A Farewell to Yarns

never ask.“
    “I’ve got to go,“ Shelley said, following Jane to the kitchen. “Are you going to invite him to Christmas dinner like you said?“ she whispered.
    “Quit nagging. All in good time.“
    “Before the new year?“
    “Get out,“ Jane said, opening the door for her.
    When Jane came back to the living room with Mel’s tea, he was just glancing over the last page of the will. “Bobby would have been disappointed. She left him a lifetime trust with approximately a thousand a month income. Enough to help him through, but not enough to live on in style. It reverts to her husband.“
    “I’m so glad to hear that—that she had good sense in spite of seeming so stupid about him.”
    “You fared better than Bobby did.“
    “Me? What do you mean?“
    “She left you twenty thousand, outright.”
    “Dollars? Twenty thousand dollars?“ Jane said, putting the tea tray down with a clatter. “Imagine Phyllis doing a thing like that.”
    He took a sip of tea and leaned back. “Well, if that money were mine, I’d go looking for some sunshine over the holidays—Bermuda, maybe.”
    Jane took a deep breath, gulped, and said as casually as she could manage, “Then you don’t have plans for Christmas? Would you like to have Christmas dinner with us?“
    “What? And miss a microwaved frozen dinner by myself?“ He grinned. Oh, that almost-dimple! “I’d love to join you. Say, I’ll even bring along dessert. Somebody at the office gave me a fruitcake.... What are you laughing about?”