This Old Home

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Gretchen stared at the box in her hands. Not only was she standing on a stranger’s porch, but she was also holding a box of unsent letters written by an elderly deceased woman. How did she get there and why was she there? She didn’t have to bring this box to the address. She knew her work would have just sent everything in the box to the recycling bin. Who knew if it would ever be brought to the house?

She stood there, the address staring back at her in Mrs. Gertrude’s handwriting. She didn’t know how it happened. One day she was laughing and fighting over not sleeping and eating. The next, she was being taken by squad to the hospital, where Gretchen did not get to see her again. When the elderly pass and they have no family, they usually put in their will to be cremated and buried with their families, which is exactly what Mrs. Gertrude wanted.

Suddenly the door opened, a man around the age of 35 with short sandy blonde hair and the most strikingly green eyes stood there. “Hello? Can I help you?” He asked while looking Gretchen up and down. She didn’t know what to say or do, as she stared at him.

“Oh, umm hi. My name is Gretchen and I work at Home is for Forever. We had a client there, who wrote a bunch of letters to this address. I’m not sure if you’re interested in them, or I can just throw them away. But Mrs. Gertrude was always writing these letters and I felt horrible just throwing them away at the nursing home,” Gretchen started stammering and looking around awkwardly. “I’m rambling. I’m so sorry, I just made things so awkward, I’ll leave now!” Gretchen turned on her heel to leave, clutching the box tightly to her chest. Her heart was thundering in her ears, and she could feel her fingertips tingling, almost as if they were going numb. The sound of male laughter stops her in her tracks, her ears burning red.

“You’re fine, there’s no reason to walk away. My name is David. It’s nice to meet you.” David stuck out his hand with a kind and welcoming smile. Gretchen looks from his hand to his face and awkwardly shuffles the box on her hip.

She reaches out and shakes the outstretched hand that molds perfectly to hers. She pretends to pay no mind to this, “Hi David. It’s so nice to finally put a face behind the address.” She laughs a little as she brushes her hair to the side out of her face, a small smile gracing her lips.

“OK, I’ll take that box off your hand,” David says, “How many letters did she write?” Gretchen holds out the box and he gently grabs it from her, their fingers brushing gently against each other. She steps back quickly and brushes her shirt down, a slight blush covering her face.

“There are around 20 letters in there. But there are also presents for the kids. She was best friends with Sally and told me that Sally would want her to continue the Christmas tradition. I’m not sure what that means though.” She scratched the back of her head awkwardly while watching David as he looked down at the box. He looked up at her, his smile now gone as he tried to hide the pain in his eyes.

“Well, thank you, and if you get a chance, thank Mrs. Gertrude, was it? Let her know that we really appreciate the gesture. The kids will be super excited about opening their presents,” David said.

“Yeah, absolutely I will tell her,” Gretchen feigned excitement, “it was nice meeting you and I’m so sorry about the awkwardness.”

David nodded at Gretchen as she waved and turned to leave. The awkwardness of the situation was palatable. Gretchen clutched the locket around her neck that Mrs. Gertrude gave it to her last Christmas as a gift. She thought back to that day last year.

Gretchen knocked on the door of room 212 with a small laundry basket on her hip. She smiled while turning the doorknob, the antique grey dresser straight ahead hiding a tiny frail white-haired woman on the other side of it. She knew that Mrs. Gertrude was sitting at her little corner desk writing another letter again. She smiled as she walked over and set the laundry basket of clothes on top of the dresser.

“Hello dear! I’m so happy to see you working tonight,” Mrs. Gertrude exclaimed. “I know you wanted to spend Christmas with that boyfriend of yours, but I’m much happier to see you here!” Mrs. Gertrude’s brown eyes seemed like they were glowing as she turned in her swivel chair and set her hands on her lap.

“Merry Festivus Mrs. Gertrude. You know I couldn’t spend my Christmas without seeing you! Are you excited about the movie night tonight?” Gretchen smiled over at Mrs. Gertrude as she began placing the folded laundry on the dresser.

“I remember when that movie came out. It was the highlight of the season. The humor has now gotten a little dry with the times and is no longer as funny.” Mrs. Gertrude sighed, turning to look towards her bed. “I would rather be watching Polar Express instead. That movie brings back wonderful memories with my son.” Mrs. Gertrude looked down at her hands, a forlorn smile cast on her face. As Gretchen placed the last of the laundry in the dresser, she could feel the atmosphere in the room change.

Mrs. Gertrude stood and walked over to her. “I am so very happy that you came today though. I have a gift that I need to give you. It’s been passed down for generations in my family. There’s an old family tale that when the previous owner passes, the new owner will find their one true love. I’m not sure how true that ‘blessing’ is, but I figured it would be perfect for you.” Mrs. Gertrude pulled out a small box from her nightstand and smiled at Gretchen.