vie.”
“That was vicious.”
“No. That was reality. She wants !” Lana took a deep breath, trying to calm her irritation. “My relationship with Mona is kind of weird. She was four when Joe and I got married. Mona went back and forth between living at our house and living with her mother. I never tried to replace her mother, and I always treated Mona with understanding. I accepted the fact that she was rather self-centered, without allowing her to be a brat in my home. As she got older, she came to me for advice and I always tried to help her when I could. Now she’s twenty-seven and I suppose that I expect her to act like an adult. I have become less tolerant about the fact that she seems to have no consideration or respect for my feelings. I broke my leg three years ago and I was on crutches forever. She knew. She called her father twice because she needed money to fix her car but never so much as asked how I was doing. When her father died, she was livid because she didn’t get the ton of money that she figured she was entitled to. Joe and I used our equity line to give Mona a loan toward a house four years ago, and I paid off the loan, but that wasn’t good enough. Now she is trying to nickel and dime me to death. Plus, she suddenly can’t afford daycare and is dropping her kids off four or five times a week. If I’m lucky, she picks them up by eight or nine at night. Forbid I have something to do and tell her that I can’t take them. I’ve been doing that more and more lately. I love my grandchildren, but I want a life of my own. I don’t owe her anything.”
He held his palms up to ward off her irritation. “Fair enough. Didn’t mean to hit a sore spot with my comment. Do you still want to go to the movie?”
“Yes!” Air hissed through her teeth as she tried to calm herself. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have dumped that on you.”
He offered his hand and pulled her off the stair. “No problem.”
Lana smiled, and he returned the expression.
“What would you do if someone handed you a million dollars and told you that you had one year to spend it? Whatever you didn’t spend would be taken back.”
Lana shrugged. “Could I invest it?”
“No.”
Fred opened the door for her, and she slid into the seat. Fred waited for her to get settled and then shut the door. “Wow, chivalry is not dead,” she whispered as a smile crept over her lips. When Fred got into the car, she asked, “Can I give it away to charity?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I would have an addition put on my stepdaughter’s house for the kids. They really need more room. I would redo my kitchen. Joe had been promising for years that he would change the floor and the counters, but he never did. I would have work done to my yard. I would have a greenhouse window put in my study. I have always wanted to go to Japan or maybe to the Brazilian rainforest.” She hesitated and then said, “No. I would go looking for dinosaur bones. That would be so cool. I saw something on television about that. Whatever I couldn’t spend, I would donate to D.E.L.T.A. animal rescue. I would like to go there and give them the check personally.”
“What about clothes, shoes, jewelry, cars?”
She shrugged. “I might buy a motorcycle. I like the ones with the two wheels in front. I’m not big on designer stuff. I would rather wear a shirt and pair of jeans. I don’t go to fancy functions that require me to dress up. I love jewelry, but I already have more than I can wear. What would you do?”
“I would give it to you.”
She groaned at his comment, but the expression on his face said that it was exactly what he would do. “You don’t have anything you could spend it on?” Lana asked suspiciously. Was Fred trying to lull her into a false belief that he didn’t care about money? If he was being truthful, then she was touched by his generosity, but it seemed odd to her that he would say such a thing on their first date.
“No,” he
“That was vicious.”
“No. That was reality. She wants !” Lana took a deep breath, trying to calm her irritation. “My relationship with Mona is kind of weird. She was four when Joe and I got married. Mona went back and forth between living at our house and living with her mother. I never tried to replace her mother, and I always treated Mona with understanding. I accepted the fact that she was rather self-centered, without allowing her to be a brat in my home. As she got older, she came to me for advice and I always tried to help her when I could. Now she’s twenty-seven and I suppose that I expect her to act like an adult. I have become less tolerant about the fact that she seems to have no consideration or respect for my feelings. I broke my leg three years ago and I was on crutches forever. She knew. She called her father twice because she needed money to fix her car but never so much as asked how I was doing. When her father died, she was livid because she didn’t get the ton of money that she figured she was entitled to. Joe and I used our equity line to give Mona a loan toward a house four years ago, and I paid off the loan, but that wasn’t good enough. Now she is trying to nickel and dime me to death. Plus, she suddenly can’t afford daycare and is dropping her kids off four or five times a week. If I’m lucky, she picks them up by eight or nine at night. Forbid I have something to do and tell her that I can’t take them. I’ve been doing that more and more lately. I love my grandchildren, but I want a life of my own. I don’t owe her anything.”
He held his palms up to ward off her irritation. “Fair enough. Didn’t mean to hit a sore spot with my comment. Do you still want to go to the movie?”
“Yes!” Air hissed through her teeth as she tried to calm herself. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have dumped that on you.”
He offered his hand and pulled her off the stair. “No problem.”
Lana smiled, and he returned the expression.
“What would you do if someone handed you a million dollars and told you that you had one year to spend it? Whatever you didn’t spend would be taken back.”
Lana shrugged. “Could I invest it?”
“No.”
Fred opened the door for her, and she slid into the seat. Fred waited for her to get settled and then shut the door. “Wow, chivalry is not dead,” she whispered as a smile crept over her lips. When Fred got into the car, she asked, “Can I give it away to charity?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I would have an addition put on my stepdaughter’s house for the kids. They really need more room. I would redo my kitchen. Joe had been promising for years that he would change the floor and the counters, but he never did. I would have work done to my yard. I would have a greenhouse window put in my study. I have always wanted to go to Japan or maybe to the Brazilian rainforest.” She hesitated and then said, “No. I would go looking for dinosaur bones. That would be so cool. I saw something on television about that. Whatever I couldn’t spend, I would donate to D.E.L.T.A. animal rescue. I would like to go there and give them the check personally.”
“What about clothes, shoes, jewelry, cars?”
She shrugged. “I might buy a motorcycle. I like the ones with the two wheels in front. I’m not big on designer stuff. I would rather wear a shirt and pair of jeans. I don’t go to fancy functions that require me to dress up. I love jewelry, but I already have more than I can wear. What would you do?”
“I would give it to you.”
She groaned at his comment, but the expression on his face said that it was exactly what he would do. “You don’t have anything you could spend it on?” Lana asked suspiciously. Was Fred trying to lull her into a false belief that he didn’t care about money? If he was being truthful, then she was touched by his generosity, but it seemed odd to her that he would say such a thing on their first date.
“No,” he