Velvet Heart

Anna spotted it behind the mound of clothes in her parents closet. The doors, a faded chestnut, held mini craters that had been accumulated throughout time. They had been so worn out that the right one always came unhinged when she opened it. She now expected the crash and her reflexes naturally did their job. She couldn’t quite reach so she set the old lamp on the bed, pulled the side table over and used it as a step stool. She remembered when her mother bought the bedside tables. When she was ten, her and her parents went on a camping trip in Texas. On the drive home, Irene spotted an old antique shop, small and run down, just off the interstate and when she spotted an antique shop, there was no question about it, they were going.

Irene was Anna’s mother. She was born into an upper-class family. Her mother and father had owned a financial business in Jackson, Mississippi. Irene was the only child, which was odd for those days. She never had any good stories to tell Anna about her childhood. Maybe because there really weren't many. Irene always told Anna that her Mom and Dad were too busy with their jobs and that’s why she ended up being an only child. Irene was lovely. She had long beautiful hair and only one dimple which gave her immediate character. She was witty and personable. She was always lighting up the room and making people laugh. She had a contagious smile, that’s what Anna’s father always said. 

Talbot, Anna's father, was a tall man. He had white hair, dark bushy eyebrows in which Anna had inherited – and blue eyes that held sadness and wonder. They could tell a story on their own. He had about seven pairs of overalls and cycled through the same four plaid shirts that he’d wear underneath. He was a hard-headed man who grew up poor on a farm just outside Mississippi’s capital. He had a big family, the youngest of nine siblings. Under his stone presence, buried deep, he had a quiet softness and immense vulnerability, especially when it came to Irene.

Talbot was always giving Irene a hard time about stopping at antique shops. He’d always say, “Irene, now where are you going to put that!? You know we don’t have room.” and then he’d let out a big sigh. But, He never won. All she had to do was flash her pretty smile and he would give in. Irene headed into the antique shop while Anna and her father waited in the truck. About twenty minutes later, she was summoning Talbot from the doorway and away he went. First, he came out with one of the bedside tables and then headed back in for the second one. All the while, Irene was chatting about every day life with the worker, as if they'd known each other. Anna couldn’t help but smile.

Anna jumped down off the side table and slid it back into its rightful place. She looked down and took a deep breath and let out a small whimper. She blew the dust off. It was the heart-shaped box she’d been looking for. Her father had given it to her mother before they had married. The box, which was missing a spring that used to hold it open, was covered in dated red velvet, had a few nicks and seemed overly delicate. Almost like, if you were to submerge cotton candy in water. She was afraid that if she held it too long – it would crumble right there before her and would be gone forever. The sight of it had moved Anna to tears. She remembered the story her father had told her about the heart-shaped box.

Talbot was the youngest boy in the family. He was 18 at the time and had dropped out of school to help on the farm. He was always on supply duty so every day he would head into Jackson to pick up supplies for the farm. The warehouse was next to a big financial building. He pulled up in his old truck, a backfire or two and black smoke escaping from the exhaust pipe. He didn’t mind his job because he had something to look forward to. Not only a change of scenery but he got to see the pretty girl with the contagious smile. He always watched her leave the big financial building and walk across the street to the bakery. He had once told Anna, “Your mother floated when she walked. I had never seen anything like it.”

Irene had noticed Talbot weeks before but she enjoyed putting on a show for him. She knew he liked her so she waited for him. Irene always stopped by to see her parents after school but they were always busy in meetings so she sat inside the front lobby and watched the bustle in the streets. She knew when he would arrive. The same time, every day.

Talbot didn’t have any money. He came from a poor family. He wanted to impress this girl. Oh yes, he was in love. He loved her the first time he saw her. He knew he was going to marry her. A couple of weeks went by - playing the same game. One day, he decided to pull into the little shop on the outskirts of town. It had everything you could imagine. New stuff and used stuff. Junk and treasures. He took his time walking around the shop until he came across a small heart-shaped box hidden behind dusty, wooden book ends. He bargained with the shop owner. “I noticed that you need some work done around here. If I do the work, will you trade me for this small box that was hidden away?!”  he said. The man agreed, as he was in desperate need of help. “Deal!” the man said, excitingly.

That night when Talbot got home, he placed the box on his dresser and then sat on his bed. He thought about what he would write inside the box and what he would place in there. The next morning, he wrote, “My girl, with the contagious smile, you are my recent past, my present and I hope for you to be my future.” He then added a small gemstone that his grandmother had given him.

That afternoon, at his usual time. He rolled up in his truck with the same backfire and the same black smoke. He parked in his usual spot and waited for her. When she opened the door to leave, as she usually did, he got out of the truck and rushed over to her. He gave her the heart-shaped box. He was so nervous that he couldn’t spit out any words. Irene opened the box and read the note that he had written. She looked up at him and smiled the smile that would soon become a staple in his life. He would see it first thing in the morning when he woke up and when he seen her through the front window of their home. The smile that came after Anna was born and the smile that was so effortless while she was out in her flower garden. The smile that she had when she was entertaining her guests and the smile she had when she played fetch with the dog. The smile that he fell in love with long ago and the smile that he fell asleep to every night for fifty years.

Anna pulled a dainty ring off her finger (which was previously just a gemstone) and set the ring down inside the box. She carefully closed it, making sure all the pieces were in place. She placed it next to the old lamp on the bedside table. Her Mom and Dad were now at peace and she felt liberated.