Chapter 298: Locker
*That locker is yours. Don’t ever tell mom about it. – Leigh Anne*
RYE’S MEMORY
Friday night, Rye had graduated with the rest of her class. After the ceremony, she returned the borrowed cap and gown, not even keeping the tassel. Then she got in her recently bought new-to-me car and drove to Savannah.
There was a fear in the back of her mind that the locker would not be there. Or that the contents would be gone. But it was still there. Thankfully. Using the key that had become so much a part of her, she opened the locker and found a black duffel bag.
It looked like one that Anthony had bought for them to put clothes in when they moved to Tampa. Vaguely, in the back of her mind, she remembered that one disappeared after they left. Shortly before Leigh Anne ran away for a few days.
Rye had gone on a school trip and Leigh Anne ran away during that time. She didn’t remember the trip very well. She didn’t even remember where they had gone. What she did remember was the night of sleeping without fear.
After getting the bag, she drove back home and got a little bit of sleep. As was her usual habit, she arrived at work early. For years, she had avoided being in the apartment that it just seemed to be the right thing to do.
Her hours had picked up since school ended and she needed the extra money for when she moved for school. She was grateful for the scholarship and accepted it knowing that it only covered tuition and fees. She was good at saving and being frugal. Currently, she worked two full time jobs and days off were nonexistent.
On days like today, she had a few hours for herself. Most of her time off was spent in the laundromat, picking up a side job or doing anything to stay out of the apartment. But today, she had something that she had to do. She would soon be leaving, and she had to know what was in the duffle bag. Leigh Anne had said that it was their dad and that everything in it belonged to Rye.
Her emotions were strung tight, and her stress was high. She was hoping that the answers were in the bag. It would be better if she knew what the questions were. But she was willing to accept the answers and then learn the questions.
Rye sat on the couch in the apartment that she had formerly shared with her mother and sister. Now, one was dead and the other was missing. The cheap apartment had remained the same, thin walls, stained carpet, and a thick stench. The camel-colored couch was uncomfortable, but other than the bed, it was the only place to sit. There was no way she was sitting on the floor.
She had cleaned vomit, feces, drugs, alcohol and identifiable substances off the old carpet. She refused to walk on the carpet. There was no way that she was going to sit on it.
Deciding to rip the band aid off, she quickly tugged open the long zipper of the mysterious duffle bag. The old scene from Mary Poppins suddenly appeared in her mind and Rye wondered if she could pull a lamp out of it. With a nervous laugh, she opened the bag and reached inside.
The first thing that she pulled out was a large envelope with a packet of papers inside. It had a lot of papers that she did not understand. The little bit that she did understand was that both she and Leigh Anne had trust funds. They couldn’t be touched until they were twenty-one. In the meantime, it was administered by a firm in New York.
The next item was a small box with their dad’s wedding band, dog tags and crucifix. She added her mom’s wedding band to the box. And the necklace with the two small golden heart urns.
Her bear with the heart shaped picture of her dad was in the bag. So was the old baby blanket that he had taken with him on every deployment since Leigh Anne was born. It was old and ratty and had a bit of blood splattered on it.
Wrapped inside the blanket was a picture from their trip to Italy. As she was setting it aside, she noticed that something was sticking out of the back. Taking the back of the frame off, she found official papers written in a foreign language. She assumed that it was Italian since it had the Italian seal at the top of the papers. Rye sat the papers with the envelope and put the frame back together.
The last thing that came out of the bag was a triangle shaped bag with his flag inside. She hugged it to her chest and felt something inside. Opening the bag, two small boxes slid out. One held a silver charm bracelet and the other had a strand of pearls.
Tucked inside the flag was an envelope that held his ribbons and medals. She looked at them all, not certain what any of them meant. Carefully, she put them back and then put everything back in the duffle bag.
After a moment of thought, she added her graduation picture and diploma to the bag. There were a few other trinkets that she gathered up to add to the bag. Opening the pocket on the inside, a flash of color caught her attention. Setting the small memorial plaque that the local MADD chapter gave her to the side, she reached inside the pocket.
As soon as her fingers grasped the cords, she knew what it was. What they were. The tears came hard and fast as she pulled the three necklaces out. The soft black cords were looped through the smooth black stones. Each one was round with a hole in the center like a donut. All three of them were there.
Leigh Anne’s bright blue stone had a small chip from when she fell on a patch of ice.
Donna Leigh’s red stone had never really been worn.
Ryanne’s had an area on the lower part of the petrified wood that was smoother than the rest from her rubbing it when she was worried. Or nervous. Or scared.
All the memories flooded over her. She sat on the couch, clutching the necklaces to her chest and crying for several minutes. Eventually the tears slowly subsided and the hiccups began. The alarm on her phone went off letting her know that she only had an hour until she had to be at work.
She kept the jewelry out and placed it in the hidden pocket of her backpack. Placing the other items back in the bag, she placed the bag in the closet and then took a shower and got ready for the late shift at the restaurant.
After she moved in with Miss Beulah, Rye got a case for the flag and a frame for her graduation picture. The paperwork and awards were kept in a shoebox that Miss Beulah had.
