Chapter IV: Mom

Everyone waited for mom to explain.  Despite being in the room and hearing the conversation leading up to my question she still seemed surprised. Like a student hearing the words pop quiz, she responded with “Hmmm?”

“The Elegant Elephant?” I asked matching the look on her face at having to explain.

She sighed and picked up the speed of her stirring.  “Well, there was the time that Curtis broke it. We didn’t even attempt that good of job fixing it by then.”

            I looked at Curtis.

            “Mom!” he said.  “I think we could have gone a bit longer without that coming up.”

            “I just thought we were clearing the air, here,” mom said defensively and sat down on the chair.

            “It’s not a confessional,” Curtis said.  “We could have left that part out.  It is not pertinent to this story.”

            “No,” Sam said smiling, “do tell.  All these years it was always, ‘Sam broke the elephant.  Don’t tell, don’t tell.’  Nice to see I have company.”

Continue reading →

Chapter II: Curtis

            I am ashamed to admit my first thought at seeing the missing heirloom was there was no chance in selling it if it was missing.  No, I wasn’t planning on selling a gift from my grandma but I was also aware of the potential value.  Which made me acutely aware of the loss.  In essence, I had been robbed! 

            That was my initial human reaction.  But I recovered before making a scene.  I silently regained my composure so that I could exchange the necessary politeness a social gathering required.  This dinner just earned a new obligation.  I was going to have to don the hat of a private investigator to figure out where my inheritance was at currently.  Hopefully, it had just been moved (another hopeful thought) for its safety and was awaiting (one more hopeful thought) me to retrieve it.  I refused to panic quite yet.  Besides, if I threw a fuss and caused a scene the others would question me and somehow probably find out about the value of the figurine.  I mean, it took me less than five minutes on Google.  Again, I must express the fact that the value does not matter to me.  But it might look suspicious.  Better to keep the value to myself and conduct a private investigation.

Continue reading →

Plan C: The Joy of Daily To-Dos

Lizzie watched the passing train and took a bite of her sandwich.  A year ago today she had sat in a bus as it brought her home.  She remembered that day well.  Mainly the overwhelming feeling of failure.  But that was a year ago.  That girl, thankfully, no longer existed.  The year had morphed her into someone else.  Someone who no longer felt the bitter pangs of failure but felt more…what word could describe it?  Successful wasn’t the exact word because she was still a work in progress.  No, what she felt now was confidence.  And she felt pity for that unsure girl from a year ago and wished she could give her some encouragement.  It was a process, emphasis on process, but she felt like for the first time in probably her entire adult life her feet were firmly planted on the ground.  It was ironic that the ground her feet were firmly planted on was in her hometown.  The town she was so eager to leave at one time.

Continue reading →

Plan C: Purpose

            Lizzie stood and watched the train pass.  But this time, she didn’t yell.  She had no desire to yell.  Instead, she simply watched the train with her arms crossed.  A slight movement to her right made her aware she had company.

            It was Matt.  Of course it was Matt.  How did he know she was at the tracks again?  He didn’t bother to speak since she would not have been able to hear him anyway.  She looked at him and raised her eyebrows.  He tilted his head toward the train.  True, last time he found her here they ended up yelling at the top of their lungs until their voices were hoarse.  That was the day she found out about her dad’s cancer.  It was only two days ago but it felt much longer than that.  She felt like a different person.  Despite the bombshell news she actually felt calmer.

Continue reading →