Truthfully, though, Alvirah had made good use of her newfound wealth, giving quite a lot to charity while managing to enjoy herself immensely. Plus she’d had some memorable experiences. She had gone to Cypress Point Spa in Pebble Beach and almost got murdered there because of her nose for news. The experience paid off when she became a contributing columnist for the New York Globe, and, as one thing always leads to another, with the aid of the recording device in her sunburst lapel pin, she had solved a number of crimes, gradually earning herself a reputation as a real sleuth, though still an amateur, to be sure.

Willy’s skills as a plumber were now utilized exclusively by his oldest sibling, Sister Cordelia, who tended to the poor and elderly on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She kept Willy busy repairing sinks and toilets and heating units in the tenements of her charges.

Before they left on the cruise, he had worked double time fixing up the second floor of the abandoned furniture store where Cordelia ran a clothing thrift shop. Called Home Base, it was also an unofficial after-school center for young children, from the first to the fifth grade, whose parents were working.

Yes, Alvirah had decided, having money was a fine thing, so long as one never forgot how to live without it, something she and Willy intended never to do. It’s nice that we can help out other people, she thought, but if we were to lose every dime of the money, we’d be happy as long as we’re together.

“All through the night,” Willy concluded with a decisive crescendo. “Ready to go, hon?” he asked as he pushed back the piano bench.

“All set,” Alvirah said as she turned to face him. “You sounded just great. You play with so much feeling. So many people just rush through these sweet songs.”

Willy smiled benevolently. While he heartily regretted the moment he had casually mentioned to Alvirah that he wished he had taken piano lessons as a child, he realized that he was beginning to derive intense satisfaction whenever he managed to play through a song without a single mistake.