SORP 1.1

BANG! The sound of the front door banging shut startled the two women sitting in the kitchen. They exchanged a look as they heard footsteps stomping up the stairs.

“This is what it’s like every day,” Kayleigh, the younger of the two said, putting her coffee cup down. “She comes home upset and angry, but won’t talk to me. I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“I’m sure it’s just a phase, dear,” Maggie answered calmly, pushing her silver hair back.

Loud music blared from a room upstairs.

“I don’t care if it’s a phase, Mom. She’s upset and I don’t know what to do. I just want to know that my kid’s okay.”

“What exactly do you expect from me, Kayleigh? I don’t know that she’s going to talk to me.”

“She has some time off from school. Most of January. I was hoping after Christmas, she could go back to New York with you.”

“Shipping her off isn’t going to make her happy. You need to find an incentive.”

“She wants to see an opera. Take her to see something down in the city.”

Maggie laughed gently. “I don’t know how you managed to have absolutely no musicality.”

“I got all of that from Dad. Look, I’ll spin it to her. It’s your birthday, the opera. She’ll go. I don’t really think she wants to be here anyways.”

“You know she’s always welcome. But I don’t know what I’ll be able to tell you. If she does talk to me, I’m not going to betray that trust.”

Kayleigh nodded. “That’s fine. Mom, I’m just worried about my kid. I want to know she’s okay.”

* * * * * *

Maggie was in her kitchen cleaning up the dishes and talking to Kayleigh on the phone.

“How’s she doing, Mom?”

“She’s only been here two days dear. Give it some time.”

“Has she said anything to you?”

“No, Kayleigh. We sit in absolute silence and don’t say a word.”

“Mother,” came the exasperated sigh.

“I told you, give it some time. And stop calling every night to check in. You were smothering her and now you’re smothering her here.”

“I haven’t spoken with her!”

“Well, you’re smothering me!”

Kayleigh sighed. “Okay. I’ll lay off.”

“I’m thinking about going up to the cabin for a few days. I usually go up this time of year, and I think it will do Skye some good.”

“Whatever you’d like.”

“Kayleigh, I know you’re worried. But she’s healthy, strong and smart. It will all work out in the end.”

“Ok, but call me the minute something happens.”

“Well, she just walked into the living room and is heading for the kitchen. Is that what you meant?”

“Very funny. Does she want to talk to me?”

Maggie pulled the phone away from her ear. “Do you want to talk to your mother?”

Skye rolled her eyes and shook her head. She sat down at the large kitchen table and placed an old shoebox in front of her.

“Kayleigh, she’s got that pudding pie look in her eye. We’ll talk to you later.”

“Ok, but Mom…” Maggie hung up the phone and looked at her granddaughter.

“What’s pudding pie?” Skye asked.

“Food for the soul. Your Uncle Rob loved it.”

“The orchestra conductor?”

“That would be the one. You want me to make some? It will take about an hour to set.”

Skye nodded. “What’s in this shoebox? I found it in the closet in my room.”

Maggie looked at the tattered box and a faint smile flicked across her face. “That’s a boyfriend box.”

“A what?”

Grinning, Maggie returned to her work. “Every time a boy broke my heart, I would put everything that reminded me of him into a box and seal it up. I didn’t want to be reminded of him. Eventually, I could open them and look inside, but only after I had time to heal a little.”

“So this box contains your memories?”

“Yes. That is actually one of several boxes. The others are scattered around, probably in the old trunk in the attic.”

“Did you make one for Grandpa when he died?” Skye asked softly.

“Yes, I did. Not everything went into the box, because not everything was painful. But there is a box set for your grandfather. I’ve unpacked a few things as time has passed though.”

“Is this one of Grandpa’s boxes?”

“Oh, no. That belongs to a man named Samuel Valdes, the fourth. He was one of the loves of my life.”

“The same Samuel Valdes who made movies?” Skye asked in awe.

“The one and only. I knew him all the way through jr. high and high school and college.”

Skye was silent for a moment. “Did you love him?”

“Oh, very much, baby. I still do.”

“Do you love him more than Grandpa?”

Maggie sat down at the table. “The men I have loved in my life, I have loved for different reasons and at different times in my life. I am not the same girl at 17 that I am at 77. Things have changed. I’ve changed. Comparing a high school boyfriend to your grandfather is unfair. I’m not sure a high school me could have loved your grandfather the way that I did when we married. I’m not sure your grandfather could have loved the high school me. Your grandfather was the love of my life and I never regretted marrying him. But had I not loved Sammy and the other men in my life, I probably would not be the woman I was, the woman I am. Do you understand?”

Skye nodded. “How did you know Grandpa was the one for you?”

Maggie laughed, deep in her chest. “I don’t know. Some people say when they meet for the first time, they just know. Some people say after their biggest argument, when all the walls come down, that’s when they know. Some people just make the commitment and force it to work. My mother said as she got to know my father and they discovered all they had in common, she started to know. They shared ideas about family, politics, religion, how to live their lives and what they wanted. I think there’s a little of everything. There’s a spark, a flame-up, a slow burn and a commitment.”

Skye traced the edges of the box with her fingertips. “How do you stop loving someone when they’re gone?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never stopped.”
She looked up at her grandmother in surprise. “You still love Samuel? But how could you, when you married Grandpa?”

“It’s a little complicated. When I say ‘I love you,’ I really mean it. Those men were important parts of my life and I love each and every one of them for what they did for me and who they are for me. Even though we didn’t make it forever, I never stopped loving them. It’s not like it’s a light switch you can flick on and off. I still love them, but in their time and in their place.”

Skye was silent for a minute. “Can we open the box? I want to hear about you and Samuel Valdes IV.”

Maggie stood up. “How about this? I want to go up to the cabin for a few days. Clear my head, get out of town. We’ll take some of the boxes with us and I’ll tell you everything you want to know. And maybe we’ll take an empty box or two for you to fill, hmm?”

“How did you know?”

“Oh, honey. Your mother married your father right out of high school. They were each other’s first loves. She’s never had a heartache and so she didn’t recognize it. I saw it the day I arrived. It was like looking in a mirror.Now let’s make this pie.”