Once Upon A Dream

Elizabeth blew the dust off the lid of one of the boxes she’d found under her mom’s bed. Without thinking she inhaled some of the dust causing her to go into a series of sneezes. She rubbed her eyes as some of the fine powder found its way into there as well.

There was a little guilt as she lifted the lid marked, ‘Once upon a dream’. She’d never snooped around her mother’s things before. They always respected each other’s privacy, but they were moving into a smaller apartment. With her mother gone all day at work and her being on summer vacation, Elizabeth volunteered to start packing up. And naturally, it meant she had to see what was inside the box to decide in what pile it should be placed.

As she placed the lid on the floor, a layer of tissue paper carefully protected whatever was underneath it. At the top of the pile of things, a photograph immediately caught her attention. Faded through the years, the picture was a little blurry but she could clearly see a man and a woman. As she took a closer look she realized it was her mother. Her long blonde wavy hair glistened in the sunlight as she rested her head on an almond-skinned man’s shoulder.

Turning the photograph around, she read the neat cursive handwriting she recognized as her mother’s.

Cassie Jones and Zack Campbell FOREVER 1998

“Zack Campbell,” the name slipped from her lips.

Her mother never mentioned this name before. At least not that she could recall.

Rummaging through the rest of the box, nothing interested her as much as the blurry image now resting on her crossed lap.

The alarm sound of the front door opening made Elizabeth jump, causing her to spill the box’s content on the floor. Scattering to pick them up, she stuffed the photograph in the pocket of her jacket before placing the lid back on and shoving the box under her mother’s bed.

“Elizabeth?” her mother, Cassie’s, voice echoed through the house.

“In your room,” Elizabeth stood up and walked to the pile of clothes behind the door.

“Hi, honey.” Cassie pushed open the door until she locked eyes with her daughter. “What do you have there?”

“Oh, I was just doing some packing.” Elizabeth crouched down to pick up the pieces of fabric.

“Have I told you how grateful I am to you for doing all this?”

“Mom, you work all day to put a roof over my head and food on the table, it’s the least I can do.”

“But it’s not your job-”

“Mom, I want to do it. Besides, who knows what secrets I’ll discover.” She winked and turned away.

“What are you up to?” Cassie scrunched her eyes together.

“Oh, nothing.”

“Elizabeth?”

“With all this packing, I need to keep myself motivated somehow, so I created a little game.”

“Which is?”

“So nosy, mother dear.” Elizabeth threw the clothes on the bed. She picked up a shirt and started folding it.

“So shady, daughter dear.”

“It’s just an innocent little game. Since there are so many boxes to look through and sort out, finding a hidden treasure or secret keeps me motivated.”

“Well, do you have the motivation to help me with dinner?” Cassie joined Elizabeth and picked up a red blouse.

“Of course. Chicken pot pie?”

“You know it. How about I finish up here and then we’ll get started.”

“No, it’s okay. I can do it.”

“Elizabeth-” Her mother reached for another blouse.

“I have a system, mom.” She took the blouse out of her hands.

“All right. I’m gonna start with dinner and when you’re done you can join me.” Cassie leaned over and placed a kiss on her temple.

“Okay.”

As soon as she heard her mother’s footsteps Elizabeth reached into her pocket to make sure the photograph was still there.

***************

Elizabeth couldn’t be more grateful to be born in a century with the internet and social media than she was at this moment. Lying in bed with her phone’s screen as her only light source, she found what she had been looking for.

After helping her mom with dinner and cleaning the dishes, she excused herself and disappeared into her bedroom. She immediately jumped on her phone and started looking for anyone with the name Zack Campbell who in any way had a connection with her mother.

Since she set up her mom’s Facebook account a year ago, she still remembered the username and password. As she was scrolling through her mom’s feed, she realized how little she actually knew about her own mother. Most of the pictures were of the two of them or family. There were also a few pictures her mom posted with friends, but as she clicked on the ‘photos of you’ folder she discovered a few ‘oldies’ as she’d like to call them.

Her mom had the same long blonde wavy hair Elizabeth had now. There were a few pictures of a group of friends together and lucky for her, her mother’s friends managed to tag everyone in them. Everyone including Zack Campbell.

From what she could gather after two hours of research – she convinced herself that was what she was doing – she pieced together some pieces of a puzzle.

It seemed her mother and this Zack guy were high school sweethearts. They got engaged and even had a wedding date, but then it never happened. They seemed to have lost contact and he got married a few years later. He raised two boys and built his carpenter business up from the ground. Except for a few grey hair and wrinkles around his green eyes and mouth, Zack looked just as handsome now as the day that photo in the box was taken.

He wasn’t under her mom’s friends list, which probably meant her mother didn’t know he was divorced or lived one town over from where they currently were. The town which was to become their new home.

She knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help herself. Hovering over the blue button, she pressed the friend request icon. What was the worst that could happen? He accepted and sent her a message? Her mother barely knew how to turn on the television, never mind responding to someone’s message on Facebook. She was certain her mother didn’t even have the messenger app on her phone.

Elizabeth set her alarm for the next morning and was about to put her phone on the nightstand when an alert came through.

He accepted.

She barely got over the shock and excitement when a notification told her he sent a message. Opening her keypad, she started typing back.

***************

“Morning, honey.” Cassie placed a cup of tea in front of her daughter’s slumped body. “You were up late last night.” She retrieved the bread from the toaster.

“What? Uh, yeah. I was reading a book and just couldn’t put it down.” Elizabeth yawned as she reached for her cup.

“It’s a good thing it’s the weekend then.”

“Right. Uh, mom . . . what are your plans for the day?”

“Well, I was thinking of trying to finish all this packing and to start cleaning. The movers will be here next week and this place needs to be empty and spotless by then. How about you? Any friends coming over?”

“I thought the two of us could chill at the house and I could help you.”

“Honey, you really should take a break. You’ve been packing all week. I think it’s my turn.”

“It’s not just that,” Elizabeth traced the rim of her cup with her finger, “I realized, I don’t know much about you.”

“What do you mean?” Cassie buttered the first piece of toast.

“Like who were your friends in high school? Did you date anyone before dad? Who is Zack Campbell?” She whispered the last part.

“What did you say?” The knife Cassie had been holding slipped from her grasp. “No, better yet. How do you know that name?” Cassie had mastered her emotions over the years working in retail, yet a whisper of a man’s name she hadn’t spoken to in twenty years, had her daughter jump in her seat.

“Well . . . you know when you came home from work yesterday and you found me in your room?”

“Yes?” She clenched the sides of the counter.

“Well . . . I might have gone through some boxes and found a photo with Cassie Jones and Zack Campbell written on the ba-”

“Elizabeth, you shouldn’t have gone through my stuff.”

“It wasn’t in purpose. You asked me to go through all the boxes and sort the items into piles.”

“Not boxes that I put under my bed for a reason.”

“But mom-”

“No, forget you ever saw that name and burn the photo.” She reached for the knife and roughly continued buttering the already buttered toast.

“Mom, there’s somet-”

“Elizabeth, I said-” Her words drowned out as the doorbell rang.

“Burn it,” Cassie repeated to her daughter before she turned and made her way to the door.

Wiping her hands on her apron, she shook out the bad energy she accumulated over the last two minutes. With a smile on her face, she opened the door. The corners of her mouth dropped as quickly as she put them there when she saw who it was.

“Zack?”