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dear. Muriel felt awful about upsetting him. “Arnie, I’m sorry.”

      “I know how much you always wanted to see Germany,” he said, his expression wistful.

      “I do.” But not with you. She bit her lip.

      “Seriously, you don’t want to go?” Dot asked, and she and Arnie exchanged glances. Muriel, the ingrate.

      “I have too much going on. The new book and everything,” Muriel added feebly. It was a flimsy excuse and they all knew it.

      “I guess I should have checked with you before I bought the tickets, but I needed to act fast,” Arnie said. Then he added, “I was sure you’d be all over something like this.”

      “You should still go,” Muriel said, not wanting to be responsible for spoiling her old friend’s good time, not to mention being responsible for him losing money. At such a late date, he’d never be able to get a refund.

      Maybe she should go, if only not to have his money go to waste. She’d make it clear that they were going only as friends...

      “Yeah, Arnie,” put in Dot. “That’s a once-in-a-lifetime trip.” She shook her head at Muriel. “You’re crazy not to go, Muriel. I’d be all over that like white on rice.”

      Now there was an idea. “Maybe you should go,” Muriel suggested. Dot was single, Arnie was single—they could become travel buddies.

      Except now she’d just put Arnie on the spot. She looked to see how he was taking her suggestion.

      He did blink in surprise, but before he could say anything, Dot settled herself next to Muriel and set down her carafe. “What do you say, Arnie? Would you like some company?”

      “Well,” he said slowly, the gears turning as he worked to keep up with this sudden change in his plans.

      Now Muriel regretted her impulsive suggestion. How could poor Arnie be honest about whether or not he wanted to bring Dot along with her sitting right there?

      “How much did that extra stateroom cost? I’ll write you a check today,” Dot said.

      “So you’re serious?” Arnie asked.

      “Sure. Why not?”

      “Well,” he said, hesitating. He was probably looking for a polite way to get out of this, the same as Muriel had just tried to do with him.

      “We’ll have fun,” Dot assured him. “Unlike Muriel, I can get away for a couple of weeks.

      “We can do our Christmas shopping over there. Talk about ringing in the holidays. This is a great idea, Arnie!”

      Yes, it was, wasn’t it? Muriel looked at the excitement in Dot’s eyes and suddenly felt the stirrings of regret. Maybe she should have said yes...

      “I thought so,” he said. The look he gave Muriel showed how disappointed he was that she hadn’t taken him up on his offer.

      “You know, I’ve always wanted to see Germany,” said Dot.

      “Same here,” Arnie said.

      “Well, then, let’s do it. You only live once. Anyway, I bet you can’t get your money back at this point, so you may as well go and let me pick up the tab for the other half.”

      He nodded thoughtfully. “Good point.”

      “So, what do you say? Shall we see how the other half lives?”

      Her last argument about saving some money seemed to have tipped the scale and he gave a decided nod. “Why not?”

      Arnie’s smile returned and suddenly he was digging into his pancakes, and he and Dot were deep in discussion about their upcoming adventure. How much currency to convert into euros, flight departures, how early they needed to get to the airport. Did either of them have a window seat on the plane?

      “There’s a whole group of people going,” Arnie told Dot, “so we’ll be partying our way across Germany.”

      “I like the sound of that,” she said.

      The discussion continued. What should they pack? What was the weather doing over in Germany? They’d have to try a real German schnitzel so they could see how the schnitzel served at Schwangau measured up. In all their excitement, neither urged Muriel to change her mind and come along.

      Arnie chuckled as Dot demonstrated what little German she knew, holding up two fingers and saying, “Zwei bier, bitte.” Oh, yes, Dot would be the life of the party. In fact, it looked like the party was already starting right here in Pancake Haus.

      Muriel smiled and nodded as the two continued their conversation. Of course, she was happy for them. Arnie would have a companion on his trip and Dot would enjoy a well-deserved vacation. She hadn’t taken one in years. They’d both have a lovely time together and Muriel could be relieved that she hadn’t spoiled his vacation by turning him down. Yes, she’d been positively inspired to suggest Dot go in her place.

      Arnie certainly hadn’t mourned being turned down for long. Muriel’s omelet suddenly tasted a little off. She set down her fork.

      “Something wrong with your breakfast?” Dot asked, pointing to the half-consumed meal.

      “No, I guess I’m not very hungry,” Muriel said. She looked at her watch. “You know, I should get going. My new Christmas tree is due to arrive this morning.”

      “Oh, okay,” Arnie said. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you to go, Muriel.”

      “Yeah. This is exactly the kind of trip you’d love,” Dot said.

      It was true—this was her dream vacation, and she’d been so quick to set boundaries with Arnie she hadn’t taken much time to think of the experience she’d be missing. Maybe she should reconsider and come along.

      “But oh, well. We’ll be thinking of you,” Dot said.

      Would they? Muriel wanted to say, “Wait, I’ve changed my mind. I’m coming!” Now it seemed too late, as if she’d be crashing the party.

      Maybe Dot had more than a friendly interest in Arnie and wanted him all to herself. She certainly managed to find time to join them whenever Muriel and Arnie came in for breakfast. Now here she was, with the restaurant packed and her waitresses running in circles, sitting around happily making plans for an international getaway with him.

      Well, if that was the case, good for Dot. She’d worked hard, running her business and raising her daughter single-handedly. Arnie had been thrifty all his life and spent very little money on himself. It was time they both got out and had some fun. Good for them.

      She said her goodbyes and made her way home to her little cottage next to Ed and Pat York’s vineyard feeling a little less cheerful than she had an hour ago.

      She’d always wanted to see the vineyards in Germany.

      You had your chance. Reminding herself didn’t exactly restore her cheery mood.

      But then she pulled up in front of the cottage and was cheered by the sight of a big box sitting on her front porch. Wonderful! Her new artificial tree had arrived. Arnie and Dot were off to Germany but she would enjoy life here in Icicle Falls as the holidays approached. And she had a new tree. A woman could always find something to be happy about, she told herself as she hauled it into the house.

      When she’d seen the tree on an online site, she’d hardly been able to believe her eyes. It was beautiful, with lots of full branches. And so realistic looking. A perfect replacement for her old, tired tree, which she’d taken to the Kindness Cupboard. On sale and with free shipping, too. Of course she’d purchased it immediately. It would be the perfect centerpiece at her annual holiday tea party.

      Filled with anticipation, she opened the box and lifted out...a sad, bald poor excuse for a tree. What on earth? She looked inside the box, hoping to find, what?

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