The Crossing Trilogy

Chapter 8

8

A week had passed and with the attic finished, the crew were now working on the upstairs floor. The walls had been removed, the floor levelled, and three support posts placed. Sydney was pleased with the progress thus far.

She was stretched out on a chaise lounge outside her rental cabin sipping a glass of wine. Jessie occupied the second lounger beside her. It was a warm evening and they were discussing ordering Chinese food.

“I'll let you chose the restaurant since I'm sure you have a favourite,” Sydney said.

Jessie reached for her cell phone. “Is there anything you like in particular?”

“Nope. I love it all. Oh…I do prefer low mien noodles to chow mien.”

Jessie frowned. “What's the difference?”

“Low mien are skinny, chow mien are shorter and fat.”

“Gotcha.” Jessie called the restaurant programmed into her phone and ordered their dinner.

“Wow… that's enough food for an army,” Sydney said.

Jessie giggled. “I love cold Chinese food for breakfast the next morning.”

“What? So do I. Another thing we are like-minded about.”

The girls laughed and fist bumped.

“How long did they say it would be?” Sydney asked.

“Thirty minutes.”

Sydney stood. “It's my turn to pay. I'll get my credit card.”

After retrieving her card, she exited the house in time to see Jax pull up in front of the cabin. She waited by the door until he exited the truck. “We're having wine. Want some? Or do you prefer a beer?”

“I'd love a beer,” Jax said.

“All I have is Heineken.”

“All good.” Jax headed towards the loungers and sat down at the picnic table. He had a wooden box under his arm which he placed on the table.

“Hey, you,” Jessie said.

Sydney returned to the kitchen. She opened a cooler bag and put some beer in it with another bottle of wine. She joined the others outside.

Jessie refilled their glasses. “So what's brought you slumming down by the river?”

Jax laughed. “I wanted to give Syd an update on the farm.”

That was the first time he'd called her Syd and it didn't go unnoticed. Sydney sat back in her lounger feeling warm all over. And it wasn't from the wine.

“We finished replacing floor boards and put the final touches on the storage cupboards. Tomorrow we'll frame the new bathroom. The electrician was in today. He replaced the old wiring and electrical box. We're running power from a generator for now. Most of it he ran through the walls but where he couldn't he ran it around the room. But don't worry. We'll cover it with molding. You'll never see it.”

Sydney beamed. “Still right on track, I see. You're doing a great job.”

“Thank you.” Jax took a long swig of beer. “Aww…nothing like the taste of a cold beer on a hot night. Oh…” He put down his bottle and pointed at the box. “I brought you this. After we broke down one of the bedroom closets we started pulling up the carpeting. Inside the closet, one corner of the carpeting was already loosened. Underneath, we found a lifted floor board and under that this box sat nestled in the floor joists.” Jax stood and carried it over to Sydney.

“It looks like an old jewelry box.” She tried opening the lid. “It's locked. The key is long gone I'm sure.” She gave the box a shake. “Whatever's inside has some weight to it.” She ran her hands over the wood. Sydney looked up at Jax who had returned to his beer. “Which room did you find it in?”

“The one at the end of the old hallway on the side wall. I probably have a tool in the truck to pry it open if you'd like.”

Sydney stared at the box. “That was my mother's bedroom.” The thought that there could be something inside that belonged to her mother excited and scared her at the same time. “I don't think it belongs to the people who leased the house for a few years. Their children were toddlers. What if it's hers?”

“Your mother's?” Jessie asked softly.

“Yes.”

“Why don't we open it and find out? This is so cool. Like we found buried treasure.” Jax said.

Jessie gave him a stare that said, 'shut the hell up'. She reached out and touched Sydney's arm. “You all right?”

Before Sydney could answer, the delivery boy arrived with dinner. She handed the box to Jessie and went to pay for the food.

Her friend spoke to Jax. “You want to help us eat some Chinese food? We have more than enough.”

“I'd love it, thanks.”

“Then come inside and help me get plates and cutlery. We'll eat out here.” She carried the box into the house with her.

As they disappeared into the cabin, Sydney heard Jax whisper: “Did I say something wrong?”

Sydney busied herself, opening the various containers, pushing away thoughts about Jax' find. There was more than enough food for three. She smiled. Should even be enough leftovers for breakfast. The other two joined her while she opened the second bottle of wine and put out another beer for Jax. They ate and laughed heartily as Jax shared stories about childhood antics. Whatever Jessie told him in the kitchen, no one mentioned the farm house or the wooden box. Sydney knew little about her mother. She didn't remember her and her Nan avoided the subject. There weren't even any pictures of her in her grandmother's home. Nan was a very private person and she'd hidden her pain about her daughter over the years. Sydney got a glimpse once in awhile when she'd pressed her as a teenager and was always left confused by the mixed emotions of anger and pain her Nan would reveal; only to close down and shut her out. The thought that the box may contain things that belonged to her mother or reveal something shook Sydney to the core.

They cleared the picnic table and Jax made a fire in the pit. The three of them settled in lawn chairs around the fire.

“I haven't laughed this hard for ages,” Sydney said. She sipped more wine, having had way more than she usually would. Tomorrow I'll suffer.

“It's your turn to tell us a funny story from your childhood,” Jax said. “And don't tell us you were a good girl who never did anything wrong. Even perfect girls can go rogue.”

Jessie snorted. “Ewww…are you crushin' on my friend?”

Sydney laughed. She'd had enough wine to find the whole thing hilarious. “If you think I'm perfect, you're in for a big surprise. Let's see. When I was eight, I wanted to see what Nan had bought me for Christmas.”

Jax interrupted her. “What? Didn't you still believe in Santa at eight? I know I did.”

“I did until a couple of weeks before Christmas that year. A girl at school found out from her older sister. They had a fight and her sister wanted to get back at her and spilled the beans about Santa not being real.”

“What a little b***h,” Jessie said.

Jax and Sydney stared at her.

“A little harsh, Jess. She was a kid,” Jax said.

Jessie giggled. “Sorry, that's the wine talking. Continue your story, Syd.”

“I saw Nan hiding some parcels in the garage. So one night I snuck out of bed and down the hallway to the door into the garage. Nan had fallen asleep in her chair watching a movie on television. I'd slipped into the garage and started to snoop around when I heard her footsteps in the hall. She'd woken up and was heading to bed. I heard the deadbolt on the door to the garage lock.”

Jax and Jessie laughed. “And you were locked in the garage,” Jessie said.

“I was too. I heard her go into the kitchen and bounded out the door that exited to the driveway. It was snowing hard and I ran around the back of the house in two feet of snow, in my pajamas and slippers. I'd let the cat out and knew the door wasn't locked yet.”

“Did you get back in?” Jax asked.

“I carefully turned the handle and opened the door. Just as I crept in, the cat ran from outside between my legs and I stepped on his tail. He let out a yell and took off running down the hallway. Next thing I know Nan comes running to check out the noise and catches me in the open doorway.”

Jax hooted. “Uh-oh, caught red handed.”

“Yup. I tried to lie. Told her I woke up to pee and heard the cat on the stoop.”

Jessie interjected. “Let me guess. She didn't buy it.”

“How could she? There I was standing in the house with snow in my hair and the bottom of my pajamas and slippers caked with snow. She knew I'd been outside. I told her the truth.”

“Did she punish you?” Jess asked.

Sydney laughed. “No, because when I saw how disappointed she was in me and how mad she was that some girl had spoiled my belief in Santa, I told a lie that I did get away with.” She pointed at Jax and giggled. “When you hear it, you'll know I'm not perfect and can lie with the best of them.”

Jax grinned that big dimpled expression that always had an effect on her. “Tell us. What'd you say?”

“I told her I still wanted to believe in Santa and didn't want to give him up. If what she'd hidden in the garage were the same presents left under the tree from Santa on Christmas morning, then I'd be sad but would know it was true.”

“Clever girl,” Jessie said.

“So you're not just a pretty face, you're smart too,: Jax added.

“You better believe it, cowboy. She felt so bad for me that she went into the kitchen and made me hot chocolate while I changed my pajamas.”

They kibitzed back and forth until they all stared into the fire; each lost to their own thoughts. A moment later, Sydney jumped up. “Okay. It's time. Let's do this.”

The other two stared at her and then at each other.

“Huh?” Jax grunted.

“Do what, Syd?” Jess asked.

“I'm getting the wooden box and Jax you're getting a tool to break it open.”

Sydney raced towards the cabin before she could change her mind. The box was on the kitchen table. She picked it up and hurried back to the picnic table. Jax had a small screwdriver in his hand. She looked over at Jessie who was still sitting by the fire. “Come on Jess, gather 'round. We're going to find out what this has been hiding all these years.

Jax pried the box open and slid it over to Sydney to open. She glanced at Jess and then at Jax, took a deep breath and lifted the lid. Sydney stared at the contents. Her friends stood on the other side of the table and couldn't see past the hinged lid.

“What's in there, Syd?” Jessie asked in a whisper.

Sydney picked up the first item. “It's a journal. There's three more in the box.” She opened it up to the inside cover and read aloud slowly. “Property of Chelsea Amanda Grey, Grade 11.” She leafed through the book, filled with handwritten notes. With shaky hands, she picked up the other three journals. “Property of Chelsea Amanda Grey, Grade 12; Property of Chelsea Amanda Grey, Starting My Life; Property of Chelsea Amanda Grey, Baby and Me. Sydney sat down hard on the bench. “These are my mother's. All the entries are dated and addressed to Dear Self.”

Sydney put three of the journals back in the box carefully. The fourth one she held in her hands and rubbed the cover. She carefully opened it and reread the inscription. “The year1997 was the year she left.” She looked up at her friends and realized her eyes were blurred with tears. “She's in here. Her life; her inner thoughts, and me—I'm in here too.”

Jessie came around the table and sat beside her. She placed an arm around her shoulder. “And maybe the answers to all your questions are in there.”

“Maybe.” Sydney stared at Jessie. “What if I don't like the answers? What if I hate her?”

Jax busied himself putting the fire out while Jessie comforted her. “What I think is that these pages will help you understand who she was and why she did the things she did. She's given you an opportunity to know her inner most feelings at the time. And it's straight from her. No gossip or lies. However hard that may be to read, it's going to be for the best.”

Sydney placed the last journal in the box and closed the lid. “You're probably right but not yet. I'm not ready.”

Jax cleared his throat. “I'm off for home, ladies. Thank you for the food, beer and fine company. Tomorrow morning comes early and if I don't show up for work, my client might fire me.”

Sydney wiped her wet cheeks with the back of her hand and stood. “Fat chance, cowboy. You're not going anywhere until you meet your contract obligations.”

“Okay, boss.” Jax turned to Jessie. “Do you want a ride home. I don't think you should be driving.”

“No thanks. I'm bunking here tonight with Syd.”

Sydney forced a laugh. “Yes, she is. We have a breakfast date…cold Chinese food.”