The Kiss: An Anthology About Love and Other Close Encounters(57)

Chapter Two: Uncovered


September, 2003


The door creaked as it opened, the hinges rebelling against the movement, the stale air forcing a weak cough from the home’s new owner. It was evident it had been unoccupied for many years. The long hallway was covered with a fine layer of dust and cobwebs hung from the center light. She looked around for a switch to see if it even worked. Fortunately the midday light was enough, as the first switch she tried returned an empty click. Nothing. That single touch told her what she needed to know, the place hadn’t been updated in likely fifty years.

Even with that, she smiled. It was home, a home she could afford. Vicki Sumter stepped fully into the hallway, jumping back quickly as the webs she hadn’t seen clung to her hair. The eerie shake started at her neck and slid all the way down to her toes. She hated spiders! With a deep breath and a new resolve she stepped again into the hallway opening the door so the day would penetrate as deeply as possible.

The flood of light illuminated the musty hall with a soft glow, the polish of the old wood hinting at what once had been. She didn’t know much about the property but she didn’t need to. It was a roof over her head, a roof she desperately needed. She was alone, at least for now, and she had a week to clean and get the place ready before the kids would join her from their grandmother’s. She dropped the one bag she had on the floor and heard the thud of solid wood beneath her feet. Perhaps the place had promise after all.

The next week was a flurry of activity as she worked to bring her musty old house back to life, a life she intended to live to the fullest. She was a young captain’s wife and she had a husband to be proud of. He was a stickler for order and precision and he liked a house that matched. Each step she swept, each window she cleaned, felt as it was one step closer to bringing him back from the Middle East. He was in his third tour of duty and he promised it would be his last, at least in that part of the world if he could help it. She stepped back from the window, the sill now clean and shiny as the old wood came back to life. “This sure beats the housing on a base,” she thought.

As the week wound down she began to look forward to her kids coming home. She had been so busy cleaning and looking for a part time job, she nearly forgot about them. But they would be here soon, the day after tomorrow. Their rooms were ready and what little they had was put in its proper place. Her own bedroom would be the last thing she tackled. It had no urgency. There were more important things to do.

The next two days passed quickly and one last sweep of the main hallway was finished with a quick step. The door to the closet was opened and she stepped inside. Such a large space, but she was happy for it. The closet was obviously a throwback to a time where homes needed a large storage area for coats and shoes, boxes and bags and the other necessities of life. The other rooms had little storage, and in times past, their walls were lined with furniture for that reason. Closets in a bedroom were tiny if they were there at all. It would be nice to have a newer house, but that was out of the question.

She looked around, spying the boxes she had carefully stored. Each now had its place and the size of the closet made for easy organization. Hats and coats there, a vacuum and cleaning rags there and plenty of extra shelves and cubby holes for boxes and bags. She stood with her hands on her hips and smiled. “And a good place for Christmas presents,” she thought. She looked up at the light; “one thing I forgot to dust,” she smirked. She slid the simple chair at the back of the closet beneath the light, grabbed hold of a thick wooden shelf and pulled herself up. A quick dusting now finished, her hand again reached for the shelf, but this time, she drew back quickly, startled. What had she touched? The thought of a spider unsettled her, made her shiver, but her curiosity was more than she could tame.

Lifting herself up on her toes, she craned her neck to see what she touched, reaching out gently. Her fingers gingerly nudged a small package; a wrapped one, she could now tell. Vicki pulled it forward and stepped off the chair. The blue wrapping was faded and the bow thin from years of neglect, yet with a look to the tag on the side, it was obvious what it was; a Christmas present. She stepped into the light of the hall and closed the door behind. The light of day fully revealed the neglect this little package had endured. She turned the tag over to read the name; Willy.





*


The day dawned to a soft rain coming in from the sea on a gentle breeze. She could feel the change in the air as day by day, the month began to slip away. Autumn would quickly be upon them, and here in New England, that meant cold. She stamped her feet to keep them warm, her slippers offering little protection against the wet breeze. She looked up and down the street, the ocean providing a perfect backdrop for the coming season. She had grown up in the South, away from the harsh realities of winter and this would be a new experience. “Nope, no kids yet.”

The morning gave way to noon and as she sipped warm coffee from her ceramic cup she heard the distinctive sound of the forties-style doorbell. With the cup quickly returned to the saucer she headed out of the kitchen and down the main hall. The door swung open as the first of her children burst into their new home.

“Sarah.” Her face lit with a broad smile. She bent her knee to the hardwood floor as her youngest daughter crashed into her at a dead run.

“Momma, you’re hurting me,” she giggled as she squirmed in her mother’s arms.