NUMBERS (PART 2)

the show was set to start
larrakin disdained all the theatrics and studio glitz
but as the big draw was about to begin
he always felt that tight feeling in his stomach
the onset of an adrenaline rush
like standing in the theatre wings just before a performance
larrakin imagined
just then there was a loud knock at the window
'get the tinnies out mate!' johnno grinned as he lolloped through the door
as the cold beer anesthetised the back of their throats
larrakin's mind was elsewhere
back at coogee as an orange sun melted into the horizon
a smooth sea-washed pebble in his hand
as lisa's laughter calmed his protestations
and he stood behind the mark
larrakin tossed a pebble
'11' lisa called out
johnno was saying something in the background
larrakin threw another pebble
'18' lisa laughed over johnno's distant voice
larrakin chucked two more pebbles
they landed almost right next to each other
'22'
'26'
larrakin could vaguely hear johnno swearing
what was he doing there at the beach?
'33'
his last pebble
'44'
'mate! mate! fuck mate! can you hear me?'
johnno's face zoomed into focus
he was shouting at the top of his voice
shaking larrakin's shoulders
staring into his eyes
'yer bloody magic numbers - they came up mate!
they bloody came up!'
larrakin rubbed his eyes as if waking from a dream
and stared at johnno
'you have hit the jackpot, my boy
you have just won yourself fifteen million bucks!'

the phone hadn't stopped ringing
johnno was an effective messenger and news travelled fast
at first it was the familiar faces
digger
surfer mick
lenny
monkey
mum
aunty pat
sis
cousin rich
even rozza finally broke the long silence
but then other calls started coming in
from people larrakin hadn't seen for years
brief messages of congratulations and promises to keep in touch
after a while larrakin turned on the answerphone
he was already starting to feel uneasy
most of the conversations had a phoney tone to them
it was like people were keeping their distance
unsure of what to say
almost as if there had been a family bereavement
rather than larrakin scooping the jackpot
this wasn't how it was meant to be
larrakin thought to himself
despite larrakin's objections
johnno had taken it upon himself
to organise a celebration party at his place
pretty much everyone was there
and a few others besides
mum and sis and aunty pat gave larrakin a big hug
'i hope it makes you happy, son' mum said
'don't forget us!' sis laughed
'i'm already looking forward to that holiday in bali' aunty pat winked
johnno was life and soul
cheerfully furnishing guests with cold tinnies
and topping up everyone's half-empty glasses
larrakin wore a glazed smile
he was starting to feel a bit dazed by the whole thing
now johnno was clinking glasses to propose a toast
'to larrakin' johnno grinned
'to larrakin' the voices chimed in unison