The official visit lasted nearly thirty minutes. As she gathered herself in the end, she managed to offer them a cup of tea. Captain Meyer’s heart ached and his faith told him he had made the correct choice in life. They politely declined and said their goodbyes. The last thing she saw of them was the rounded trunk of the army sedan driving off down the street as the sounds of the Atlantic returned to the seawall.
Kathleen McGuiness stumbled back into her home, a structure that now had no feel, no heart; it was empty. She stared down the hallway where thirty minutes before she had been a happy bride with her future in front of her. Now, she had nothing. She staggered down the hall, her hand brushing the small package as she passed, knocking it to the floor. She took no notice, her thoughts in a jumble.
*
She tightened the white belt of her coat as she stared blankly at the closet door before her. The last several months had been difficult, to say the least. She often found it hard to focus and lived day to day with no conviction, no sense of purpose. She knew she could no longer go on this way. As the summer closed and the last three months of the year took hold she had made her decision, one that would change her life forever. It was time to move on.
Her gaze passed over the surfaces of the hallway, a place that for a few months held all the hope she could imagine. Now it was empty, yet she couldn’t take her eyes off the stained door at the end of the hall. As she finished wrapping her belt, her hand slipped to the small package on the wooden table. It had been there for months. She gingerly picked it up and felt its weight. The bow was nearly perfect, the blue paper still crisp. Without another thought she purposefully strode toward the closet with the package in hand, opened the door and closed it behind her. She came out, letting the door slip behind her as she leaned back against it, the latch clicking as it closed. She stared ahead, the front door calling her to a new life, a life she desperately needed, and another door closed behind her as she made her way out into the world.
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.