He punched the dollar amount into the register and slid my change back across the black mat in crisp bills.

Above the counter, the digital lottery clock blinked in bright red electronic numbers on the wall.

The Powerball jackpot had climbed to five hundred twenty million dollars for Wednesday night’s drawing.

Jose looked up at the red clock display, then back down at me.

“Will you be taking a quick pick today, ma’am?” he asked.

“The drawing’s in a few hours.”

I glanced at the two single dollar bills lying loose on the rubber mat next to my purse.