She paused. ‘Forget it, I don’t want it,’ she said.
‘Let’s call this William dude,’ said Lainie.
‘Forget it, I don’t want it,’ Amanda repeated. ‘It has to be dodgy. Also, I never win anything, ever. So why would I start being lucky now?’
Lainie took back the letter and dialled the number.
‘It’s ringing,’ she whispered.
‘Why are we whispering?’
‘I don’t know, but we are,’ Lainie stated and then changed gears into her normal voice. ‘Oh hi, I’m ringing on behalf of Amanda Cox, daughter of Wendy Cox, the winner of the Moongate house thing? We got a letter.’ She paused. ‘Oh wonderful, excellent, of course.’
She put the call on mute. ‘They sound legit, like super posh. They’re getting Mr Smith. He’s probably outside riding his pony.’
Amanda felt fury coming from inside her belly that went up to her throat and into her ears. She remembered the frustration at her mother’s decisions before she was diagnosed and how touchy her mother was when she mentioned the rate of competitions her mother was entering and Wendy’s reckless spending.
Lainie waved at her to take the phone. ‘No, this isn’t Amanda – I’ll get her. This is her best friend, Lainie. Hang on.’
Amanda took the phone from Lainie and, scowling at her friend, she spoke. ‘Hello?’
‘Ms Cox, congratulations,’ a man’s voice said.
‘For what?’ she asked.
‘Your mother, Wendy Cox, bought a ticket in our raffle and put you down as the recipient if the ticket won. We have tried contacting her.’
‘A bit hard unless you have a Ouija board.’ Amanda couldn’t help the tone that came out. ‘I’m sorry, she passed away not long ago.’
The lawyer was speaking again. ‘I am very sorry to hear that but yes, she bought a ticket in your name in September last year, it states here.’
‘That makes sense,’ Amanda said, thinking it was at the height of Wendy entering competitions.
‘I can assure you this is a legitimate offer and you can live at Moongate Manor for as long as you wish.’
‘And do what? I don’t really know what to do with a house in England.’
‘Why don’t you just come and see what it’s like, meet the previous owner, see the house.’
‘I can’t afford to do that, sorry. I’ve just lost my job and my mom’s dead, and I have to move into a shared house, so you know, I’m really living my best life here. Why would I want to leave? I mean, everything is coming up roses.’
Amanda heard herself give a hysterical laugh and she wondered if she had finally lost the plot.
She handed the phone back to Lainie. ‘I can’t go. Explain it to him.’
Lainie took the phone and went into the hallway to speak to the man.
Amanda lay on the bed and looked at the ceiling.
What the hell was happening? Why didn’t her mom enter to win a duplex in Tribeca? England was so foreign to her, and her mom had never wanted to go back there but she had made sure Amanda had a British passport, albeit so far unused.
Her mom had said her life was in America – well, New York to be exact – but now that life was over. Did that mean it was over for Amanda as well?
The door opened and Lainie came back into the apartment.
‘All sorted,’ she said and threw the phone on the bed next to Amanda, where it hit her elbow.
‘Ouch,’ said Amanda, but Lainie ignored her.
