The Lottery
Page 25
“Yes, but I meant more than that. Not telling him about… the affair.”
“No need for him to know that. He needs his mother. I’m not taking her away from him.”
“He needs us both.” She sighed. “I’m surprised he’s taking it as well as he is.”
Nathan watched his son swish a long-distance one-handed shot. “Maybe Hank was right—half of his friends’ parents are divorced. Or maybe he could just sense things at home. Or maybe he’s just hiding his feelings. I don’t know.”
“When you pick him up for school tomorrow, talk to him. See how he’s feeling.”
He reached out and patted her hand. “I’ll call you after I drop him off. Let you know what he says.”
Martha emerged from the house behind the store, two pies balanced in her hands. She placed them on the long folding table beside arrangements of fresh flowers as she admonished the boys to leave them until after their meal. The second she disappeared through the back door of the store, they raced over and hung over the table, drooling.
A few minutes later, Martha reappeared through the door, carrying the first of many trays of food. Donna and Colette called their boys to come help, and the four of them joined Martha in hauling the feast out to the tables.
Danny had been cooking since early in the morning, when he had fired up the ovens in the deli. A clipboard rested in the kitchen, filled with a list of equipment and ingredients he wanted to add. The Liar’s Table, empty of its regulars on a Sunday morning, was covered with drawings that Abe and Nathan had sketched that morning of an expansion for the building, adding seating and a separate restaurant entrance.
The meal was exquisite, the taste amplified by the warm spring air and jovial gathering of friends. Everyone returned to the buffet for seconds—the boys for thirds—before Martha sliced pies despite people’s protests of being too full. The boys wanted to taste each flavor and, to the amazement of the adults, succeeded in doing so before racing off to resume their basketball game.
Full from the meal, Nathan sat in the shade, watching his son play basketball with his best friend. He couldn’t help but smile as they bantered with each other.
Martha crossed the lot and settled into a chair beside him. She watched the chaotic game for several minutes before reaching over and patting his hand. “They’re good kids.”
“Yeah, they are. Every day, I want so much for them it hurts.”
Martha glanced over at Danny talking with his father. The two men laughed and talked as they pored over the expansion sketches spread before them.
“Any parent does,” she said. “It’s natural. Just like your dad wanted everything for you.”
They enjoyed the quiet of each other’s company for a few moments before Martha stood to join her family. Before walking away, she turned and faced Nathan. “You know he’s proud of you, right? He would be so happy to see how you turned out.”
Nathan didn’t trust himself to speak and could only nod. His eyes teared up so that he almost didn’t see Matt approach.
“We need to expand this game and teach those boys how basketball is really played,” Matt said. “Come on.”
Nathan strolled onto the court, tousling his son’s hair as he walked past. They played as the afternoon waned. No one kept score.
Get Alone Together Free!
A simple pebble trickles down a hill, a hint of the disaster about to plummet to the highway below. A heroic decision saves lives, but forever alters the path of young Nathan Thomas. Alone Together takes you back, before The Lottery, before the football game against Roosevelt High, and tells you how Nathan came to live in the Mills’ house.
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Acknowledgments
Writing may be a lonely pursuit, but publishing a novel requires a team. I have been blessed to be surrounded by incredible people and The Lottery would never have been printed without their effort.
Editors are the silent partners in the background, prodding the author with thoughts and questions. Lynn McNamee’s team at Red Adept Editing was invaluable and I particularly want to thank Sara Gardiner, Kelly Reed, and Amanda Kruse.
Sara patiently worked with the early drafts—asking questions, making suggestions, and challenging my tale. Her input and guidance strengthened the story, helping Nathan and friends come alive.
Kelly’s sharp eye shaped and structured sentences and her questions helped tighten the story. Amanda wrangled every errant comma, apostrophe and quotation mark.
In just a few sentences, I greatly understate how valuable their efforts were and look forward to working with the Red Adept team on Lost and Found.
Glendon Haddix of Streetlight Graphics captured the spirit of The Lottery beautifully with the gorgeous cover. It took my breath away the very first time I saw it.
And a shout out to Bryan Cohen and the team at Best Page Forward for the book description and marketing materials to help The Lottery reach the widest audience possible.
One of the most pleasant aspects of my journey to a debut novel has been the incredible warmth and support I have received from so many authors. The writing community is incredibly generous and I continue to be pleasantly surprised how helpful everyone is. Whenever I had a question or worry as a rookie, an experienced author always took the time to help me. I can never express my gratitude enough.
I also want to thank all of the people who have read my short stories over the years and encouraged me to write a book. Your friendship and support means the world to me.
Finally, none of this would have been possible without the cheerleading and coaching from Todd Fulbright. From the beginning, he told me I could do this and encouraged me every step of the way.
Don’t worry, readers, he is already asking when the next book will be ready for you. Lost and Found will hit stores this summer!
D.K. Wall
About the Author
After a nearly three-decade-long career in finance, D. K. Wall returned to his roots. He lives on the top of a mountain on the eastern edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Maggie Valley, North Carolina. When not writing, he can be found hiking the mountain trails with camera in hand capturing the beauty of the land.
He is married and shares his home with a family of rescued Siberian Huskies known as The Thundering Herd. With their never-ending help, he is hard at work on his second novel, Lost and Found, which is scheduled for release in the summer of 2019.
For more information and to enjoy his short stories and photographs, please visit the author’s website:
dkwall.com
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