their narrow escape from the old house.
“Thank God you handled that, Kit. When I saw them coming so close I thought we were finished. And I’ll never forget that expression on your face when you said ‘I’ve got this’.” She mockingly deepened her voice, making it sound like The Terminator. “You were such a different person, so in control and focused. I knew you’d get us out of there alive! You have no idea how amazing you are.” Maggie reached over with her free hand and gave her shoulder a quick squeeze.
***
They carried the trunk into Maggie’s house and dropped it in front of the sofa where they both collapsed. “Wait a minute.” Maggie jumped up and ran into the kitchen singing to herself and returned with two glasses and a bottle of cheap champagne. “I bought this for us to celebrate.” She popped the cork with flair and poured them each a good size glass.
Maggie raised her glass, “To a job well done.” They clinked glasses and took long draughts of the cold bubbly liquid.
Kitty countered with, “To not getting killed or arrested.”
“I’ll drink to that.”
There were several more toasts that got sillier each time and the champagne disappeared quickly.
“Let’s check out our booty and see what we’ve got.” Maggie unlatched the trunk and rifled through it. “These old linens are amazing. Check out the intricate embroidery, it must’ve taken months to finish these things.”
Though not Kitty’s style, she tried to sound impressed for Maggie’s sake. “Well, I guess there wasn’t much to do for entertainment in those days, though I can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been to do that close work by candlelight.”
Kitty waded through the old pictures again. The one of Grandma Margaret intrigued her. It was amazing how much she resembled Maggie. There were also a bunch more of people she didn’t recognize. Still, seeing the faces matching up with the names inscribed below, made them come alive.
“Are any of these photos of the ancestors we have in common?” It occurred to her that the possibility existed.
“I don’t know. I’ll have to recheck my research and see where they connect.”
As Kitty dug deeper into the chest, examining each photo and spreading them out on the floor, a small ornate jewelry box caught her eye. Filled with lovely antique pieces, each one had to be worth a fortune. Among the items, attached to a thin gold chain hung an antique oval shaped locket that showed two roses, one pink and one red, on a cream-colored background encased in ornate gold. The roses appeared to be made from a thousand tiny chips of colored stone and Kitty marveled at the craftsmanship needed to have created the image. She inspected the photo of Grandma Margaret again, comparing it to what she held in her hand.
“Maggie look, here’s the locket your grandmother wore in this picture. It’s even more gorgeous now that you can see the colors.”
Maggie stopped examining the linens and removed both things from Kitty’s hand. “Oh wow, you’re right, it is.” She released the catch, revealing a miniature of both her grandmother and her grandfather on each side. Tears formed in her eyes and Kitty plucked a tissue from the dispenser on the side table for her.
“Help me put it on, I want to wear it.”
Kitty knelt behind her on the floor and connected the ancient catch. It hung at her throat just as it did on her grandmother in the photograph.
“I’ll bet it’s been many years since Grandma’s seen this. She’ll be so happy that we found it. Let’s gather up as many of the documents and binders as we can and we’ll bring them to Grandma tomorrow when I come home from work. I’m not sure what she was looking for, but it must be among these things.”
Maggie’s next day at work flew by as she relived the escapade over in her mind. Grandma had been rambling about getting something from an old trunk for weeks and, after scoping out the house, Maggie realized
“Thank God you handled that, Kit. When I saw them coming so close I thought we were finished. And I’ll never forget that expression on your face when you said ‘I’ve got this’.” She mockingly deepened her voice, making it sound like The Terminator. “You were such a different person, so in control and focused. I knew you’d get us out of there alive! You have no idea how amazing you are.” Maggie reached over with her free hand and gave her shoulder a quick squeeze.
***
They carried the trunk into Maggie’s house and dropped it in front of the sofa where they both collapsed. “Wait a minute.” Maggie jumped up and ran into the kitchen singing to herself and returned with two glasses and a bottle of cheap champagne. “I bought this for us to celebrate.” She popped the cork with flair and poured them each a good size glass.
Maggie raised her glass, “To a job well done.” They clinked glasses and took long draughts of the cold bubbly liquid.
Kitty countered with, “To not getting killed or arrested.”
“I’ll drink to that.”
There were several more toasts that got sillier each time and the champagne disappeared quickly.
“Let’s check out our booty and see what we’ve got.” Maggie unlatched the trunk and rifled through it. “These old linens are amazing. Check out the intricate embroidery, it must’ve taken months to finish these things.”
Though not Kitty’s style, she tried to sound impressed for Maggie’s sake. “Well, I guess there wasn’t much to do for entertainment in those days, though I can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been to do that close work by candlelight.”
Kitty waded through the old pictures again. The one of Grandma Margaret intrigued her. It was amazing how much she resembled Maggie. There were also a bunch more of people she didn’t recognize. Still, seeing the faces matching up with the names inscribed below, made them come alive.
“Are any of these photos of the ancestors we have in common?” It occurred to her that the possibility existed.
“I don’t know. I’ll have to recheck my research and see where they connect.”
As Kitty dug deeper into the chest, examining each photo and spreading them out on the floor, a small ornate jewelry box caught her eye. Filled with lovely antique pieces, each one had to be worth a fortune. Among the items, attached to a thin gold chain hung an antique oval shaped locket that showed two roses, one pink and one red, on a cream-colored background encased in ornate gold. The roses appeared to be made from a thousand tiny chips of colored stone and Kitty marveled at the craftsmanship needed to have created the image. She inspected the photo of Grandma Margaret again, comparing it to what she held in her hand.
“Maggie look, here’s the locket your grandmother wore in this picture. It’s even more gorgeous now that you can see the colors.”
Maggie stopped examining the linens and removed both things from Kitty’s hand. “Oh wow, you’re right, it is.” She released the catch, revealing a miniature of both her grandmother and her grandfather on each side. Tears formed in her eyes and Kitty plucked a tissue from the dispenser on the side table for her.
“Help me put it on, I want to wear it.”
Kitty knelt behind her on the floor and connected the ancient catch. It hung at her throat just as it did on her grandmother in the photograph.
“I’ll bet it’s been many years since Grandma’s seen this. She’ll be so happy that we found it. Let’s gather up as many of the documents and binders as we can and we’ll bring them to Grandma tomorrow when I come home from work. I’m not sure what she was looking for, but it must be among these things.”
Maggie’s next day at work flew by as she relived the escapade over in her mind. Grandma had been rambling about getting something from an old trunk for weeks and, after scoping out the house, Maggie realized
Similar Books
