Til We Meet Again (4 page)

“I’ll be right over,” he told her and hung up the phone.

Katie was pacing on the front porch, photo in hand, when Dean pulled up. 

He held his arms out to her and gave her a hug.  “Okay, tell me all about this now,” he said as they went inside.

Katie showed him the photo and led him to the box where she’d found it.

Dean took a good, long look at it to remember Grace’s face.  “Are there any other items of hers here?” he asked.

“I’m not sure; I haven’t been up the attic at all yet and it could be full of stuff,” she replied.

“Why don’t we go up there and see what we can find,” he suggested.

Katie led the way upstairs, to a door which hid a set of rickety old stairs that led to their destination.  “Whoa!” she cried when she got to the top.  “I didn’t know all this was up here.  It will take us a lifetime to get through it all.”

“Like the lifetime it took to create it,” Dean said.

Katie glared at him.

“I’m sure they’re labeled in some manner,” Dean went on.  “Besides, a lot of them are trunks which usually had some form of personalization on them in those years.”

They opened several of the trunks and boxes, several of which held heavy dark coats or small trinkets and dishes.

Finally, they found one with Grace’s name clearly marked across the top of it.  Katie and Dean looked at each other before opening the latch and pushing the heavy lid up.  At first they thought it only held clothing and other personal items but Katie pushed all that aside and found a tattered, worn out shoe box lying in the bottom. 

“Do you think this is what we’re looking for?” he asked. 

Katie sucked in a deep breath and nodded.

Dean reached in and gently pulled the box out and then set it down on a nearby pile of boxes.  Dean looked at Katie before he slid the lid off. 

Katie gasped partly from the cloud of dust but also because of what was inside “Oh my God,” she said.

Inside there was a stack of love letters and small, dried-up flowers everywhere.

“Must have been from the bouquet he gave her,” Katie said remembering the white and yellow flowers from the dream.

At the very bottom they found a yellowed, very fragile piece of newsprint. 

Dean gently lifted it out and turned it over.  Immediately his face fell.  “It’s Donald’s obituary, that knock on the head must have really done it,” he said solemnly.  “It’s dated June 11, 1922. 

Katie cried softly.  “But they were so in love,” she whispered.  “I wonder when they were married?”

Dean took her into his arms and held her.  “I take it nobody ever knew about any of this?”

“No, nobody.  I don’t think so anyway,” she replied.  “Nobody ever told me about it anyway.”

She let Dean hold her and suddenly wondered why it meant so much to her. 
Why am I the one dreaming about this?
She wondered.  She looked down into the trunk and pulled away from Dean.  “Oh my God,” she said.

“What is it?” he asked.

She pulled away and leaned into the trunk to pull out a large piece of red velvet.  “It’s the gown she wore that night,” she told him.  She pulled it out the rest of the way and held it against herself. 

“You would look wonderful in it,” he told her quietly.

“I’d love to try it on sometime,” she replied.

They pulled other items out and found the suit they assumed Donald had worn that night as well as her travel cloak, corset and shoes.  In the bottom corner of the trunk was a little box wrapped in paper.  Dean lifted it out and slowly unwrapped it.  He was surprised to see handwriting on the other side and handed it to Katie.  He opened the box and inside was a plain gold band, undoubtedly Grace’s wedding band from Donald.

Katie turned the paper over and began to read:
 

To my family,

If you are reading this it means you have found something very precious to me.  Inside that box is the most meaningful piece of jewelry I ever owned.  I loved Matthew very much but my heart will always remain with Donald the father of my first-born daughter.  Nobody will know that as I went and stayed with Donald’s parents during the pregnancy.    It was one of the hardest things I had to do, especially after losing Donald so quickly after we were married but comforting to be that near his family.  I never even had the chance to tell my parents about the marriage.  Donald’s father was at the door before they woke up and took me to the hospital.  I hope that nobody hates me for what happened but I do hope that my children, and my grandchildren all have the chance at true love because it only comes once in a lifetime.  Cherish the time you’re given and love with all of your being.

Love Grace
 

“Wow,” was all Dean said.

“I know.  It must have been so awful.  I’m trying to imagine what it would feel like to be married and left a widow within such a short time,” Katie said.  Tears ran silently down her cheeks.

Dean pulled her into his arms.  Even he was having a hard time trying to make sense of what was happening.  Why had nobody ever gone through any of this stuff and found these secrets before?  Why was it Katie having these dreams and nobody else had? He also had a hard time because he couldn’t relate to the way things worked four generations ago.  The difference between then and now and how much more accepting the world had become.  He gave Katie a squeeze.  “I know, it must have been awful.  But what do you think all of this means?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“
You
finding this stuff. 
You
having these dreams,” he replied.

“I don’t know.  I don’t understand why nobody else has found this stuff either,” she said.  “How many generations and this stuff, all of it, has been left here.”

“Maybe you should start going through some of it.  Maybe there are other hidden treasures up here,” he teased.

Katie shivered and realized just how long they’d been up there.

“I think we should go downstairs for a while,” Dean suggested leading her away.

“No, I can’t leave this stuff,” she said preoccupied.  She was afraid if she left it, she would never find it again.

“Let’s take it down and put it in the spare bedroom then,” Dean suggested.

They each took a large armload of things and Katie silently led the way down the stairs. 

She arranged a few of the things on the bed, including the gown and suit.

Dean watched as she placed everything so carefully with loving hands.  He definitely loved her, there was no stopping how he felt.  This whole thing was drawing him in.  He walked over to her then and took her hands in his.  “Come with me,” he said quietly.

“Where?” she asked.

“Somewhere where I can warm you up,” he replied.

She followed his lead and sat on the couch while he built a fire. 

When he was sure the fire would keep burning he went to the kitchen and brought her a cup of tea.  “Here, drink this,” he insisted.

They sat quietly, still trying to shed some light on what they had discovered that afternoon. 

“Do you think her parents ever knew?” Katie asked.

“Knew what?” he asked.

“Knew that she had married Donald?”  she replied.  “We’ve always been a somewhat ‘well-to-do’ family but it’s all ‘old money’.  It’s been passed down for generations.  Back then they would have been one of the rich.  He was too but had been in trouble with the law and her parents didn’t want her to have anything to do with him.”

“Do you think that’s why he died?” Dean asked.

“No, I don’t think so.  I think he had straightened himself out way before then.”

“So her parents weren’t very forgiving were they?” Dean said.

Katie shook her head and sipped her tea.

“There has to be some way to get to the bottom of this,” Dean said.

Just then the doorbell rang and Dean went to answer.

Katie strained to hear and could barely make out what the man at the door wanted.  When she heard him say “Oh, I was looking for Katie,” she knew who it was and got up.  “Mr. Grimshaw, wait,” she said.  “Come in, I have some questions for you,” she invited.

Dean stood back and held the door for the elderly man to come in.  He walked slowly, not quite fully able to stand up straight, his full weight on his cane. 

Katie led him to the dining room so he could sit on a hard chair.  With no hesitation, she asked him about Grace.

“Grace was beautiful,” he started.  “She was my beautiful hero,” he went on.

Dean brought him a cup of tea and Mr. Grimshaw acknowledged it with a nod before he went on.

“She was the most amazing woman I ever knew.  Very strong but always gentle.  There wasn’t a single thing I could do wrong.  She practically raised her two kids by herself because your great-grandpa worked so hard.  Oh he was a great father but always hard at work-had followed in his own father’s footsteps-he was a lawyer you know,” he paused to take a drink.  “But I always felt she’d learned the hard way and had a secret she’d never tell,” he paused dramatically and his eyes met Katie’s as if for the first time.  “You look just like her,” he told her.  “She was wise beyond her years, I could see it in her eyes.  Your grandma was never like that—high-strung she was,” he stopped and laughed.

Katie smiled.

“Your great-grandpa died young, worked to hard I still say.”

By this time the tea was gone and it had gotten quite late.

“Would you like to stay for dinner?” Katie asked.

“Oh no, I have to get going.  I have a hot date,” Mr. Grimshaw replied.

Moments later Dean was letting him out the front door.

“What are you thinking?” Dean asked Katie on his return.

“I just can’t help but think about Grace and Donald and how they were only able to share their love for such a brief time.  The things she wrote in her letter addressed to whoever read it.  To think that I was the only one, the first one to read it and how much she sacrificed,” she continued.

“Oh Katie.  I’m sorry that this involves you somehow.  I wish there was some way I could go back and change things,” he said.  “Or that Mr. Grimshaw could have shed some light.”

“He did when he said he could tell she had a secret,” was all Katie could say.  It wasn’t proof enough but it was a small reassurance.

Dean cooked them supper while Katie sat quietly thinking about what Mr. Grimshaw had said and then had a quiet supper and played cards before Katie led Dean upstairs and they went to bed.  He made love to her with all the passion and love they had shared that afternoon before he held her tight as she slept and eventually drifted off himself. 

It was the night of their wedding.  He had made love to Grace and was more in love with her than ever.  She was his wife now and he hated the thought of having to take her home.  It would be best this way, at least for now she had said.  She could tell her parents in the morning and she would be with him for the rest of his life.  They could start a family.  He smiled as he steered the carriage back towards the cottage.  The marriage license he’d been given still safely tucked away in his pocket.  He passed a carriage that was swaying on the road and he realized that the driver was probably drunk.  He carefully passed them by and continued on his way.  He slowed in front of the cottage and was just getting out when he was struck over the head with something and everything went dark.
 

Dean woke with a start.  Now it was happening to him.  What did all of this mean?  He got out of bed and made his way to the spare bedroom.  He closed the door and fumbled before he found the switch and turned the light on.  He went straight for Donald’s jacket and folded back the left lapel.  Inside he found the yellowed paper that showed Grace and Donald MacKay were married on June 10, 1922.  He smiled, glad he had found it, and slid back into bed.

He watched Katie sleeping and wondered if she was sleeping peacefully.  He soon drifted back off to sleep.

It was the day of the funeral.  Grace kept her cool as much as she could but her thoughts kept going back to that fateful morning.  Donald’s father had come to her that morning and told her Donald was at the hospital but there wasn’t much hope.  Her parents were still asleep and she slipped out without waking them and went with Mr. MacKay.  He took her to Donald who had a huge bandage around his head.  Grace rushed to him and sank down beside him.  “Oh Donald, please don’t leave me.  I love you so much.  We have just begun our life together.  I want to have a baby, your baby and that baby needs a father.  Donald, can you hear me?” she cried.  She hugged him and held him near to her.

“Grace?” a hoarse voice said.

Grace lifted her head from his chest and looked at him.  One eye was open and the other remained shut.  “Donald?” she cried.  She smiled. 

“I love you Grace.  I always will,” he whispered.  “We’ll meet again, I promise.”  He closed his eye again and with that he was gone.

“But, Donald, wake up.”

The doctor had come into the room and looked solemnly at Grace.  “I’m sorry Grace, he’s gone,” he told her.