“Dinner was great tonight, hon’,” Righty said, giving Janie a kiss on the lips.
“Thanks, Richie,” she responded. Her intelligent blue eyes, whose piercing glare sometimes reminded Righty of the undeceivable nostrils of a bloodhound, detected that there was something on his mind.
“I quit my job today,” he said calmly.
Janie’s eyes looked angry, and Righty noticed she bit her lower lip subtly, trying to control her anger.
“Because I’ve got much bigger plans,” Righty then added, with a sly smile.
Janie’s anger passed quickly, like a tornado that dissipated before it ever touched the ground.
“Before I had my last boxing match,” Righty began, “I made a decision that for a while seemed like one of the worst decisions of my life. A stockbroker approached me and convinced me to put everything I had earned into a fourteen-year annuity. I know we went through some tough times where that money would have really come in handy, but I never mentioned it because the early withdrawal penalties were set at half of the accumulated value. Not only would there have been no point in giving up that much money, but also I was embarrassed for having been so foolish as to invest such a high percentage of my savings into an annuity with such stiff withdrawal penalties, so I was embarrassed to tell you.
“Well, long story short, it matured last week. I sent in the redemption paperwork right away. And right here,” Righty said, putting a large bag on the table, “is just over $500,000 falons.”
Janie dropped her fork onto the plate. The tension in the air was so thick a tossed stone could have shattered it into a million pieces.
“Open it,” Righty said calmly. Janie obliged. For good measure, Righty pushed towards her some paperwork—some very expensive paperwork—certifying the redeemed amount and jam-packed with enough small-size font, big words, and dense paragraphs to dissuade all but the most ardent of contract attorneys from venturing beyond line two. Righty, however, had scrutinized it carefully yesterday, his eyes searching for the smallest error. He had been relieved to learn that the contact at the bank would not be in need of a reminder as to how Righty had acquired his nickname.
Janie gasped. Then, with a tear streaming down her cheek, she looked at him. “Baby, I am so proud of you. If you had told me during your drinking years that you had the discipline to not touch something like this when your throat seemed to never get dry and you hated your job ceaselessly, I wouldn’t have believed it for a second.
“But over the last two years, I’ve learned that I fully underestimated your potential. I think maybe even you did. I don’t know if Kasani came down from heaven and touched you with a spark of inspiration, but something happened to you. Something out of this world. A couple of years ago you couldn’t even read, and now I’m having a hard time finding books at the local library you haven’t read.
“Baby,” she said, with a passionate look in her eye, “I love you.”
Righty leaned over and planted a solid kiss right on her lips.
“I love you sweetheart. Don’t ever forget that. I’m yours forever. I’ll never let you down.”
The lovemaking that ensued that night would stand out in both of their minds for years to come.