The Bishop’s Collar pub was busy and noisy when I took a seat at an outside table. I ordered a turkey burger and Philly pale ale. The group of people at the next table over wore Phillies caps and shirts. The beer was flowing; apparently their team had won this afternoon’s game clinching the division championship.
I dumped the plastic bag full of Nick’s possessions onto the table and spread them out. This was all that was left of my husband that was familiar. The mother in the fortress belonged to a stranger. I picked up his keys and ran through them. One was bent, probably from the collision, the dashboard folding down into the car pinning Nick to his seat. I held his house key for a minute, feeling a fleeting sense of comfort. This key opened the door to a place I knew intimately. There was pain there, yes, but it was something I had created. My own mess. Not someone else’s.
Just then a reveler jostled my table; my beer tipped, saturating the cream linen table cloth. I grabbed Nick’s things in my arms so they didn’t get soaked.
“Sorry.” The man’s voice was slurred. His breath reeked of alcohol. He stumbled backwards.
The waitress rushed in to clear things off. Several minutes later the table cloth and my beer were brand new. “Celebrating.” She nodded towards the rowdy people. “I think you dropped this.”
She tossed some folded papers in front of me. I took of sip of beer and pried them apart. It was part of Nick’s collection from the plastic bag. It had fallen from the table during the commotion. The last time I’d looked through his things, I was in a different state of mind. I had more information now. A more discerning eye.
The receipt for tool rental from the Home Depot lay folded into thirds. The day the bathroom sink broke seemed like a lifetime ago. Water everywhere, spilling out onto the floor. Towels buckets and hours later, Nick had replaced piping, washers and nearly ruined the new tile floor we’d just installed. The normalcy of it all made me smile. I hadn’t unfolded all of these papers in my search before because I’d been frenzied, rushed.
I pulled the receipt apart: a thin white letter sized envelope fell out. It had been folded like an accordion, pressed flat so that it fit neatly inside the receipt. I tore at the seal and pulled out a piece of paper the size of a business card. James 5 6 was printed neatly in block letters in the center of it. That was it. The rest of the card was empty. The envelope had a stamp pressed neatly in the upper right hand corner but he’d never addressed it.
The noise of the festivities faded behind me. My hands began to shake and the beer in my mouth refused to go down my throat. My entire body was tingling. This was all real. All of it. It hadn’t just been the morphine talking. There was a James. And if that were true then maybe I really was in danger.
An eerie feeling crept up my spine and I scanned the surrounding tables, looking for someone odd, a single stranger who might have followed me, watching me. Nothing. Just then my cell phone rang.
“Hey, hey.” Samantha’s familiar voice was at the other end.
“I’ve never been happier to hear a voice in my life.” My breath came out in a whoosh.
“I went to the Caymans. Remember? What’s going on? What happened with the will?”
I filled her in as fast as I could. “I know it’s crazy but I’m telling you it’s true.” My hand tightened around my beer glass. “The trust is worth about fifteen million dollars. Give or take a million.”
“And his mother’s alive? Oh my God… ” she said.
“I’ve been just holding all this in. I’m ready to burst.”
“Okay, okay, let’s think this through, Mackenzie. Do you really think staying with her is a great idea, given the circumstances?” There was concern in her voice.
I took a bite of my burger and chewed. “Which circumstance are you referring to?”
“Nick ran away and didn’t see her for years and said she was dead. There’s a reason. And he turned down millions of dollars, probably because of her. Not a couple thousand, millions. Is that enough or should I go on?”
“I’m scared but I get the feeling that if don’t go back there, it’ll be worse. The only way out is through it. A few days tops. And you and the lawyer will know where I am. It’ll be fine.” I hesitated. “The minute something happens, I’ll leave. Drive as fast as I can back to Maine.”
“Oh God,” she sighed with resignation. “Look. At least keep your cell phone charged, put 911 on speed dial and make sure you sleep with it.”
“Funny.”
“Not funny. Serious. Hey, listen, I have an idea. I’m going to try and get more time off. Maybe I’ll fly down there. At least you’d have an ally. And I’ve always wanted to see the Liberty Bell and…what else do they have in Philadelphia?”
“Humidity and cheese steaks.” I managed to smile.
“That’s a bad combo but let me see what’s going on in the office and I’ll call you, all right?”
After our call ended, I flipped through the contacts in my phone and dialed Dylan’s direct extension at the law office. I left a detailed message about my plans and how to reach me. One person close by to rescue me was all I needed.
I swallowed the rest of my beer in one gulp. Liquid courage for what lie ahead.