Chapter Seven

Arriving in Williams, Arizona, Lucky hides her winning Idaho lottery ticket against her skin but feels no elation, only the impossibility of claiming it. She decides California is next and scouts a large hotel hosting a beauticians’ trade show and a small-business summit, preparing a backless dress, darkened hair, and the alias “Lisa,” a hairdresser with a patented conditioning technique.

At the hotel bar, Lucky battles grief over Cary and refuses the first man’s offer to buy a drink. Needing money, she targets another attendee, Tim, a married small-business salesman. Leveraging Dale Carnegie banter, tequila shots, and her invented head-massage pitch, she gains Tim’s trust without intimacy and lifts his wedding ring, watch, and wallet.

Pretending to arrange a hotel-room rendezvous, Lucky leaves Tim besotted and slips away. She changes in a lobby restroom, repositions the lottery ticket back into her bra, and catches a city bus to avoid notice.

At an EZ Pawn, Lucky sells the ring and watch for quick cash, declining the better consignment split. When pressed to sell her gold crucifix, she refuses, choosing memory and hope over money. Counting Tim’s cash, her hidden reserve, and the pawn proceeds, she totals nearly five hundred dollars.

Reaffixing the crucifix and reaffirming her intent to find her mother someday, Lucky heads toward the station. With travel funds secured, she plans to reach California and be at San Quentin by morning, despite dreading what awaits there.