Free 7 Sorrow on Sunday by Ann Purser

sandwich and frowned. “We could do better than this,” he whispered to Lois. “Tastes like fish paste.”
    Questions were asked, and the group found it difficult to answer with a mouthful of fish paste. Publicity was mentioned. Did they want national publicity or not? It was entirely their choice, and if any of them did not want it, their privacy would be completely protected. They had talked about this in the car, and decided that none of them would mind. “It’d just be a nine-day wonder,” Matt had said. “People know, anyway, so it won’t come as any great surprise.”
    The moment came. Debbie presented the cheque to Geoff, the nominee, together with a single bottle of champagne to enliven the photographs. They were given souvenir mugs and pens, and Lois’s eyes widened. “Wow!”she said with heavy irony, as she examined them. They reminded her of a day at the seaside. “Terrific!” she added. “We shall treasure these.”
    “Shush!” said Derek.
    After that, they got down to business. They were told their money was safely banked, and were advised that the safest option was to leave it where it was until they had decided what they were going to do with it.
    “Not for long,” muttered Lois. “We want it where we can get at it.”
    “Shush,” whispered Derek.
    More advice followed, and they were offered the services of a solicitor or a financial adviser. By this time, the winners’ heads were spinning.
    “We can’t take all this in at once,” said Lois. “Don’t forget it’s a first for us!” They were reassured that they could take time to consider all of it, and they would find the help they needed in their winners’ pack. “Out of the blue—it’s you!” the booklet told them, and Lois held it tight for reassurance. She was feeling breathless and wanted desperately to open the door.
    At this point, all the lights went out.
    “Derek!” Lois’s panic escalated. No windows and a locked door were bad enough, but now they were in pitch darkness.
    Debbie’s voice was loud and authoritative. “Sorry about this!” she said. “If this was a crime novel, there’d be a body on the floor when the lights came up!” She laughed, but none of the others did. This was nearly the final straw for Lois.
    Finally the lights returned and, shaken and pale-faced, Lois was first out when the door was unlocked. She took a deep breath, and looked down at her hands. She would not have been at all surprised if they had been surreptitiously manacled in the darkness. They went down in the lift in silence, and were then escorted from the building. Lois turned to Debbie and said, “Are you sure it’s safe to let us go now?”
    The woman frowned. “Most people say thank you,” she said curtly, and turned to walk away.
    *   *   *
    I T WAS NOT UNTIL THEY WERE IN THE CAR AND DRIVING off towards home that the silence was broken by Matt suddenly bursting into raucous laughter. “My God, Lois!” he said. “You were great! Told her straight!”
    Derek looked at Lois. “Very embarrassed, I was,” he said. “Sounded like you’d been falsely arrested instead of given a cheque for a couple of million.”
    Lois muttered that it had felt a bit like that. Then she turned to the others with a smile and said, “Still, it’s our great day, isn’t it? Why don’t we stop at that pub comin’ up and have a real celebration? We can just about afford it now.”
    “Why are we waiting?” chorused the lads, and they pulled into the pub car park in a heady atmosphere of relief and excitement.

F OURTEEN

    A FINE SUNSET GREETED THEM AS THEY DROVE INTO LONG Farnden, and Derek was temporarily blinded as they approached their house.
    “Stop! Derek, stop!” Lois grabbed the handbrake, and they juddered to a halt.
    “What the bloody hell . . . ? I
was
stopping, Lois! For goodness sake!” His voice tailed off as he looked out of the window into the road in front of him. A barrier of people holding high a banner