Chapter 152: Lotto.

[Edward POV]

'Why is Fortunate Son 'worming' in my brain? What happened while I was asleep?'

"Ed, do we have the dips?" My dad asked, snapping me out of my daze. I had already returned to my still-under-construction home after my dad picked me up from Jay's place. 

He was sitting next to me on the couch as we watched the TV, waiting for the lottery announcement time. I slid over a guacamole dip and asked him, "There's no chicken wings this year?"

"Oh. Wait, I forgot. They're in the kitchen." Dad stood up and rushed to get it. "Come on Dad! That's the most important part… And you also promised me that I would get to try beer this year." I shouted teasingly towards him.

"Wait, did I really?" He widened his eyes in shock as he carried a tub of chicken wings to the couch.

"Yeah, it's true." 

"Really?" He furrowed his brows, trying to remember the conversation we had in the past year.

"Why would I lie? Also, is your memory failing you already? That might be normal considering how drunk you were at that time."

"Ah…" Dad exclaimed in disappointment– not in me, but in himself. He tried to persuade me, "You have seen how miserable I was. Are you sure you want a beer?"

I shrugged and said slightly, "Well I'm not going to be an alcoholic. I just want to have chicken wings and beer, like people always do in tv shows." 

"Oh…alright then." My dad shook his head slightly, "A promise is a promise. But to be clear, I'm only giving you ONE."

"Sure." I nodded. "Give me the German one." I muttered as I saw him reaching his hand for the light beer.

"Uhh…alright." He hesitated a bit before he relented and gave me a can. I smiled happily as I opened it.

*Ker-clack. Psshhh*

"Ummm. The foam-" I quickly drank the overflowing water while giving an angry side eye to my dad, "Did you shake it?"

"How is it possible? You saw me sliding it to you." He smirked slyly as his scheme succeeded, barely holding back his laugh as he saw my reaction. I rolled my eyes and picked up a chicken wing. 

"The extra spicy sauce?" My dad asked.

"The medium one is fine." I replied.

"Weak." My dad exclaimed teasingly. My veins throbbed as I got annoyed and I grabbed the 'extra spicy' sauce from his hand and poured it onto my chicken wings.

"You'll regret it." He warned with slightly raised brows.

"I don't think that it'll be worse than what Camila cooked before." I said jokingly. 

"Is she still sleeping?" My dad asked as he opened up a can of beer for himself. Although he vowed to quit, this seemed like a special bonding moment with his son, therefore he made an exception.

"Like a log." I replied with a slight nod as I chewed on the chicken wings. As my dad warned, the spiciness did hit strongly, but I could still handle it. 

"Dad, the numbers?" I asked him.

"Here, 20 you, 20 me, 10 in the shared pile, as usual." He said as he split up the lottery tickets according to our yearly traditions.

"I know it's dumb to ask but what are you going to do with the money  if you win the big prize?" I asked with a slight chuckle. 

"I will still answer it even if I know we won't win. Like usual." My dad laughed before he said, "Well…"

"Don't tell me you're going to buy a new boat. One day you're going to drown at sea with all your boats." I rolled my eyes as I could guess what he was going to answer. It was the same answer every year, and I was sick of it.

"Maybe not a simple boat. Maybe a luxury Yacht ship. You know, one of the ones with a pool on top of the deck." My dad said in an awe-inspiring voice as he remembered the Yacht that he saw in the magazines before.

"Then, you could take Sal, and Desiree, and have a threesome cruise all over the world, only to come back with 2 more people in their bellies."

He scoffed and said, "I'm not going to invite Sal."

"So …you ARE going to invite Desiree. I got to say, Dad, me, living in the same house as my ex-girlfriend, will make you have grandkids sooner than you think."

"I'm not going to invite her either." He didn't mind the joke and answered me truthfully, slightly shaking his head.

"So you're not going to invite your best friend? You know, the one that you talked all night with before-"

"Shut up and eat your chicken." He pushed the chicken I was holding into my mouth as he put the tickets on the coffee table. 

"Wait, Grand Price 166 million dollars? Wasn't it 96 million?" My dad was astonished when he saw the number.

"That was last week. Unclaimed." I replied to him as I checked out the ball reading bimbo on the screen. She kinda looks like Margot Robbie, which didn't surprise me as I know at least 4 other actresses that had the similar features.

"Honestly, even if someone wins, they will just get around 120 million, so the number is a scam. Even lower if they decided to bump up the tax bracket. Not to mention the IRS tax, and also the state tax." My dad muttered. 

"166 mil, will be 126 mil after Federal Tax of 24%. Since we live in California we are exempt from State Tax, as they won't take anything from the lottery winning. 126 is what we would get if we win. But I think we're going to get bumped up in the tax bracket, so it might be 37%, and we will get only 104.8 million." I analyzed it. 

"Still, that's a lot of money." My dad inhaled sharply before he squinted his eyes at the screen.

"Enough for you to start dating again. The statistics show that even an ugly man with a face that only a mother could love, would be able to find their 'true love' in a hot, 22 year old blond woman, with great tits, after winning the lottery."

My dad laughed a bit before he narrowed his eyes at me and said, "You think I'm one of those… 'statistics'?" 

"Who knows? Just to be clear, I have no problem with you remarrying dad. Even if you still love mom, you already understood long ago that she won't come back. So if you're lonely, just find someone."

"Hmm…I'll think about it." My dad replied before he smirked, "But you are still forgetting the main condition and that is we need to win first." 

"So Never. Understood." I laughed as I picked up a tissue box to wipe my hand before putting it on the coffee table again, near the arranged lottery tickets.

…

"The first number is…6!" The TV announcer read the number on the drawn out ball. 

"Ugh…12 cards already useless." I groaned as I waited for the next number.

"All…12…in your pile…Ed, are you unlucky?" My dad asked. He only got 2 tickets burned, so he was smirking at my misery.

"Let's see. I have a strong feeling that I will win something today!" I muttered in confidence. 

"The second number is…12!" The TV announced again.

"YES!" I exclaimed while my dad groaned. He threw away 6 tickets to the side, "Maybe I can win the consolation prize."

"In your dreams old man!" 

"The next number is…22!" The TV announced again.

"YESS! 3 numbers! I won….7 dollars!" I shouted in excitement as I stood up from the sofa. My dad laughed breathlessly as he said, "7…7 dollars…(Laugh)...And you're celebrating like you won… the grand prize."

"The Powerball numbers haven't come out yet! I still have the chance to make this 100 dollars! But you? All of your tickets are useless!"

"Well I still can get ..what is 18 times 4 dollars?" 

"72 dollars. But we won't count the single number one. That's petty." 

He rolled his eyes as he picked up the cards that he threw away, "Well..there's still 2 numbers…and the powerball. I won't give up yet."

"That's the spirit." I muttered sarcastically as I finished my can of beer. "Give me another one?" I asked.

"NO!" He answered sternly.

"I'll give you my 7 dollars." I tried to persuade him.

"Get out of here." He laughed. 

"The fourth number for the lucky winner tonight is…7!" 

"OHHHHH! I HIT 4!!!!!" I exclaimed in shock as I saw it. My dad widened his eyes and stood up immediately.

"Seriously? If you got the powerball, do you know what it means?" My dad gulped his saliva as he looked at me incredulously. 

"4 numbers is 100 dollars. 4 numbers plus the powerball… it's 50,000 dollars!" I muttered, causing my dad to swallow his saliva. But me being me I decided to poke some fun at him as I added with a small smirk, "...My Angry Bird game income for a day."

He slumped immediately and said, "That ruins it."

I laughed at his reaction, but my hand was shivering at that time. It was a wonderful feeling when I saw my numbers on the screen. I was never a lucky person before, so this feeling was completely novel for me.

"The final 5th number….32!" 

"Awwww…" I groaned as I missed the last number.

"There's still the powerball." My dad comforted me.

"I know. What about the shared pile?" I asked.

"Well…none of them make it. Only 1 ticket got 2 numbers hit." My dad muttered in disappointment.

"We already knew this would happen. Why are we still disappointed?" I asked as I sat back on the couch.

"The powerball number is…11~" The announcer said, but as expected, none of the tickets got the last number.

"At the very least we got our money back." My dad muttered.

"I won the money! You won nothing!" I teased him.

"Ughh…Next year…next year for sure!" My dad vowed. I laughed as I waved the winning card at him. Even when he could buy the numbers every week to try the lottery, he only picked to do it on Father's day, and I admired him for that.

"Ed, you're staying here tonight?" He asked.

"I want to use the hot tub, but you unplugged it after the "Sal Incident''. So I'll go pack my stuff and sleep at Camila's tonight."

"Sure. By the way when you visit Texas do buy me a cowboy hat will ya." He slumped on the couch while I checked the tickets.

"I will. Wait… Dad, why did you only buy 49 tickets?" I asked him quizzically.

"49? I'm sure that I bought 50." He straightened his back and helped me to double check the tickets.

"Is it in your pocket?" 

He patted his  chest pocket and his pants pockets, and said, "No. I had taken them ALL out before. It must be here somewhere." He rummaged around the table, but the last ticket was still missing. 

"I'll try to find it. In the meantime, you should go pack your clothes."

"Alright. Try to check your undies too."

"They're not going to be in my undies!" My dad snorted as he chased me away. I laughed and went to my room, and the minute I jumped on the bed to rest for a bit, my consciousness faded and I fell asleep.

…

[General POV]

"Where is it?" Ted muttered as he checked his car for the whereabouts of the last ticket. 

"I got a feeling that it was an important ticket, but I can't remember why. Did I meet someone this morning? Why am I forgetting stuff? My memory is usually good." He muttered in concern.

"Hey TED! DID YOU WIN?!" 

Ted turned to the sound of the voice, and saw Phil Dunphy waving at him as he walked in his direction.

"You just got home?" Ted asked with a smile. 

"Yeah. After Edward was gone, it was pretty boring." Phil joked. 

"I didn't win, but Ed won." Ted replied with a toothy grin.

"Really?" Phil's eyes lit up. "He won the jackpot?"

"He won 100 bucks." Ted said before he laughed. Phil was taken aback at first, and then laughed after congratulating Ed. 

"Where is he?" Phil asked.

"He's…asleep. By the way, have you seen a white piece of lottery ticket somewhere?"

"Huh? Did you lose your ticket?" 

"Only one."

"I'll help you find it!"

…

[Edward POV]

There was some burning sensation in my eyes, which made me uncomfortable. "Ugh." I groaned as I flipped over and buried my head in the pillow to avoid the sunlight.

"What time is it?" I muttered in agony as I checked my phone. I widened my eyes as I saw it was already 9.30 am, which meant that I had slept for over 11 hours!

"HOLY SHIT!" I cursed as I shot up of bed. "My flight is at 11! Damn it!" 

"Edward, are you up?" My dad shouted from downstairs as he heard the sound of a violent opening of the door. I rushed to the bathroom while yelling at him, "WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP!?"

"Why should I do that?" My dad asked in confusion.

"Because!!.....Wait…It's MY PLANE. Ah, sorry Dad." I apologized to him, which made him smirk in understanding. I eased up and went to the bathroom to get ready, and returned to my room to pack up my clothes. 

After 45 minutes, I went downstairs dressed in comfortable clothes while carrying a big suitcase.

"Pepper is on his way." My dad muttered as he sipped his morning coffee. I went to the coffeemaker and poured one cup for myself while my dad smirked and said, "It's been a while since you slept in."

"Ugh, I don't want to make this a habit. The longer I sleep, the more money I lose." 

My dad was puzzled, and then he said, "Well…speaking of money…I still haven't found the last lottery ticket."

"Ignore it. It's not like we were going to win." I waved it off before saying, "I will be staying in Texas for 3-4 days. You know that right?"

"I know. And if I want to join you, I can just use your plane, right?" My dad said in understanding.

"Also, there's a stripper pole on the plane. So you can invite some girls." 

"What-" My dad's face froze, and his coffee spilled onto his lap.

"I'm just joking. I haven't seen the plane yet." I laughed as my dad wiped his pants with a clean towel.

"You weasel." My dad muttered spitefully. 

"But I am hoping that it will. I want it to be like Iron Man's plane." I muttered in a serious manner, which made my dad taken aback.

*Ding Dong*

"There's Pepper." My eyes lit up and I went to open the door hurriedly. Pepper gave me and my dad a bear hug as he entered the house, and a bodyguard helped to carry my suitcase.

"Ed, there's something you need to know. This morning, Fanjoy (Love Story MV Director) called."

"Oh, what'd she say?" 

"She asked if you have any allergies concerning horses…and whether or not you can ride one."

My dad interjected, "Oh that won't be a problem. His grandparents have a ranch, so he already knows his way around a saddle."

"Oh that's wonderful." Pepper exclaimed in relief and said, "We should go now. Otherwise you'll be late."

"I think I'm already late. Taylor has started shooting right?" I asked knowingly. She had started to shoot her solo parts, which meant that I only had the garden scene, and the castle scene left. 

There was also a college scene, which we will shoot during tomorrow's busy schedule. We were supposed to shoot one scene per day, but apparently Trey was on a tough schedule, and we had to finish the shooting as soon as we could.

"She has, and she keeps blowing up my phone, asking if your flight had already left, even though she was the one who told you to be there at 3."

"Maybe she wants me to watch her performance." I muttered, and I was dead wrong on that. She actually didn't want me to watch her solo act where she lip syncs to the song as she was too embarrassed. 

"She might. We'll know for sure when we get there." 

"Don't forget my hat!" My dad interjected again while giving me a bear hug. "Take care of yourself. Don't play around…too much." He muttered. He already knew it was useless to ask me to behave myself, therefore he was hoping that I could at least contain it.

I rolled my eyes at him and said, "I know I know. Alright, you smell like coffee."

"And who's fault is that?" He gave me a stink eye.

"Yours." I replied, leaving him stunned.

…

[General POV]

"(Whistle) Nice ride." Edward exclaimed as he saw the private jet Pepper's mother gave him. "God-Grandmother really understands me." 

The white jet was among the top models currently in use around the world, it was simple, but luxurious with a sleek design that captured Edward's interest immediately. 

Pepper was startled, "Since when is she your 'god-grandmother'?" 

"Since she gave me almost 5 million dollars for pocket money just yesterday." Edward muttered teasingly as he walked into the plane. To his surprise, there was a lounge area at the center of the plane which separated the seats and the pantry.

The lounge had long couches on both of its sides, and a small, circular platform in the middle. Edward was excited and went to examine the plane in all its entirety.

"What button is this?" Edward muttered as he pressed the small red button on the stage. Suddenly the plane's interior lights dimmed and  multicolour lights started flashing all around. Intense music was playing, and a pole suddenly emerged from the stage, connecting to the top of the plane.

"Ahh. Nice!" Edward muttered as a sexy flight attendant took the pole and started  dancing while slowly taking off her shirt. It was a present that his newly found god-grandmother gave him as he was being so easy on the eyes.

"Alright. Stop! STOPPP!!!" Pepper shouted, but the performance continued. 

Partway through the show as the plane was high up in the air, Edward suddenly received a call.

"Wait. Should I put my phone on flight mode?" Edward asked worriedly.

"This is not a cheap plane. You can answer it." Pepper replied. 

"Hello?" Edward nodded and answered the phone.

"Edward, I found the ticket. It was under the tissue box. I think it got at least 3 numbers correct. Do you remember the winning numbers from last night?"

"Of course I do. Let me see…6, 12, 22, 7, 32, and the powerball is 11." Edward muttered. Ted was silent for a while, and he asked, "Can you repeat that."

"Sure. 6, 12, 22, 7, 32, and 11." Edward repeated kindly. "Hello? Dad?" He asked in concern as Ted went silent for too long. 

"Ed…It hit." Ted said in a shaky voice. 

"Hello? What hit?" Edward asked, confused.

"The numbers….it all fits." Ted pinched his cheek, not sure whether what he was seeing was real, or a dream.

Edward became solemn, and he asked carefully, "You mean…"

"We won…WE FREAKING WONNNNN!!!!"

"HOLY SHIET!!!!!!"