The Billionaire Prize

New York City

Downtown Brooklyn

"Tell me why you don't want to go for the auction in Sandy Falls, Trinity," Raina said, following her into the café and joining the queue.

It was a cold morning, and all Trinity could think about was getting a hot cup of coffee into her system, not talking about some random thing her old high school was putting together to make money. Don't get her wrong; it was for a good cause, but it was also for trying to reach into the pockets of whatever rich guests they had invited for the bid or auction or whatever it was called.

She didn't even understand why they had emailed her when she was not even part of the elite of the school back then. She had been in the back line, and no one had noticed her, not even when she started to gain weight from being pregnant during their last exam, or when her grandma sent her over to her father's cousin's place when she began to show.

Well, she didn't want to think about all of that. What she wanted to talk about was why they had invited her. The last time she went to Sandy Falls was when her grandmother died, and she went to have her buried, and that was five years ago.

She had escaped that town; she didn't think going back there was a good idea.

"I'm not going; it's simple," she told Raina, her best friend.

Raina had also once lived in Sandy Falls, and she had basically followed Trinity here a couple of years after she left the place. Trinity had stayed with her father's cousin and his family until she was twenty, and she had to go to college, and damn it hadn't been easy, but they had been there, Abel and his wife; Sarah! They had helped her through tough times, thick and thin, as people described it.

Sandy Falls wasn't a place she would like to go back to, not for anything because she had a lot of bad memories of that place. It was where her parents and sister had died in a car accident years ago; it was where her grandmother had died; it was where she had gotten pregnant by a boy who had skipped town the next morning.

"Trinity," Raina hissed, grabbing Trinity's arm to pull her out of her thoughts. "Stop saying things in your head when you can say them out loud. I'm talking to you here," she said.

"I'm not doing that," Trinity denied, rolling her eyes at her best friend.

Raina grunted and then she hit her arm playfully. "And stop rolling your eyes at me," she said, even though her back was turned to her.

Trinity scoffed, turning to face her. "I wasn't rolling my eyes at you; you bully," she smiled, even though she wanted to pretend she was offended.

Raina's eyes narrowed at that, and she shook her head at the obvious lie. "I hear you. So why don't you want to go to the auction? They must have wanted you really badly to email you," she said.

The line seemed not to be moving, and Trinity squinted her eyes to the front of the line to see the barrister flirting with the woman in front of him. Of course, do that and have a one-night stand, and then everything is ruined, she thought. But, if she was being real, then she would be able to admit that her life was only ruined in the best way possible.

"I asked you a question, Trinny!" Raina hit her arm again, and Trinity turned to her with a scowl on her face.

"Don't call me that, Rain! You know I hate that nickname," she said, shaking her head at her. She knew she had called her that on purpose to get her attention.

"Your name doesn't give much of a nickname, does it?" Raina asked. Then she said, "And stop evading my question. Why don't you want to go to the auction? It's for a good cause!" she asked.

Trinity knew Raina won't stop asking her these questions unless she answered her. Why won't she just leave her alone for once anyway? "I just don't want to. That town just gives me the bad vibe chills," she said.

"But you know this is for a good cause. Those kids in Africa or wherever could really use the money," Raina said.

"It's actually a medical center for kids in Cambodia," she said. "And I just don't think I want to go. Trust me, going back to Sandy Falls is not a good idea. Not with the way I left," she said, remembering the event that happened right after her grandmother's burial, the way she had told off those gossips that came as guests but only wanted to talk.

"It's just for the weekend, Trinity. You don't even have to leave your hotel room until you have to go for the event, and then you can come back home," Raina wanted her to go, but she was just being stubborn. "You said they were going to pay, didn't you?" she asked.

Nodding her head, she sighed as the line finally moved, moving even faster now that the barrister had successfully collected the woman's number, and she had left. "Yes, they did. Eight hundred and fifty dollars," she said.

"You know that's going to help a lot, right? It will tide you over until you can get another job," Raina said.

Why did she have to remind her of her last job anyway? She had been the assistant to an event planner up until a month ago, and she had been looking for another job but no luck so far. "I know, but I really don't just want to go, that place brings up a lot of bad memories, Rain."

Raina nodded, sighing, then she said, "But it wasn't all that bad, you know?" She grinned, pushing her brows up as she looked at her.

"Hmm, wasn't it?" Trinity thought.

Well, Trinity would agree to that, but she wasn't sure she wanted to go there, or maybe she couldn't just see herself in that town anymore.

Plus, she wasn't where she wanted to be at all; she was struggling to make ends meet, take care of herself and her babies, pay the bills, and everything else. She didn't want to go back to a place where she was invisible then, when she was still like this with little to no money to her name.

Oops!

That reminded her; she needed to get some groceries. She would have to do that later this evening, and mentally, she calculated what she had left. Her savings were draining fast. Really fast.

The amount to be paid if she went for the auction was really going to hold the fort a whole lot, but she just wasn't comfortable with the invite. I mean, why in the whole did they invite her to be one of the people auctioned off at that event?

Who knew what creep or arrogant bastard would win her hand at dinner, and what else they might ask of her, even though the email clearly stated that all they needed to do was eat with them.

"I know you're still thinking about that, but don't you think you're overthinking this?" Raina asked, being the usual pain in the neck she usually was. "I already told you I'll stay at home with the kids, and have a great time. They won't even miss you," she said, and Trinity smiled, doubting that.

Raina continued. "You can take my car. Well, I know it's old, but it will take you to where you need to go, and you will have fun. It's just three days, Trinity, not even up to. It's just Friday morning when you leave here and Monday when you get back."

"That's three days, Rain. Three full days! I don't think I want to leave my kids for that long," Trinity said.

"What, am I going to kill them before you come back home?" Raina asked.

Trinity smiled, and then she shook her head. "No, and that's not what I'm saying. I'm just going to miss them, that's all. It's a whole three-days trip," she said.

Raina nodded. "Yes, Trinity. It's three days, not three years. You'll have the time to have a little bit of fun, have dinner with a hot stranger or something, and live a little. You're twenty-seven years old and you haven't even lived," she said.

"I don't agree; I have lived a good life, trust me." Trinity said. "Wait, I just sounded like I'm a hundred and on a deathbed," she added, laughing, and Raina joined in.

"I'm glad you realized that before I had to point it out," Raina said.

Finally, they got to the front of the line, and Trinity looked at the barrister who had a smile on his face. It was one of those "I just do this because it's my job" kind of smiles, but she ignored it and ordered herself a hot cup of coffee.

Raina came to stand beside her and said, "I would like a cup of coffee as well. Wait," she stopped him, waving her hand. "Sorry. Change that to a half-caff with soy milk and no sugar, please," she said, and Trinity laughed, shaking her head.

"That's good!" She said, and Raina rolled her eyes.

"It's not my fault you're not creative," she said.

Trinity smiled again, shaking her head. As they waited for the barrister to get their orders ready, Raina asked Trinity if she was going to take the trip to Sandy Falls, and she sighed.

"Why are you always up in my business, Rain?" She asked.

Raina smirked at her question. "Because it's my business too. You know it is; I live vicariously through you, or I try," she said, smiling.

"Do you mind living through someone else then?" She asked! "You know, try taking your own advice and living your own life as well? I would like to see you live your life too. I mean, you're around my age, but you haven't even had s..."

"Shh! Don't even dare say it out loud," she said, her cheeks staining with a color of blush, and then she swallowed hard.

"Fine then," Trinity sighed. "How about we do this? I'll go to the auction, but you should promise to also go on a date when I'm back. Is that a fair deal?" She asked, knowing fully well she would disagree with that and she can finally rest about this matter.

But, Raina did shock her when she nodded her head in agreement, and she said, "Fine! It's on then! I'll do just that after you're back from the auction."

Trinity squinted her eyes as she looked at her best friend, trying to see what her intentions were for agreeing that easily to this, but then she sighed and nodded. Well, she should have thought better about it before playing this game with her, only she didn't think she would actually agree with it. She sighed and looked away.

Soon, their order was ready, and they grabbed it, and walked out of the café, the cool January air blasting against her face. Trinity adjusted the jacket she wore and drank from her cup of steaming hot coffee. It's been a long time since she had anything this steamy, pun intended.

She just hoped that she doesn't die out like that because she wanted to live a little, even though that can't be now. She needed a job for that, and for her kids to grow a little bit more.

That was all she was asking for.

Now that she had agreed to go on the trip, she realized she had to do a lot of things. Book her hotel room, acknowledge the email; if they haven't already found someone to replace her since she didn't reply all this while, and most importantly, she needed to tell her kids she would be going on a trip, hoping that doesn't cause a battle.

Then, just then, she could pack.

New York City

Downtown Brooklyn

"Stop talking and eating at the same time, Maddy," Trinity said from where she sat on the couch of her small living room. Her small apartment was a two-bedroom apartment with a living room. It had thin walls, but that was what she could afford. She was in front of her laptop, writing an email in response to the one she got from her high school about the auction, while her children ate dinner. She had started to think about what to write since she finished cooking dinner, but nothing was really looking good yet.

"But Mama, it's Mason that's annoying me," her nine-year-old, going-on-twenty daughter said, pouting.

"I've told you never to blame others for what you do. And Mason, leave your sister alone," Trinity said, sighing and rubbing her temple. She was really tired, and being on the computer since made her watery. She had been looking around for job postings online and applying to a few of the ones she saw; hopefully, she got something soon.

"Yes, Ma!" her son said, nodding his head.

"Good, now finish your dinner and go brush your teeth so that I can talk to you both and read you your bedtime story," she said.

Her kids would be ten years old by this year June, but she still read them bedtime stories because it had become a sort of tradition. Sometimes, she wasn't able to, but she made sure to make it up the following day.

After being out of a job for the past month, she had been doing that, reading to them, stories that made them see the world as a good place. That was what she wanted her children to see, to know, to have incorporated in their heads.

She sighed again, yawning this time, and feeling like she should jump into bed, but she couldn't do that, not yet at least. She was still going to have to clean around the house. It was her turn to do so, and not her twins.

Yes, Mason and Madison are twins, only a few seconds older than each other, and she taught them to clean after themselves. To really make a point of that, she decided to lead by example, so she cleaned for two days, and they cleaned the next. They were on dishes duty tonight though, so that wasn't part of her worries tonight.

"Mama, aren't you going to eat?" Maddy asked.

Trinity looked up from the screen of her computer, her fingers pausing on the keyboard she was pressing. "Mama, aren't you going to eat? Now correct yourself," she said to her, wondering why she was trying to sound different.

"Sorry, Mama. Aren't you going to eat?" She asked again, and Trinity shook her head.

"No, Maddy. I'm not hungry, so I'll just skip dinner," she answered.

"Why?" Mason asked, and she let out an exasperated sigh, the expression on her face turning sour.

"For Pete's sake, kids, finish your food, do those dishes, and go brush your teeth," she said, instead of answering her son. She wasn't in the mood tonight. She had a lot going through her mind, like the "past due" envelopes she had in front of her on the work table in the corner where she had somehow ended up since the couch. She didn't even realize she had moved until she looked at those envelopes.

The house seemed a little chilly, and she wondered if a window in the house was open or something. Looking around, she realized a kitchen window was, and she stood up to walk to it, locking it. Maybe she could do with a hot cup of chocolate, but it was going to take her making it, and that would be an added chore.

"Mama?" She heard Maddy called.

"Hmm!" She answered, looking at her from over her shoulder.

"Mason asked if we could go visit Aunt Raina for the weekend," she said.

If Trinity didn't know any better, she would think that her children were some psychics or Raina had spoken to them. "Huh," she walked to where they sat at the kitchen table, which also doubled as the dining table, and sat on her usual seat at the head of the table. "No, actually you don't have to go over there. She's coming to spend the weekend with you guys," she said.

Maddy said yay, but Mason frowned. "With just us?" He asked. "What happened to spending it with us?"

"That's because I will be traveling to Grandma's town for the weekend," she started, looking at their faces. "Remember that I said I wanted to speak with you both, this is it!" She said.

"But why?" Maddy asked with a frown, at the same time Mason said. "Grandma is dead, and we have no one there. So why are you going there?" He asked.

Well, she remembered telling them after Grandma's funeral that they had no one there anymore, so that's what they were saying now. "Well, I do. I have a few friends there," she said for the lack of a better way to put it.

"Another friend aside from Aunt Raina?" Maddy asked.

"And you want to see them?" Mason asked.

Trinity nodded, looking at her kids. "Yes, Mom, and Dad," she said, looking from Madison to Mason, and they both chuckled.

After that, they were silent for a moment, probably thinking about it, and then they nodded their heads, bobbing them up and down in agreement.

"Well, thank you both. I'll be back by Monday, though, so you both will see me when you're back from school," she explained, hoping they didn't miss her too much. "I'll be taking Aunt Raina's car, so I should be back before you know it."

"Okay, Mama! Be careful and take care of yourself," Mason said.

"Drive safely," Maddy said.

She nodded her head at both of them and then she said, "Now take your plates to the sink and have them washed. It's almost your bedtime," she said, glancing from their plates to the wall clock in the sitting room.

"Yes, Mama," they both chorused.

As they stood and did as asked, Trinity went back to wrapping up her mail and then she sent it. She closed the computer and started to put things back in order around the sitting room, like replacing the remote on the shelf and then the throw pillows as they should be arranged.

Her kids soon finished washing the plates, and then they walked to their bathroom that was down the hall to wash their teeth. She was almost done, so she could read them their bedtime stories and get into bed herself as soon as she showered. She wouldn't have, but she had walked a lot today, going around to submit her résumé physically.

She had learned that doing that could help them remember one better, and damn, she needed to be remembered right now more than ever.

Oh, yeah! She needed to pack, but she would have to do that tomorrow, right after she was back from taking her kids to school and getting some groceries. She would also have to cook and stock up the fridge for the weekend because, well, Raina still couldn't cook to save her life, so...

She just hoped that she didn't regret going on the trip back to Sandy Falls. It was all she hoped and prayed for.