An Unexpected Invitation

"I could get used to this," Mike remarked to his wife, Rosanne. "I could get used to sleeping late, buying everything I want off the internet and eating out every night. This winning the lottery is all right."

Rosanne grinned at her husband. "It is a lot better than rushing through every day only to come home to a pile of bills you can't afford to pay."

"We can afford to pay the whole town's bills now. Which reminds me--do you think we should move?"

"From Schuyler Square?"

"Sure. We can live anywhere we want now--California, Colorado, Chicago. Or we can buy a nice house right here. The nicest house in town. We could even buy Schuyler Manor."

"I don't believe this." Rosanne looked up from the mail she was opening.

"Someone else asking for money?"

"No. An invitation to the annual Christmas party given by my former boss."

"Mavis invited us to her Christmas party? Are you sure she doesn't want you to serve and me to park the cars?"

"Nope. It says right here that we're cordially invited to a Christmas party hosted by Mavis Schuyler." Rosanne threw the gilt-edged invitation down on the kitchen table, disgust covering her face. "Can you believe that woman? I worked for her for over twenty years and the only kind of invitation I ever got from her in all that time were first cracks at the clothes she was donating to charity. Now that we're rich she wants to be our friends? I don't think so."

"Maybe we should go," Mike said slowly.

"Are you crazy? Why would we put ourselves through that?"

"Because I'm serious about buying Schuyler Manor. We could do it, Rosanne. Then all of us could live together without being crowded--the two of us, the kids, our parents.We'd be like the Waltons, only with a lot of money."

"But I wouldn't know how to act at a party thrown by Mavis. I'm used to being her servant, not her guest."

"Don't you think it might be fun to be on the other side of the fence for once? Have a drink served to you by whatever poor soul she sucks into working for her next?"

"It might at that," Rosanne said slowly. "Only I don't have anything to wear."

Pulling his brand new credit card out of his wallet, Mike handed it to his wife. "Go shopping," he suggested, "and not at a discount store. Go to some place nice and buy whatever your heart desires. You'll be the belle of the Christmas ball."