Anytime the leasing office at my apartment complex offers free food and drinks, I make sure to attend since they raise my rent every year. I figure over time, I can consume my money’s worth. This particular event centered around Bingo.
Even though I’m middle aged, I feel too young for this particular game, which I associate with retirees despite the fact it’s seen a revival among the younger generation. Nonetheless, I’m either too young or too old. The cards were already on the table when a handful of us entered, fixed up our bowls of nachos and ate while the first game began.
Throughout the evening, the winners only needed to be the first ones to get a straight. The first game took an incredibly long time to conclude when two guys both won with G 59. I made a mental note of that number since Dad has always been an avid Bingo and Pick 3/Pick 4 lottery player.
After I finished eating, I sipped red wine and used the Bingo chips to make designs. They wouldn’t allow us to use more than one card; so I had plenty of time on my hands in between numbers being called.
In between games, I’d refill my kiddie cup of wine, but at one point, the leasing agent noticed that it was empty and offered to refill my glass. I shared with her my sentiment of having the bottle on the table since I was the only one drinking it. At that point, some dude, who was sitting at another table, piped up, saying he could help me with it. As if. At least I no longer had to make the 20-step round trip to the kitchenette counter to refill my glass.
Then, a miracle happened: I won a round of Bingo. I’d just said, “I need B12,” and thought of how I take that vitamin supplement both for energy and to ward off memory fog, when I heard the Bingo caller say, “B 12.” I turned around and asked, “Are you serious? You just said, ‘B12’? Bingo!”
After initially teasing me that I didn’t have Bingo, the staff laughed. The leasing agent happily screamed, “I know exactly what you want!” She disappeared into the kitchenette and brought me an unopened bottle of merlot. That wasn’t even one of the original prizes offered. As a matter of fact, I was the only one offered a bottle of wine. The other Bingo winners either got their choice of a $5 gift card or one of several apartment knick-knacks.
I readily accepted my wine. Much better than a mere $5 gift card and I didn’t need any knick-knacks.