Hi,
Wow! I am *thrilled* by all of this wonderful feedback. Thank you!
Kathy, I love it when one of my stories brightens someone's day. It makes all the time spent on it worthwhile. The Tempus idea is intriguing; perhaps you could write up a story which goes the way you thought this one would?
Laura, glad you liked it. As you can probably tell from what I write, I've always enjoyed stories with surprise endings, and O. Henry was a master of them. The Gift of the Magi was one of the few pieces of required class reading that I actually liked.
MozartMaid, I will keep that final paragraph in. I'm glad that it got a favourable reception overall.
Sorry, Lara, that you weren't fond of the "second ending." Thank you for giving me your honest assessment!
Joan and Evelyn, thank you! Your reaction was just what I was hoping for. I find it a challenge to strike a balance between giving enough clues that the ending doesn't come from out in left field while not giving so many clues as to give the ending away too soon. Your feedback, as well as others, makes me think that I got the balance right in this story.
DW, I did have a fall back plan in mind if Tank had chosen not to let me write him into the story -- but "plan B" did not seem to me to be anywhere near as much fun as my "plan A." And when I had to come up with a way for Lois to earn that kind of money by cutting her hair, Tank did naturally spring to mind.
Nancy, Great minds think alike.
I had guessed when I wrote the story that the passage with Tank would be the one that would get the most feedback -- well, excluding the feedback on the final paragraph.
Tank, as you saw, your guess about the general plot was spot on. Thanks again for letting me borrow you (or, at least, your name) for this story.
Ann, "almost as delightful as the original" -- Wow! Considering how fantastic the original was, that is high praise indeed.
Thank you!
Joy,
Lynn
