Ronald used a nickel minted in 1974 to remove the ink from a ten-thousand dollar scratch-off lottery ticket. He turned the coin into a necklace that cost three thousand dollars and spent the rest of his winnings on a party to celebrate his windfall. The necklace had a special gold mounting so he could pop the nickel out at any time to scratch more tickets. With his lucky nickel he was sure another big payday was just around the corner.
“With this nickel, the world is my lobster. My luck has changed.” The spot where the coin rested on Ronald’s chest had a permanent rash. Several dermatologists told him the nickel plating was irritating his skin and he could simply paint it with nail polish to stop the reaction. Ronald refused. He wanted to be in direct contact with the nickel—linked to it physically.
Ronald worked for a trash company that collected construction leftovers. When building a house, the crew would slap together a ten-by-ten box and fill it with cut-offs, chunks of drywall, insulation remnants or anything else that would fit. Ronald and Nick, his driver, completed their circuit twice a week. On the back of the truck a hydraulic arm with a metal claw would drop into the box of debris and lift it into the truck. Nick drove this as well, with Ronald scurrying around underneath picking up loose bits and tossing them back into the box. Ronald was paid every week in cash, with a bonus if he worked weekends. Boise was a boomtown, so there was plenty of construction work, and several builders offered to pay him more than he made hauling trash, but Ronald didn’t bite. He preferred cleaning up after construction instead of building things because he could put on his headphones and check out for most of the day.
“Thanks but no thanks, man. My ship is gonna come in any day now,” Ron would say as he rubbed his nickel.
When Ronald wasn’t listening to his headphones, he was jabbering about his past winnings and the certainty that he would win again soon. Initially, Nick told Ronald to stick a sock in it. Every day he prattled about that stupid nickel, but Ronald couldn’t be deflated. As the months wore on Nick began to think maybe Ronald was on to something. Maybe that nickel was lucky, but it had to be handed over to another winner. Ronald had used his turn and was being selfish and greedy. Nick deserved to win as much as anyone, maybe more.
“Can I try your nickel on a scratch game? Just for fun?” Nick asked, as subtle as an anvil falling from the sky.
“No way, man. I’m bonded with this nickel. We’re physically connected, see?” Ronald moved the coin aside to proudly show off his rash. “The luck is rubbing off and becoming part of me.”
As the days went by Nick thought of ways to get the coin. Sitting atop the truck in the cage operating the claw, Ronald scurrying around below, he wondered if he could just drop the trash on him? Who would know? Things slipped loose from the claw all the time, and Ronald never took off those headphones. He’d never see it coming. A nice piece of twelve-inch beam to the head would quickly separate him from that nickel. But what to do next? Call the police or dispose of the body? Ronald literally told everyone about that stupid nickel, multiple times. If they found him under some construction debris without it, there would be some questions to answer. Nick could just scoop the body into the truck and take it to the dump. Or maybe drive out to the desert and dump the load there. Plenty of people did that. It would be just one more load the BLM never got around the cleaning up. But a pile of bones twisted inside rotten drywall and timbers would look strange, and it wouldn’t take long to do the math and they’d come knocking on his Nick’s door.
On the other hand, once he had that big win he could move someplace like the Ivory Coast and the US authorities couldn’t touch him. Nick scooped up the last of what was in the box and put the claw to rest in the bed of the truck.
Ronald was waiting in the cab, bobbing his head to his headphones and rubbing his nickel between his fingers as he always did. As Nick started the truck, Ronald pulled off his headphones and handed him an envelope.
“Here, it’s for you!” he said with a big grin.
“What is it?” Nick asked, always suspicious.
“It’s a surprise. Open it!”
“Nothing personal, man. But I hate surprises.” Ronald’s stupid grin and his nervous energy over the excitement of giving Nick a gift made it look like he was going to explode. “Geez, don’t have a heart attack. I’ll open it.”
Nick tore the envelope open with his finger. Inside were three scratch-off tickets.
“I thought about what you said. I want to spread the luck around. Here, use my nickel.”
Nick wasn’t sure what to do. He stared at the coin Ronald was handing him. That fucking coin. The asshole was sharing it.
“Okay. I’ll give it a shot. But I never win anything,” Nick protested. He set the first ticket on the dash and found that his hands were shaking. His mouth was dry and his heart was making his chest jump. He scratched the first ticket.
“Nothing. Figures,” Nick said. He scratched the second ticket. “Nothing again. Story of my life.” He paused as he started to scratch the last ticket. “Maybe you should do it,” he said to Ronald. “You’re the lucky one.”
“The nickel will work for you. You just have to believe!” Ronald said. Nick handed the ticket and the nickel back to Ronald.
“I can’t do it. I’m a wreck. I can’t handle it.”
“Okay, I’ll scratch it for you. But it’s your ticket. You touched the nickel and it’s going to bring you luck. I sure of it.” Ronald put the ticket on his thigh and started removing the rubberized ink.
Nick put his hands over his face, “I can’t watch.”
“Well, would you look at that! It’s a winner. And it’s all yours.” Ronald handed the ticket to Nick who slowly lowered his still-shaking hands from his face. He took the ticket and stared at, not believing what he saw.
“Is this a joke? I this a joke ticket? Did you set me up?” asked Nick.
“What? No! It’s as real as they get. I told you the nickel is lucky! You deserve it!”
“Two-hundred and fifty thousand. I’ve never seen that much money in my life.” Nick kept staring at the ticket unable to make sense of what was happening. He started to cry, then sob.
“I know, right? It’s crazy. I felt the same way when I won!” Ronald said.
“I’ve … I … this is … how can I … you can’t … why?”
“Because you’re my partner. I know I go on and about the nickel and you’ve been cool about it. But now we can both talk about it. Partners!” Ronald grinned at Nick as he put the nickel back in his necklace. “Any idea how you’re going to spend it?”
“Costa Rica. Or the Philippines. I always thought if I ever got enough money I’d move there and live like a king. Never work again,” Nick said quietly, still in shock.
“Sounds cool! I’ll miss you, man. But I get it. Maybe I’ll join you when I win the next one.”
“Yeah, sounds good,” Nick said. He turned over the engine and they rumbled to their next stop. Up in the cage, Nick decided he’d cash the lottery ticket, wait a week, and then kill Ronald. Who knows what else that nickel could do?