Lib Novel Page 2
She lifted it up to find that it was pretty heavy. Sure enough, when she opened it, she found a set of keys inside and a note from Sloane.
Hi Cora,
The movers did a great job getting everything in and putting your beds together, but they clipped the mailbox on the way out and you’ll definitely need a new one. I took a photo in case the company gives you any trouble about the cost. Let me know if you need a contractor, or if there’s anything else I can do to help get it sorted out.
Meanwhile, since the bedroom linen boxes were labeled, I took the liberty of making your beds. Hopefully you won’t hit traffic on the way home, but if you do, you’ll be able to relax when you get in.
Welcome to Trinity Falls! I know you two will love it here!
-Sloane
Cora smiled.
“What’s that?” Sylvester asked.
“Just a note from our real estate agent,” Cora said. “And the keys to the house.”
“My keychain,” Sylvester yelled suddenly, patting the pockets of his jeans.
Cora’s heart began to pound as she thought about all the places his favorite treasure could be. They had left the apartment, stopped at a diner, and a couple of gas stations. If they’d lost it on the road somewhere…
“Let’s check the car,” she said. “Maybe it fell out of your pocket in there while you were sleeping.”
Sylvester ran for the car, and she didn’t have the heart to ask him to slow down. She caught up to him, watching him pat down his booster seat to no avail.
“Oh no,” he moaned frantically, tears already sliding down his cheeks. “Oh, no…”
“It’s okay,” she told him. “Want me to take a look?”
He backed up and she moved in, finding herself silently praying that it wasn’t lost forever. If he had been holding it in his hand when he dozed off, it might be on the floor.
She felt around, past a half-eaten packet of crackers that would need cleaning up in the morning, and the sweater he’d peeled off at some point during the journey.
Her fingers danced over something cool, metallic, and familiar. She plucked it out quickly and her heart rejoiced at the sight of the keychain. The small pewter football was so worn from little fingers rubbing it that the details were all but smoothed away.
“Here it is,” she told him with a smile.
He took it wordlessly, hugging it to his chest and then sliding it into his palm, his thumb unconsciously stroking the smooth surface.
The keychain had been his father’s. Arthur had played football in high school. He wasn’t exceptional, but he enjoyed the game, and he had watched it on television with Sylvester.
Cora figured the keychain felt like a connection with his dad, and it was small enough Sylvester could carry it with him everywhere.
This was their life now, simultaneously trying to move forward down the path of happiness the grief counselor had told them to picture, but also trying not to let go of the memories of the man they both missed.
Leaving the apartment had been a big step forward. And moving closer to Arthur’s mom felt like a wonderful way to be sure they always had someone who understood exactly what they had lost and why they wanted to keep his memory alive.
Cora had started looking for teaching positions in Trinity Falls right away after she lost Arthur. But almost two years passed before a position finally opened up. One of the English teachers at the high school had gone out on maternity leave at Thanksgiving, and decided she wouldn’t be returning after all.
Cora jumped at the chance. Being offered the position felt like winning the lottery. It had been all she could do not to cry with relief and joy when she got the phone call with the happy news.
And now, after all that time, they were finally at their new beginning.
“Let’s head in now,” she told Sylvester, eager for him to see the house.
Half an hour later, they had explored every nook and cranny of the place.
The man who had sold it to them had apparently purchased a large number of the country homes in the area. Sloane had explained that he’d done it to save them from being sold to some developer. And since his plan was just to resell them at what seemed like a steal of a price to Cora, he had replaced roofing, wiring, and heaters as needed, but he hadn’t done much cosmetic work.