. I always knew that guy was a dick.” Chris’s expression shows just how disgusted he is.

“Where’s she gonna live? With you guys?” Will asks, and Chris shakes his head.

“We don’t have the space. Morgan is still working from home in the spare room, and even if she wasn’t, that room is too damn small for someone to live in. She’s going to crash with their parents, I think.”

I wince. The girls’ folks are okay, but their Mum can be a little full-on, and after living out of home for five years, I doubt Bri would enjoy living with them again.

“Well, she is definitely welcome tomorrow night,” I confirm, and Chris taps his beer to mine.

While we have a few other people coming, I know that the core group will be the ones to keep the night going into the early hours before crashing in the various rooms and on the many, many couches.

It’s going to be a great night.

And a small part of me is very interested in seeing how well Brianna Watkins has grown up.

3

REMEMBER JAKE BOYD?

BRIANNA

After eight hours of driving, I see the ‘Welcome to Brisbane’ sign and know I’m not far from my parents' house. When I was a kid, that stretch of road when driving back from the Gold Coast used to feel so long, but after the drive up from where I stopped overnight at Coffs Harbour, I almost feel like crying with relief. This has been the longest seventy-two hours of my life.

My phone rings, and I glance at the screen of the car’s entertainment system to see that it’s Morgan. I hit the speaker button on the steering wheel.

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