“What a beautiful day!” said the man at the next table. “Is the weather this nice the whole year around?”
“Usually,” I told him.
I was sipping my morning coffee and reading my book at a table on the deck of the Holiday Hotel when I met Harvey, a tourist from the U.S.
“For me, there’s more than the weather to make this a beautiful day,” he said. “My son is arriving this morning. He just won three million dollars in the New York state lottery.”
“Wow! That’s a lot of money. Is he going to share with you?”
“I should think so. His mother and I have devoted our lives to giving him the best we could on our limited income. It’s been a struggle but it’s finally paid off.”
“Dad!”
Harvey’s son had arrived and took a place at his father’s table.
“Ronnie! How is the new millionaire?”
“I’m doing great, Dad. It’s a wonderful feeling to be independently wealthy.”
“I should think so. Just think, Ronnie. No more scrimping and saving to make ends meet.”
“Dad, I didn’t forget you and Mom. Here is your share of the winnings.”
He reached in his pocket and handed his father a check.
“Five thousand dollars?” Harvey said, staring at it. “You’re giving your mom and me five thousand dollars?”
“You and mom deserve at least part of it.”
Harvey said, “It’s wonderful to finally have money. In the early days of our marriage your mother and I were so poor that we couldn’t even afford the price of a wedding certificate. That’s why we never got married.”
“What?! Does that mean that I am a . . .”
“Yes, it does. And a cheap one, too.”
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