Page 88 of Above All Else
“Oh. The way he talked about you. I always thought he meant to propose.”
I laughed out loud. “Yeah, right. We had that conversation too many times. His excuse was always the same... ‘Now’s not the right time.’”
“I wish you would have told us.”
I gave a lopsided shrug and a contemptuous smile. “I didn’t want to hassle you with it.”
“Promise me you won’t keep it from me with Carter. He’s a nice man. He really grew up, didn’t he?”
Nodding, I swallowed. “Yes, he did. I got very lucky.”
Very lucky that he saw reason and didn’tmurder me.
So lucky...
“I’m going to go. You guys get settled.”
“Thank you, Junie. And don’t mind your dad. He’ll come around.”
I stood and hugged her, then walked to the front door. “Bye, Dad. I’ll see you tomorrow to finish out the rest of the boxes.”
He waved, his face glued to the TV. Hanging my head, I glanced back at mom and walked out the door.
Some things never change.
Chapter 23
June
The time capsule labeled ‘knickknacks’ sat in the middle of the spare bedroom. The scent of aged wood and musty papers permeated through a wave of air as I flung open the top.
Dust particles danced in the rich shafts of sunlight that pierced through the bay window as I rummaged through the box. My fingers skimmed over brittle papers and old memorabilia, each one a relic of a time before me.
The rough texture of an old quilt swept against my knuckles as I pulled it out and spread it across the seating area Mom designated as her ‘crafting nook’, then dove in for more. I placedphotographs, trophies from my dad’s bowling days, and various other medals on a shelf.
“Junie, I’m going out for some milk. Did you want anything?”
I raised a brow and glanced at my mother dressed in flowing pants and a floral shirt. “How are you out of milk already? I bought you a half gallon.”
“We use it in so many things: coffee, cereal, drinking.”
“Sorry, I didn’t know.”
She waved me off with apfft. “It’s not a big deal. I’ll be right back.”
Turning back to the box, I dug out a hand-sewn pillow from the bottom. “Okay.”
“Great-Aunt Rosie made that.” She took it from my hands with a megawatt smile. “It was my nursing pillow when you were a baby. It came in handy so many times.”
She held it in two hands and stared down at it as though memories flipped through her mind, then placed it on her chair. “Okay, now I’m going.”
“Bye, Mom. Call if you get lost.” I glanced at her and waved as I dug my hand into the box.
Smooth wood box tickled my fingertips.
“I’ve been around long before GPS. I can find my way around just fine.”
Snorting, I turned back to the box and pulled it out. The wood was old, with a tarnished latch and lock that had seen better days. I put it beside me, a faint pulse of curiosity eatingaway at my insides as I emptied the cardboard box of the signed baseball in a plexiglass cube.