Uncle Dave

Uncle Dave

It was a call that Peter had been expecting. In a soft, quavering voice his mother said, “Peter, Uncle Dave is gone.”

He hesitated a moment, then, “Oh, Mom, I’m so sorry. I know it’s not a surprise, but it still hurts to lose him.”

“Dave wasn’t the easiest man to know but he was my big brother and I loved him every day of my life.” Peter gave her a little time to collect herself and then she said, “I guess it’s time to wrap things up for the funeral and the estate sale. Can you do it without me?”

“Yeah, Mom, no problem. We have the funeral arrangements in place and it’ll be a small, simple service. Maya and I have a good leg up on the sale arrangements and I’ll get in touch with the company we’ve been talking to. She has already got most of the main inventory done but it’s all of the stuff he stashed all over the place that’ll be a problem. The guy was a hoarder and the garage and spare rooms are packed to the rafters with cardboard boxes.”

“Yeah, I mentioned the boxes to him a few times but he never told me what was in them. Thanks for taking care of things, honey. I’m just too emotional right now to be of much help.”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got everything covered, I’ll call you when it’s all ready to go.”

Peter leaned back in his chair. The funeral and selling off Uncle Dave’s estate weren’t the only things on his mind. He thought back two days to the last time he saw his uncle. The hospice facility had called him and said his uncle had asked to see him and to come right away. When he got to Uncle Dave’s room the old man appeared to be sleeping.

Peter pulled a chair over to the bedside and said, “Uncle Dave, it’s Peter.”

He waited and a moment later Dave’s eyes opened. In a weak, barely audible voice he said, “Oh, hi…Peter. Thanks for coming. I have to… talk to you about… something.” Peter waited as his uncle drifted in and out of being lucid. There was another long pause and then Dave turned his head and motioned to his nightstand. “There’s an envelope…in that drawer. it’s a note for you.”

Peter opened the drawer and pulled out a small white envelope with his name handwritten on the front. Dave coughed and took a deep breath. “Don’t open it until I’m…until I’m gone.”

“Okay, Uncle Dave, whatever you say”

Peter sat with his uncle for a while. He tried to talk to him but it was impossible to have a conversation with someone who struggled to stay awake for more than a few minutes. When the old man finally fell asleep Peter bent down and whispered, “I love you, Uncle Dave. Goodbye.”

It was a sad drive home. Three decades of family memories played back in his mind. Memories of a big, boisterous, fun loving man who treated Peter like the son he’d never had. Memories of his Aunt Maggie in a constant state of exasperation trying to keep her husband focused on her and their home. Uncle Dave was larger than life.

Maya was in the kitchen opening a bottle of wine when Peter got home. She could tell something was bothering him. “How did things go with Uncle Dave?

“It was about what I expected. He was in and out of being awake but I’m glad I went. I think it’s going to be over soon.”

She walked over to him and handed him a glass. “Let’s go out on the patio.”

They were no sooner in their chairs when Peter pulled the white envelope from his pocket. “Uncle Dave gave me this and said not to open it until he’s gone.”

“Any idea what’s in it?”

“No, but I’m going to wait to open it like he asked.”

It had been only two days since Peter had gotten the call from his mother that Uncle Dave had passed. Despite his sadness he was eager to open the envelope. He sat at the kitchen counter with Maya and peeled back the flap. A small key fell out and read aloud the man’s handwritten note. “Peter, this key is for a lockbox at Valley Bank downtown. Open it but don’t tell anyone. Love, Uncle Dave.”

Maya looked surprised. “Why do you suppose he wants you to keep it a secret?”

“I have no idea but in a way I’m not surprised. Uncle Dave marched to his own drum.”

“People usually have a lockbox to keep valuable things in but it didn’t seem like Dave and Maggie had anything valuable.”

Peter sighed and nodded. “At least what anyone knew about.” He lifted his glass and said, “Here’s to you, Uncle Dave. Tomorrow we’ll find out what you’ve been up to.”

The safe deposit box room at Valley Bank felt like a tomb; windowless, under-lighted and built like a vault. It was lined on four walls with rows of steel drawers and doors. A neatly dressed woman greeted him and when he explained to her that Uncle Dave had died she had him sign a release form. It only took a few minutes to find the right drawer and the woman set it on a large table then left the room. He was nervous as he turned the key and opened the lid. After a night of speculating on what the contents might be, what he found didn’t come close to meeting his expectations.

There was a small paperclipped stack of old receipts for things Dave had purchased over the years. Since they were locked in a steel box Peter assumed they were for things his uncle didn’t want anyone to know about. Under the receipts was a small white envelope with Peter’s name on it. Uncle Dave must have had some strange kind of plan. Peter opened the envelope and found another note and another key. “Geez, Uncle Dave, what’s with all the keys?” he muttered. He opened the note and read, “Peter, this key is to a small, brown satchel in the back corner of my attic. Make sure you get it before they sell off all my stuff. Open it in private and don’t tell anyone. Love, Uncle Dave.”

No one at the bank knew what he’d found in the lockbox but he still looked around to see if anyone was watching. He reread the note. Uncle Dave had always been kind of an oddball but leaving notes and keys and asking for secrecy seemed like more than just being odd. He put the envelope and key into his pocket and left for his office.

That afternoon it was hard to keep his mind on his work. It felt like he had become part of some kind of mystery that he had no clues to, like some weird kind of scavenger hunt with a dead man in charge of it all. When Maya called it was a welcome distraction. “Hi, babe.”

“Hi, are you busy?”

“Well, I’m always busy but that’s okay. I’m afraid I’m not being very productive this afternoon.”

“I wanted to find out how things went with the lockbox. Any surprises?”

“Of course there were. We’re talking about Uncle Dave here, a guy who never failed to surprise.”

“So what’s going on?”

“Well, the box was almost empty, a bunch of receipts but nothing of value and there was another note for me…and another key.”

“Oh my god, you’re kidding. What do you suppose he was thinking?”

“It’s anybody’s guess. I always thought of him as my crazy Uncle Dave and he’s still acting like it.”

“What did the note say?”

“It said he left a satchel in his attic and he wants me to pick it up. He wants me to get it before the estate sale people show up and of course, he said not to tell anyone.”

He could hear Maya’s groan before she said, “This is getting weird, really weird.”

“I’m gonna’ be stuck here at least until five. Can you head for home a little early and try to get the satchel on the way? I’m afraid the estate sales guys will be crawling all over the house soon.”

“Yeah, I guess I can get away. Tell me again what I’m looking for.”

“The note just said it’s a small brown satchel and it’s in the back corner of the attic. Last time we were at his house it looked to me that the attic was mostly filled with clothes and boxes so the satchel might be easy to spot in the mess.”

“Okay, I’ll try to get it. Do you have any idea what’s in it?”

“No, but I hope there’s not another damn key to another mystery.”

The satchel was sitting on the kitchen counter when Peter got home. The leather was badly scuffed and it had a musty smell to it. He could only imagine the places Dave had carried that old thing. Maya walked in and asked, “Do you want to change clothes, have a beer or open the satchel?”

“Yes, yes and yes. In that order.”

Twenty minutes later they were back at the counter. Peter held the key from the safe deposit box and said, “Okay, Uncle Dave, let’s see what treasures you’ve been hiding.” He turned the key, opened the bag and almost expected moths to fly out.

Maya leaned over and peered inside. “Okay, it’s show time.”

Peter reached in and found a small white envelope with his name on it. He wasn’t surprised. One by one he pulled out Uncle Dave’s treasures. There were two well-worn decks of playing cards stacked on handwritten IOUs from four different men. A clear plastic bag held five expensive looking men’s watches. There was a framed photo of young Uncle Dave and Aunt Maggie with their arms around each other. He pulled out the pink slip for a 1978 Chrysler Newport, the dusty old relic that was stored in Dave’s garage and slated for disposal in the estate sale.

Peter took a long drink from his bottle of beer. “So far I don’t see anything special, just strange.”

Maya smirked. “That’s about what we both expected.”

Next came a wad of cash, small bills wrapped with a rubber band. The next item was a big surprise, almost a shock, a Glock handgun. There was also a box of ammunition and it wasn’t full. Peter pointed the gun toward the floor to check it out and was relieved to see that it wasn’t loaded.

Maya was wide-eyed. “Holy shit, that’s about the last thing I expected we’d find.”

“Yeah, it seems that Dave had a dark side to him. Or at least a nervous one. I wonder if he ever had to use it.”

The Bible came out next. The curious pairing of a holy book and a handgun in the same bag was a mystery of its own.

The last items in the bag were a nearly empty bottle of an expensive single malt Scotch and a Ziploc bag with two shot glasses in it.

Peter and Maya looked at each other, both thinking about the satchel’s contents and what it all meant. Peter picked up the white envelope and Maya said, “Maybe that’ll be Uncle Dave explaining what the hell this all means.”

Peter opened the envelope, took out a folded piece of lined paper and started to read it aloud. “Peter, here are some words for you to remember. The biggest regret of your life won’t be what you did, it will be what you didn’t do. Keep those words in mind as you go forward. The things in this bag won’t make you rich but you can learn from them. It all belongs to you now. I had a good ride and I hope you will too. Please don’t forget me. Love, Uncle Dave.

Maya reached for the note and read it again while Peter stared at the items spread across the counter. “Dave, what in the hell was going through your head when you stashed all this stuff and wanted me to have it?” he muttered.

Maya looked at him. “I wonder if he had a will written up. He must have had more than what he could fit into one satchel.”

“I can check with my Mom to see what she knows and the hospice service might know something.”

“I’m trying to figure out any kind of connection between the things in the satchel. All I can see so far is that Dave must have liked to gamble. The cards. The IOUs. The roll of cash. Maybe even the gun. What else could it mean? When you were growing up did you know that he gambled?”

“Yeah, I remember a family dinner and Aunt Maggie was giving him a hard time about his being careless with money. She said something about “those damn cards”. I was only in high school but I knew what she meant.” He stopped to unroll the cash. “Geez, it just looks like a few hundred bucks. He probably kept it hidden away so he could sit in on a game and not use the household money that Maggie watched over.”

“What about her photo?”

“I think it was there as a reminder. I know he really missed her.”

Maya opened the plastic bag and pulled out the five watches. “These look really expensive, not exactly Dave’s style.”

“I’m guessing here, but I don’t think they were stolen. They might have come from guys who ran out of cash but wanted to stay in the game.”

“Wow, that sounds like some pretty hardcore gambling. I’ll bet that’s the same reason for the pink slip for the old car.”

After another sip of beer Peter said, “This Bible is a real puzzle because in all the years he was in my life I don’t ever remember him going to church. I remember Aunt Maggie going by herself.”

“Do you think he actually read it, you know, in private?”

“I suppose it’s a possibility. I wonder if he wanted me to have it for some reason.”

They sat quietly for a moment trying to make sense of the strange array laid out in front of them. Peter reread the note then handed it to Maya. “See if you can figure out how his message relates to all this stuff. I sure can’t. It’s like it all suggests some things he regretted and some things he didn’t.”

She reread the note and they sat for another few minutes until Peter said, “I have a feeling Uncle Dave wanted us to try the Scotch. Let’s have a little toast but with our own glasses.”

Maya disagreed. “I have a feeling Dave put those glasses in the bag just for us. She poured a small amount into each of them. They sat silently for a moment before Peter sighed and hoisted his glass. “Well, here’s to you, Uncle Dave, to whatever you regretted or didn’t regret. Even though you’re gone we’re still trying to figure you out.”