The Cursed High School Reunion

Chapter 4

“Daddy, can you push us on the swings?” Ryan asked, as soon as he was out of the car.

“We will see after a few minutes. We just got here. Don’t you want to go play on the fort?” Mike asked as he helped Ralph out of the car.

“Yeah, Ryan, let’s go play in the fort before all the big kids get here. Please?” Ralph asked, heading towards the fort anyway.

“Okay, we can go play in the fort. Will you come play in the fort with us, Daddy?”

“Yes, I will. Let me help Mommy finish up the shopping list, then I will come play with you guys. I promise.”

“Okay, dad!” the boys yelled in unison as they ran off in the direction of the play fort.

Turning to Marsha, he asked, “Now, what email did your mother get that would make her want to go to the high school reunion?”

Marsha studied her hands for a second before answering, “They found Ralph’s ring out on the reef, in Cancun.”

“His ring? His class ring? When?” Mike asked.

“Earlier this week. The detective that was on his case sent mom an email that contained pictures of the engravings on it, including the one with our grandparents names where they were on the inside of the band,” Marsha said, watching the twins play on the fort.

“Was? Is he not the detective on the case anymore? Who is the detective now?” Mike asked, hoping he was wrong about what he thought “was” meant.

“There is no new detective. Ralph is being classified as deceased, Mike. There were bite marks on his ring. They think that he was attacked by a shark when a rip tide pulled him out into the open water that night,” Marsha said, sounding like she was on the verge of tears. “I can’t help but think that if we hadn’t left because I was having an allergic reaction, that Ralph would still be here,” Marsha’s voice broke.

“Don’t think like that, baby. If Ralph had been pulled out by a rip tide, I don’t think there was anything any one of us could have done. We wouldn’t have known what to do. It was a freak accident,” Mike said, pulling her into a hug.

“I know, but I can’t help but feel that way sometimes. But mom is thinking about going to invite our classmates to the memorial that she is planning to do that same weekend. If we can, I would like to go up the week before the reunion to help her,” Marsha said, straightening up and wiping her face.

“We can do that. Jason has been after me to take a vacation. Maybe we will go up two weeks before. That will still give me two weeks to get everything set up to take the time off. What do you think?” Mike asked Marsha.

“Oh, honey, that would be amazing. Mom would really enjoy that. I wonder if Abby could come with us for that long. I know that she would probably enjoy the change in scenery, too,” Marsha said, thinking out loud.

“Doesn’t she have school?” Mike asked.

“She is homeschooled. But her mom may let her go, with homework and all as long as she doesn’t have any important tests coming up,” Marsha said, watching as the boys started playing what looked like pirates, “I just don’t want mom doing it all by herself. These past four years since dad died have been harder on her than anything. Even if she won’t admit it.”

“I know. There is something I have been meaning to talk to you about. I was thinking about moving your mom in with us. I know how much you worry about her. Especially with her living so far away,” Mike said.

“Oh, Mike, that is a wonderous offer, but we don’t have the room for mom. I would love to have her with us, but we only have a small three bedroom, and you need that extra room for your office. I couldn’t ask you to give that up,” Marsha said, laying her head on his shoulder.

“What if I didn’t have to give up my office space?” Mike asked.

Marsha giggled. “Now how do you plan to pull that off?” she asked.

“Well down the road from the house we are currently building, it just so happens that a beautiful six bedroom home came up for sale the other day. And it sits on about 15 acres,” Mike said. “It’s the old Jones’s farm. Mr. Keith Jones stopped by the build site the other day and told me. He said that he would be willing to rent to own as well.”

“Babe, that’s huge. I can’t believe he is selling it. That place has been in his family for generations,” Marsha said, shocked.

“He said that it was never home after Mary Beth and Jo Ann died last year. He lost his drive when he lost them. He just doesn’t want to farm anymore. He said that the reason he is offering it to us is because of how much we helped after the accident,” Mike said.

“Well, I wasn’t gonna let him go through that alone. Burying your spouse is bad enough, but to be burying your child as well. I knew he had to feel lost. I am just glad that they caught the man responsible. I hope they never let him out either,” Marsha said.

Before Mike could say anything else, the twins came running up, “Daddy are you going to come play with us?” Ryan asked.

“Yeah, I’m coming. What do you want to play?” he asked as he stood up.

“Pirate Ship! Pirate Ship!” the boys yelled in unison.