A Gift of Gold

Lucia is a voluptuous beauty, so who could imagine she would fall for Happy Jack, a middle-aged gambler and racketeer, with a wife and children? But fall she does, into a relationship going nowhere. After 20 years, his wife has died, and Jack is free to marry again. Surely now, Lucia can expect to be his new bride? Alas, she is to be sadly disappointed. A short story.