Page 99 of Nerdy or Nice
If I hadmyway, she'd be spending evenmoretime here in the future.
Next to me, Gwen repeated, "Know what? You never said."
Gramps stood and began heading toward the kitchen. Over his shoulder, he told me, "I'll letyouhandle this one."
I didn't get it."You mean the mess?"
"Nah, explaining about the money."
After he disappeared, Gwen looked to me and said, "What money?"
I'd already told her more about what I did for a living. I worked in cyber security, hacking into client's accounts to test for vulnerabilities. But what Gwendidn'tknow was how I'd snagged my biggest payday.
As she listened, I explained about the Million-Dollar Hackathon, and how I'd taken first place during a trip to D.C.
When I finished she was laughing. "So let me get this straight. Your Grandpa named your dog afteractualcash."
From the rug near the fireplace, Cash gave an affirmative yip.
With a laugh, I said, "That's the way it sounds."
Next to me, Gwen was looking a little thunderstruck. "Wow, that's a lot of money."
"You're tellingme," I said. "Best haul I ever had." But then I paused. "On second thought, it'salmostthe best haul I ever had."
"Really?" she said. "What was your first?"
I reached for her hand. "You can't guess?"
She laughed. "You can't meanme."
"The hell I can't."
She rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm not sure I'm worththatmuch."
She was wrong, of course. I'd meant what I said. And on Valentine's Day, I was planning to make it official by asking her a once-in-a-lifetime question.
Yes,thatquestion.
If I were a betting man, I'd bet every last dollar she would be saying "yes."
And then, I knew whatI'dbe saying.
Lucky me.
The End
