Chapter 11: The Trunk

July 4, 2028

“Katie, come here quick,” Sally shouted. “Look what I found!”

Katie came running downstairs, “Are Fifi and Trish OK?”

“They’re napping. Sorry if I startled you, but look at this.”

Sally opened an old book on Latin grammar, a language that was dead since the fall of Rome. A stamp on the inside title page showed that it was a high school text book that had found its way to the bookshelves of the drawing room. It was tucked away among other archaic tomes of knowledge that attracted little interest. Sally, however, was always drawn to antique objects and the stories they might tell.

About half way into the book several pages had been carefully hollowed out containing a key. It was an unusual key the likes of which they had never seen. It was about three inches long and heavy for its size. It had a gold, shiny color with intricate details on its bow like it belonged to royalty.

They both examined it carefully. It looked mysterious. They wondered into which lock a key of such noble qualities would fit and why it was hidden in such an obscure way. It would have to be a special lock to open something special, maybe containing special things or some great hidden mystery.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Katie asked, staring at the heavy trunk sitting quietly across the room.

“Let’s try it,” Sally responded with a conspiratorial grin.

“You open it,” Katie suggested.

The key fit into the lock like a piece from a puzzle. Sally turned it. Nothing happened. Katie suggested turning the key again. There was a click and the front of the lid of the trunk popped up less than a quarter of an inch. Startled, Sally released the key and jerked her hand away, worried like she may have opened a Pandora’s Box of great and unexpected troubles. She sat on the floor trembling, looking at Katie, not sure what to do next.

“The lid looks heavy with all these metal bands,” Katie said. “Let’s open it together, you on that end, I on this.”

Sally trusted her friend and crawled to the nearest end of the trunk. “On the count of three,” she suggested. “One, two, three!”

The open trunk revealed several boxes each of a different color. They removed the first one which contained discolored, old documents. One had the word “Will” written on its cover. Another one said “Deed.”

“Daddy needs to see these. They look important and he’ll probably understand them better.”

The girls removed another box which contained four photo albums meticulously organized, showing first a bride and a groom in their wedding attire. Then came photos of babies. One was named Darlene, the other Jake. Their faces looked similar to the ones displayed around the rest of the house. The girls decided to put the albums aside and continue examining the remaining contents of the trunk.

They came upon a box containing personal memorabilia such as awards, certificates of achievement and 4-H ribbons won at the county fair. There was a second box containing school drawings, report cards and other school papers in Darlene and Jake’s names. A third box of the same color as the first two contained souvenirs and postcards of places that the couple and their two children pictured in the albums had visited.

Then there was a small box and a large one. Both were white. The small one contained what appeared to be the first baby shoes and mittens for Darlene and Jake.

Sally needed help removing the large box. It wasn’t heavy, just large and almost the width and length of the trunk itself. They lifted the lid revealing a wedding dress. It looked similar to the one they saw in the first photos with the bride and groom.

There was nothing else in the trunk. However, the girls noticed the bottom was not at the same level as the floor. Was it a false bottom and, if it was, how would it be opened or removed?

They started examining the interior, sliding their hands over the sides and the bottom to feel for clues. Nothing. They sat on the floor facing the trunk to ponder what they were missing. Katie started examining the outside for any markings. Sally worked her way around the back.

“Oh, look here,” Sally said, crouched between the trunk and the wall. “Look at this indentation. It looks similar to the contours of the bow on the key.”

Sally placed the bow into the indentation. It fit exactly.

“Now what do we do?”

“I think you need to press it like pushing a button.”

Nothing happened. Katie suggested that Sally should press and give it a turn. With that there was a sudden pop as if someone had pulled the cork out of a wine bottle. The sound came from the inside of the trunk. The girls quickly scrambled to the front to look inside. Sure enough, the bottom back side was raised just enough to pry it open with one’s finger. The false bottom was hinged at the front and opened like a trapdoor.

The space under the false bottom was filled with numerous small canvas pouches carefully tied at the openings. They each took out a pouch which fit nicely in the palm of their hands. They were unusually heavy containing something that jingled happily. The girls opened one to find shiny gold coins. Sally felt like they had come across the treasure of the Count of Monte Cristo. They decided to put the pouches back and close the bottom before some thief suddenly walked in on them. However, before doing so, they noticed that the real bottom of the trunk was bolted to the hardwood floor which explained why Clark couldn’t move it.

They put all the boxes back inside the trunk except for the one containing the wedding dress. “Let’s try it on,” Sally said, her face lighting up with glee.

She removed her clothes and stepped into the dress. It fit perfectly on her body like a glove. The dress was covered with several layers of silk chiffon. The top part was made with a fine lace fabric. The dress had yellowed a little over the decades, but it felt like new. She viewed herself in the hallway mirror and felt the joy of transformation which all girls feel from being an awkward child to becoming a princess in all her finery decked out to dazzle and be swept off her feet by her prince charming. Sally spun around several times making herself feel like she was floating on a cloud.

“Oh my,” Clark appeared from the living room and startled them. “You look absolutely stunning in a wedding gown like a princess in a fairy tale.”

“And look,” Sally said, “it fits perfectly.” She gave another swirl making the dress flare all around.

“It’s beautiful. You’re beautiful,” Clark observed.

“Let’s get married,” Sally said with a wink.

Clark remained silent. Was this the moment that Brother Matthew talked about?

The dress swished as Sally took a step forward, spun around again, and with a curtsy said, “Will you marry me, my good man?”

“Isn’t Sally a beautiful bride?” Katie said standing next to Sally. “That reminds me. Twenty twenty-eight is a leap year, and I read that in a leap year the woman can ask a man to marry her. So what do you say?”

Sally raised both eyebrows, waiting for his reaction. He stood there so long gazing at her in the wedding dress that she thought his feet would take root to the floor.

“Are you asking me seriously or... ?” he asked stopping in mid-sentence.

“Yes, I want to be more than just your lover, but your partner, your wife, just like Katie.”

Clark looked over at Katie who nodded approvingly. “In that case, we need to do something first, but not here; tomorrow, up at the cabin.”

Sally removed the wedding dress and put it back into its box. Clark was surprised when she stepped out of it completely naked. She would soon be turning seventeen and her body had filled out pleasantly. She was no longer that adolescent with long skinny legs, narrow hips and peachy fuzz between her thighs. She had matured into a young woman with all the right shapes, sexy and irresistible.

She bent over to replace the lid on the large box and he could see her bushy Bermuda Triangle into which he didn’t mind getting lost. Immediately, the front of his pants filled out. Katie noticed him staring at Sally’s pussy and playfully said, “Yep, she’s ready, you’re ready.”

The girls quickly showed him the key to the trunk and its contents, especially the documents. Clark took the Will, the Deed and a few other papers to analyze them better up at the cabin. The girls then showed him the secret compartment in the bottom of the trunk and how to open it.

Clark was amazed with the treasure and understood why the former occupants had bolted the trunk to the floor, assuring that their most precious things, especially the memories, would remain forever. No one could remove them, unless they found the mysterious key and knew how to unlock the trunk.

As they were about to close the trunk, Trish began moving and soon both babies were wide awake crying to be fed. There were still several hours left in the day and Clark wanted to finish a few things in the orchard and field. “Will you all join me later on for a dip?”

July 5

The next day, while Clark was swaying the babies in their bassinet to get them to take their noon-day nap, he started reading the documents found in the trunk. The Will was written in long hand and dated several days after the complete collapse of electric power and communications, possibly about the time the son came to take them away.

The Will was only two pages long and simple, saying that whoever found it would become the rightful owners of the land and house, all its contents, including those found in the trunk. The only demand the Wheelers made was that the trunk not be removed and any contents that were not used should remain in the trunk forever.

The deed, on the other hand, described the boundaries of the land which comprised 121 acres and included the homestead and barn. The box also contained birth and marriage certificates. There was information on bank and investment accounts, plus a large amount of government treasury bonds, all worthless now. Lastly, there was an address book containing all the names, addresses and contact information of what appeared to be relatives, including Darlene’s and Jake’s. Clark lamented that even if they were still alive he would never be able to contact or find them.

July 6

Dusk fell. The sun slipped away reluctantly behind the mountains leaving a warm glow that faded as darkness settled into the night. The only sound was that of an orchestra of crickets stuck on the same two notes. Fifi and Trish were tucked away for the night. They had adjusted well to the mountain air, as well as the sounds, smells and routines of the cabin. Whenever Sally and Katie would talk to them their eyes would sparkle and their ears, tuned to every syllable. Whenever Clark would hold and talk to them, they would stop and listen attentively to the deep, mellow sounds of his voice, and then respond by smiling and reaching to touch his face.