Natalie's POV
I was in so much pain. Sitting at a desk for hours on end had my body stiff and aching. I needed to soak in my tub for an hour and just relax while drinking some cheap wine and talking with my husband, Nick. The thought of it brought a smile to my face as I walked through the front door of our house.
That plan flew out the window, though, when I spotted the stack of enveloped letters that had come in today. It was definitely more bills, I thought as I picked them up and going through the envelopes confirmed it.
Electric bill, gas bill, water bill–there went my plan to drown my problems in bubbles and shitty wine–foreclosure notice, jury du-. My bag fell from my shoulder and landed with a loud thunk as my mind caught up to the envelope.
Dropping the others on the centre table, I stared down the foreclosure notice, praying to God it was some kind of mistake before ripping the letter open.
'Dear Mr and Mrs Dawson,
We regret to inform you that due to your failure to follow up on the mortgage payments, we will be forced to claim ownership of the property….'
They were going to take the house. How did this happen? Oh god, how did I let this happen? I could feel the tears pricking my eyes, building until the letter was nothing but a blur.
My parents had gifted me this house after they'd died. It was all I had left of them. With only my percentages for my real estate sales sustaining us, we'd fallen on hard times and Nick had suggested we take a mortgage out on the house to ease the pressure a little bit. He was a writer who was yet to publish but he worked hard everyday so he could eventually get a deal and support us. I didn't mind. He helped in other ways and I valued him as a husband. I shouldn't have listened to him when he'd suggested this idea but I'd been so smitten, so sure in his writing that I'd ignored my common sense anyway and now we were going to pay for it.
Looking around the living room, all I felt was grief rather than the usual giddiness that used to fill me when I came home. The house had a rustic, modern design, giving off a cabin-in-the-woods vibe and a homey feel to it.
It was perfect and after I married Nick and we moved in, it became even more so. This was our home and now we were going to lose it.
I couldn't even blame it all on Nick. I'd chosen to take out that loan too. Yes, he'd brought up the idea and encouraged it, but It was my decision in the end. But what was I supposed to do at that time? We were drowning in debt and my extra shifts and Nick's part-time jobs weren't cutting it anymore. We were burning out fast and needed some help. So despite my misgivings at the idea, I'd found myself agreeing and in the end, I'd gone to the bank to take out the loan.
Now that it has blown up in my face, I didn't know what to do about it.
"Hey baby, didn't you hear me calling you?" Nick called out as he strode into the room, that sweet smile on his face.
He was a good-looking man in the boy next door kind of way. Standing at 5'10, he had a slightly wiry frame and shaggy brown hair. He was a bit of a nerd, but I loved that about him. He always had this soft, genuine air about him and usually, that was enough to put me at ease, but with the threat of losing my childhood home looking over me, I just couldn't bring myself to be at ease right then.
"Nat? Are you okay?" He asked, pausing at my tear-streaked face. His chestnut brown eyes filling with worry as they stared down at me.
Unable to utter a word, I stretched the letter out to him, my hand slightly trembling as I fought to hold in my tears. He read through it and I watched as his smile dropped, his thin lips pursing and his brows furrowed. I watched as he reread it as if it would somehow change the contents of the letter, but I knew it wouldn't.
He ran a hand through his shaggy hair, several strands sticking up at the end. I watched as his face clouded over with guilt. "Shit Nat, I don't know what to say." He said, moving closer to me and wrapping me in his arms. "I'm so sorry babe."
"What are we gonna do Nicky?" I sobbed out, no longer being able to keep the tears at bay. He held me tightly, one hand running through my mahogany curls while I cried into his chest.
"Shhhh babe, it'll be alright." He said, the rumble of his voice soothing me as he tried to comfort me. "We'll figure it out, I promise. I won't let you lose the house."
"How? How Nick? What are we gonna do?" I asked, my words barely audible through my sobs.
"Hmm. I'm not sure right now but I promise, we'll figure something out." He said calmly and I tried to take comfort in that. He took me upstairs and ran a bath for me, bringing me hot chocolate and a sandwich after. I slept cuddled up against him, my worries at bay for the time being as peace settled over me.
The next day, Nick woke me up bright and early, his eyes once again holding that suspicious twinkle that they always got when he had an especially brilliant or rather stupid idea. I was almost afraid to hear it.
"I know how we can get the money for the house."
I sat up in bed wary and raised a brow at him. "Alright. I'll bite. How?"
"Vegas." He puffed proudly and I blinked.
"Vegas? What about it?"
"Before you say no, hear me out." He had his hands up in a placating gesture like he needed to pacify me. "I was thinking about how we could raise the money we need in such a short time, and I remembered Pete telling me about this weekend he spent in Vegas and how he won a couple of grand playing blackjack at a casino, and I thought, why couldn't we do that?" He said sheepishly and my jaw dropped.
"So, your idea for us to make enough money to save the house is to use the little we have to go gambling?"
"No, well yes, but no." He stumbled over his words. "What I mean is, this could be the break we need. How many people pour in and out of Vegas telling stories about how much they won? I just feel like we could get lucky too."
"You do know that people lose more money than they make gambling right?" I said exasperatedly, wishing he could act like an adult for once.
"Yes, but we don't really have much in the way of choices." He came up to me and pulled my arms free, holding my hands in his. "Trust me Nat, this is our ticket out of this. And if it doesn't work, what do we have to lose?"
Other than what little money we had left? But I didn't say that though. No, rather, I packed a bag after breakfast and set out with my husband.
We chose the Royal Resort for our night of luck and set in with determined faces.
The whole place was teeming with people, numerous attractions everywhere and I tried not to let myself get lost in the buzz of it.
The staff was smartly dressed in gold and black uniforms. The resort boasted of a standard casino, different stores and boutiques sampling all sorts of clothes and jewellery. There were restaurants, cafes and even luxury hotel rooms situated all in the large building.
I looked around wide-eyed, still unable to believe we'd come here.
"Hey Nick, remember, we're just here to get the money for the house. This isn't a vacation." I reminded him because he tended to get lost in his fantasies.
"Huh?" He replied, startled before nodding in confirmation. "Yes, yes, of course, babe. I was just thinking."
"Mmmm."
"Why don't you go look around and I'll go buy us some chips. Meet back at the casino entrance in say…fifteen?" He asked but was already walking away before I could respond.
I decided to do some window shopping, strolling through the large halls while eyeing the glamor.
I was walking past a store when the dress they had on display caught my eye. God, it was stunning; a deep moss green, halter neck, floor-length dress with shimmering stones sewn into the bodice.
I knew I shouldn't; there was no way I could afford a dress like this, but I found myself walking into the shop anyway, just to get a closer look. Upon closer inspection, I could see it had a slit down the middle and imagined what I'd look like wearing it. I stretched out my hand to touch it when a voice startled me out of my daydream.
"Can I help you?" I spun around to see a smartly dressed woman with a severe expression on her face.
"Oh, hello, good afternoon." I greeted her with a polite smile.
"What are you doing?" She demanded, completely ignoring my greeting.
"Oh, I was just looking at—" I explained, the smile on my face turning brittle.
"This dress is too expensive for the likes of you." She sniffed and I blinked.
Okay, I knew I wasn't rich but why the hell was she being so rude?
She stared down at my shorter form, her four-inch heels giving her the advantage of height and I made a note to buy taller heels.
"Listen you—"
"Is everything okay
here?" A deep baritone voice said behind me and I froze.