Asking for Trouble by Rosalind James Page B

in shimmering paper that had an opalescent quality all
its own. He handed one to his mother, one to Rae’s grandmother. “A variation on
the theme.”
    Both women made a fuss, of course, the same fuss they’d made
over everything they’d received that day. Women couldn’t just open a present
and look at it and say thanks. They had to make a whole production out of it.
    “What beautiful paper, isn’t it, Dixie?” Susie slid a
fingernail under the tape, folded the wrapping paper and set it aside
carefully.
    “It sure is,” Dixie agreed. “That’s fancy.”
    “If I’d known you were going to be so easily pleased,” Alec
complained, “I’d just have given you the box. Come on, open them.”
    They were already there. “Oh, my,” Susie said helplessly.
“Oh, my. Alec.”
    Two simple, perfect strands of pearls, their luster core-deep,
were held up by two sets of hands, turned in the light.
    “Honey,” Dixie said to Rae, fumbling with the clasp until
Alec came over and opened it, settled the strand around her wrinkled neck, and
fastened it for her, “I think you caught yourself a live one.”
    “I think I did,” Rae laughed.
    “The ladies at church aren’t going to know what hit them,”
Dixie said happily, reaching for her reading glasses in her purse, then lifting
the necklace to take a better look. “These are real pearls, aren’t they?”
    “That’s what the man said,” Alec told her with a smile. “Got
to decorate my favorite ladies.”
    “Sibling wars won yet again, by a mile,” Alyssa sighed. “I’d
complain that you cheated, Alec, but you might take my necklace away.”
    “Oh, honey,” her mother hastened to assure her, “I loved
your present too. I don’t need anything more at all to be happy today. You all
know that. I have everything a woman could want.”
    “And now your mother’s crying,” Dave said in resignation. He
put an arm around his wife, but he was looking misty-eyed too, Joe noticed. It
wasn’t the first time he’d seen Dave Kincaid cry, either. He didn’t actually
sob, not that Joe had seen, but he definitely teared up from time to time, and
it didn’t even seem to bother him.
    “Got one more here. You want your present now?” Alec asked
his wife. “Or later, when we’re alone?”
    “You’ve got to be kidding,” Alyssa said. “After all this,
you think we’re going to miss out on the chance to watch her open it? I can
only imagine what it is. Probably Queen Elizabeth’s spare tiara or something.”
    “She wouldn’t sell it to me. I had to go for something
else.” Alec handed the package to Rae, and this one wasn’t small at all.
    “Alec,” she complained. “I gave you a scarf.”
    “And I love my scarf,” he assured her. “It’s a great scarf.”
    “I have a really bad feeling,” she said, her fingers poised
to open the package, “that this isn’t a scarf.”
    “Open it,”Alyssa said.
    “Save that pretty paper,” Susie urged, and Alec dropped his
head into his hands and groaned.
    “Mom,” he said. “I’ll buy you a package of special paper.
I’ll buy you two packages of special
paper. Desiree does not have to save the paper.”
    But Rae hadn’t even heard, it was clear. She had the box
open, and was sitting staring at what was inside.
    “Let’s see,” Dixie urged.
    Still wordless, she turned the deep blue velvet case around and
held it up. And Joe could see why she hadn’t said anything.
    It was a necklace. More pearls. Two rows of smaller spheres
at the top fastened with a diamond clasp, gathered by three triangular panels
at each side, their surface made up of more diamonds and each panel larger than
the one above, finally falling into three graduated rows of pearls below. And
by the time it got to the largest, the ones at the bottom, they were pretty
damn spectacular.
    “Oh,” Susie breathed, and that was about all there was to
say about that.
    “I’d say you did good,” Gabe told his brother, and Joe had
to