When Being Bad Pays Off

When Being Bad Pays Off

Or

A little wine a little chance, one hundred dollars in my pants (pocket)

Mrs. C left me last week.  She took a few days in the sun with her friends.  I was not invited.  She returned Yesterday.

While she was away, I decided to lose some weight.  For five days, no sugar, ok, a little honey in my coffee, otherwise no sugar, no bread, no alcohol, and several days at the gym.

I picked her up last night at the train station.  She took the train to the plane.  It was after six so we decided to go to a favorite little Italian Restaurant for dinner.

This restaurant is a bring your own bottle restaurant.  There is a liquor store next door.  Ordinarily I buy a bottle of Merlot, and we buy several scratch-off lottery tickets.  Unlike a certain former top of her class blogger from Missouri, we never win anything on the scratch-offs. Once we got our five dollars back.

Tonight, I was going to forgo that tradition as part of my weight loss regimen is alcohol avoidance.  Mrs. C does not drink, but she does like scratch-offs.

“Aren’t you going to get some wine?”

“I’m trying to avoid alcohol to lose some weight.”

“OK.”

“Though” temptation was starting to poke me, “I know you like the scratch-off tradition, maybe I could nurse a bottle for just a glass or two.”

Temptation won.  I bought the wine, and Mrs. C spent $10 on two scratchers. 

The restaurant was empty.  Our regular waitress was not there, the guy making pizzas in the back doubled as our server. 

Normally I tease the waitress that her tip is going to be based on our luck with the scratchers.  I did not feel as flirty with the behind the counter pizza maker.  He was a nice guy and a good server, but pizza dough all over his apron, and a bit sweaty from working around those hot pizza ovens and I didn’t feel flirty…that and he was a dude.

Anyway, dinner was delicious.  When we finished, Mrs. C attended to the tickets while I got the bill.

“Oh, we got our money back on the first ticket.”

“Big deal, you’ll just flip that for another and there goes the five bucks.”

“Maybe…whoa this one looks good.”

“What.”

“Wait, I think…we have a double lightening bolt, I think we win all the scratch off money below them.”

“How much?”

“Umm…one hundred!”

"Nice!"

So, giving into temptation paid for dinner, the wine, the tickets, twenty dollars for a ‘Powerball’ chance and ten dollars left over.

“Ten dollars left over and still a chance at the big money lottery, not bad.”

“You should probably give the ten to the regular waitress the next time we go.”

It’s good to spread karma around.