I’ll never forget that Wednesday: made redundant at my age. What now?

Daphne was working, my redundancy package was okay, but I’d planned on another five years topping up my pension pot.

That night, I sat at the table, papers strewn about, jotting down numbers, hoping I could afford early retirement. It was possible - but tight. I sighed, leaned back in my chair and rubbed my temples.

Daphne walked up and added another slip of paper to the pile. “Stop worrying, John - these six numbers are all we need.”

I looked up in disbelief and Daphne nodded. “Yes, we’ve won the lottery.”

Author note: My thanks, H x