2000 Kisses Read Online Free Page B

now.”
    “You'll outlive us all, Mrs. Spinelli.” But Tess made a mental note to phone her son in Arizona and see about arranging for her to visit. The warm, dry weather would be good for Agatha's arthritis. “So what has been happening in the outside world? Did civilization topple and the world economy crumble while I was sleeping?”
    “Aside from losing the electricity for a short time, things don't seem too bad. The phones seem to be working, but I've heard there were some minor problems out in California. Several stores have run out of milk. Stockpiling.” The elderly lady shook her head in distaste.
    “Any news about the banks?”
    “I heard there were problems with some of the ATM machines.”
    Tess decided she'd better drop by her neighborhood ATM and withdraw some extra cash, just in case some kind of Y2K disaster did occur.
    But first she had to present a gift to her elderly neighbor, who had a mean sweet tooth. “Breakfast is served.” She held up a foil-covered box with a wicked grin. “We have dark chocolate raspberry cream, espresso chocolate-covered strawberries, and white chocolate truffles. I hope you're in the mood for decadence.”
    “Dear me.” The woman stared in delight. “But those are very expensive, aren't they?”
    “Cost is no object,” Tess announced, opening the box with a flourish. “After all, it's a new era and we'd be churlish not to celebrate.” Especially since Richard had hinted at what a nice bonus Tess would be receiving.
    Tess froze. Her bonus! Recalling that Richard hadtold her it would be in her account today, she was suddenly seized by curiosity about how much he'd given her. What was a lot of money to her was peanuts to a millionaire like Richard. She couldn't even begin to guess what he'd meant by “a week-in-Kauai happy” though she knew how much Richard would drop during a week in paradise.
    “Is something wrong, my dear? You look pale.”
    “No, I'm fine.” Tess restrained a frantic urge to run to the bank to check her account balance that instant. She held out the box to Agatha. “You first.”
    “You're certain?”
    “Today chocolate. Tomorrow the moon.”
    In a blue Mercedes and red boots.
    The elderly woman patted Tess's hand. “In that case, a white truffle would be lovely, my dear. On account of the new millennium.”
    After insisting that Agatha take the rest of the chocolate, Tess escorted her neighbor to her door and saw her settled comfortably. By then her stomach was growling, so she padded off to do a quick inventory of her refrigerator.
    She found two cans of brandied cantaloupe balls.
    A wedge of Gouda.
    Peppered wasabi in a tube and cocktail marshmal-lows.
    Tess stared at the bizarre ingredients and shook her head, trying to remember the last time she'd cooked a complete meal.
    Twenty minutes later, tightly bundled in a long wool coat and a bright scarf, she made her way through the snow. After she stopped at the ATM, grocery shopping was at the top of her list. After that she'd rent some movies and read a good book.
    There was a giddy feeling in the air, and every store seemed to be open with huge signs announcing special millennium sales in progress. Couples were walking hand in hand, and even strangers seemed to have a smile today. Perhaps the millennium had begun to work its magic after all.
    People were already lined up inside the bank's ATM vestibule, and Tess got in line for one of the machines. She saw a woman in a fur coat sigh in relief when the machine disgorged her requested cash. A balding man in a Led Zeppelin T-shirt and a black leather jacket was next. He leaned over the machine, punched in a set of numbers, then studied his receipt in fury.
    Tess immediately panicked, hit by a nightmare vision of cascading computer failures and global bank insolvency. “Is there a problem with the ATM?”
    “It's working fine.” The man crumpled his receipt. “It's just my account that's whipped.”
    Tess watched him take a step back.