After Mr. Poyfair left, we ran through the house like children. Jazz had lived there all summer, but every room was a wonder to my eyes. We started in the library where there had to be over two thousand books. Aunty had every novel by Dickens as well as mysteries and thrillers. All her children’s books were there along with many others, and I could picture sitting on the sofa on the side of the room reading to the three youngest kids. Jonah and Xenia on either side of me and Justin nestled on my lap.
We set the pictures back up on the table in the front room which Raymond had knocked over and made a note to find a broom and dustpan to clean up the glass later. We passed the shoe closet which was empty except for another coat and a sweater which would also fit me. It was all so different from our coat closet at home which is either overflowing with shoes like slow flowing lava or crowded with four rows of hanging shoe holders every spot filled and double filled with the smallest sandals, depending on how well the kids are doing their part in the daily clean up.
There was a huge living room on the other side of the wall of photographs with an entire wall made of windows and a view of the ocean beyond a field of beach grass. The three guest rooms had flower themes, roses, jasmine and my favorite, the lily room, was decorated with wall paper showing two larger than life lilies on either side of the bed. There were no toys, but that was a relief and wouldn’t be a problem on future trips when I would bring everybody up.
The upstairs was white from Aunt Hildy’s master suite to her office in the tower. We returned downstairs passing through the dining room which had a hutch full of old china and fancy silverware with roses etched on the handles. I longed to eat with a fine table setting. All my good dishes were boxed up and hidden in the attic replace by unbreakable Corelle plates and bowls. The kitchen had no pantry and the cupboards were bare except for a box of tea sampler and some canned goods. We ended the tour with a cup of chamomile tea and a granola bar from Jazz’s purse which we split and snacked on while we talked.
Reveling in the granite counter top kitchen I spun around on a barstool and said, “I still can’t believe this is all ours! I love this place! What did you think of the letter?”
“It’s like something out of a fairytale.” Jazz said.
“I know right?” I swirled the tea in the cup wishing for some sugar. “You must have told her a lot about me. It made me blush.”
“I did. I talked about you all the time, but she knew the names and ages of your kids when I first met her. She knew lots of details, but I thought Mr. Poyfair must have told her. He also knows a lot about our family.”
“Maybe she was following my blog or my Facebook page. It’s kind of weird.”
Jazz finished her tea and asked, “What do you want to do next?”
“How about checking out the safe she mentioned in her will. Did you know about it?”
“Yeah I did. I knew that she had a safe, but I never looked in it.”
I wondered what we would find. In Texas I knew a number of people who had safes for their fire arms, but those were out in the open by their beds or in their closets not hidden in the wall. The will had mentioned files in the safe for each of us. Her letter had been personal but left me with more questions than answers. I had the feeling that Auntie had more to say.
Aunt Hildy’s bed dominated the room; the comforter was a cloud floating below the white headboard. The only color emanated from the painting of a garden with flowers purple, yellow and red. The picture frame swung easily from the wall on strong hinges revealing a recessed steel door. The safe was locked, but we found the combination in the packet of information Mr. Poyfair had left with us.
I read aloud, “Nine, seventeen, forty-three. That sounds like a birthday.”
“It is. It’s Aunt Hildegard’s birthday. Her last birthday was two weeks before her bad stroke. She had pneumonia but insisted that I eat cake and ice cream and have a little party.”
“Isn’t a birthday kind of obvious?”
“Not if you’re worried about strangers breaking in and it’s easy to remember.”
We fudged around with the lock until I was more frustrated than excited, and then it gave way with a floral scent. Three or four flower sachets were stashed between the five or six boxes sitting in the safe. In front was a stack of twenties.
“There must be five hundred dollars sitting there!” I exclaimed.
“I guess we’ll be having steak and lobster tonight!” Jazz commented. We busted up laughing.
The next thing that caught my eye was a jewelry box with a key in it, a key the same size as the one in my pocket.
“Look Jazz! I think I have a key for that box.” But when we tested it, my key didn’t fit. The real key had a different pattern on the handle and its teeth were similar but not the same. Inside the jewelry box were several antique cameo brooches, some big, gaudy rings and a pair of earrings with stones that glittered like diamonds. Jazz sifted through the jewelry opening the drawers and looking behind things.
“What are you looking for?”
“Aunt Hildegard had a necklace she always wore last summer. She didn’t have it on her when I found her in the green house. The paramedics had me remove her jewelry and she was only wearing a ring. It’s here.” She said holding up a diamond ring. “Where’s the necklace?”
We set the pictures back up on the table in the front room which Raymond had knocked over and made a note to find a broom and dustpan to clean up the glass later. We passed the shoe closet which was empty except for another coat and a sweater which would also fit me. It was all so different from our coat closet at home which is either overflowing with shoes like slow flowing lava or crowded with four rows of hanging shoe holders every spot filled and double filled with the smallest sandals, depending on how well the kids are doing their part in the daily clean up.
There was a huge living room on the other side of the wall of photographs with an entire wall made of windows and a view of the ocean beyond a field of beach grass. The three guest rooms had flower themes, roses, jasmine and my favorite, the lily room, was decorated with wall paper showing two larger than life lilies on either side of the bed. There were no toys, but that was a relief and wouldn’t be a problem on future trips when I would bring everybody up.
The upstairs was white from Aunt Hildy’s master suite to her office in the tower. We returned downstairs passing through the dining room which had a hutch full of old china and fancy silverware with roses etched on the handles. I longed to eat with a fine table setting. All my good dishes were boxed up and hidden in the attic replace by unbreakable Corelle plates and bowls. The kitchen had no pantry and the cupboards were bare except for a box of tea sampler and some canned goods. We ended the tour with a cup of chamomile tea and a granola bar from Jazz’s purse which we split and snacked on while we talked.
Reveling in the granite counter top kitchen I spun around on a barstool and said, “I still can’t believe this is all ours! I love this place! What did you think of the letter?”
“It’s like something out of a fairytale.” Jazz said.
“I know right?” I swirled the tea in the cup wishing for some sugar. “You must have told her a lot about me. It made me blush.”
“I did. I talked about you all the time, but she knew the names and ages of your kids when I first met her. She knew lots of details, but I thought Mr. Poyfair must have told her. He also knows a lot about our family.”
“Maybe she was following my blog or my Facebook page. It’s kind of weird.”
Jazz finished her tea and asked, “What do you want to do next?”
“How about checking out the safe she mentioned in her will. Did you know about it?”
“Yeah I did. I knew that she had a safe, but I never looked in it.”
I wondered what we would find. In Texas I knew a number of people who had safes for their fire arms, but those were out in the open by their beds or in their closets not hidden in the wall. The will had mentioned files in the safe for each of us. Her letter had been personal but left me with more questions than answers. I had the feeling that Auntie had more to say.
Aunt Hildy’s bed dominated the room; the comforter was a cloud floating below the white headboard. The only color emanated from the painting of a garden with flowers purple, yellow and red. The picture frame swung easily from the wall on strong hinges revealing a recessed steel door. The safe was locked, but we found the combination in the packet of information Mr. Poyfair had left with us.
I read aloud, “Nine, seventeen, forty-three. That sounds like a birthday.”
“It is. It’s Aunt Hildegard’s birthday. Her last birthday was two weeks before her bad stroke. She had pneumonia but insisted that I eat cake and ice cream and have a little party.”
“Isn’t a birthday kind of obvious?”
“Not if you’re worried about strangers breaking in and it’s easy to remember.”
We fudged around with the lock until I was more frustrated than excited, and then it gave way with a floral scent. Three or four flower sachets were stashed between the five or six boxes sitting in the safe. In front was a stack of twenties.
“There must be five hundred dollars sitting there!” I exclaimed.
“I guess we’ll be having steak and lobster tonight!” Jazz commented. We busted up laughing.
The next thing that caught my eye was a jewelry box with a key in it, a key the same size as the one in my pocket.
“Look Jazz! I think I have a key for that box.” But when we tested it, my key didn’t fit. The real key had a different pattern on the handle and its teeth were similar but not the same. Inside the jewelry box were several antique cameo brooches, some big, gaudy rings and a pair of earrings with stones that glittered like diamonds. Jazz sifted through the jewelry opening the drawers and looking behind things.
“What are you looking for?”
“Aunt Hildegard had a necklace she always wore last summer. She didn’t have it on her when I found her in the green house. The paramedics had me remove her jewelry and she was only wearing a ring. It’s here.” She said holding up a diamond ring. “Where’s the necklace?”