My fingers brushed the smooth edge of the two-dollar scratch ticket Brenda had handed me at seven forty-five that morning.

I laid the card flat beside my bowl of noodles and picked up a copper penny from inside the silver salt cellar.

The latex coating came off in long gray curls under the edge of the coin and dropped onto the white marble.

The first winning number under the top row was fourteen.

I scratched off the second winning number and found thirty-two, followed by fifty-seven and six.

Below the winning numbers were six small gold pots stamped in black ink across two rows.