Claudia woke up, still exhausted and emotionally drained. After the disappointing search of the boat and the motorhome, she was out of ideas. Where on earth could Abe have hidden a treasure in the house? Surely she would have come across a hidden treasure cleaning the house over the years. This was the single thought that plagued her all night and it continue to plague her as she showered and dressed for the day.
Abe wasn’t a sneaky man, he was as open as her favorite book. He couldn’t keep a secret from her throughout their marriage and yet, somehow he had managed to keep this whole hidden treasure a secret. She walked into the kitchen, brewed herself a strong cup of coffee, and sat down in her favorite chair. Sipping her coffee she surveyed the living room and couldn’t spot a single spot where Abe could have stashed something without her knowledge.
Her glance caught the paintings on the wall, wondering if there was anything secured to the rear of the paintings. She thought it was unlikely, the paintings were dusted on a regular basis and nothing had ever seen amiss. Her coffee quickly disappeared as she let her mind wander and consider where in the house Abe could have hid something.
Claudia stood and made herself another cup of coffee. And made a spur of the moment decision, “Alright Abe, you gave me this quest and you failed to give even the most minimal of clues. I hope you are proud of yourself. I will solve this quest, even if it means I tear this house apart in the process. I like mysteries and quests, as you well knew. So, my love I miss you and you are extremely irritating right now but I will solve this mystery.” There was a strength and determination in her voice that friends and family would be surprised to hear.
As the coffee brewed, Claudia headed back into the bedroom and quickly slipped into pink yoga pants and a gray t-shirt. She slipped into her favorite slipper socks, two bunny faces peaked up from her feet. A slight involuntary smile graced her face at the memory of Abe bringing home the socks from a business trip couple of years ago. As she made her way back into the kitchen, the smile still played about her face. Her eyes weary and the dark smudges clearly evident, but there was a determination in her footsteps.
Grabbing her coffee cup, she headed for Abe’s office. She hadn’t been in here since that horrible moment when she had returned home from the hospital. The room was covered in a fine layer of dust and had the stale, unused odor that often accompanies spaces that have been closed off from the rest of the house for a while. As she walked into the room, waves of memories came crashing down like a wave slamming into the beach during a thunderstorm. Her knees buckled, coffee sloshed from her cup, and she quickly sat down in the nearest chair. She hadn’t expected the memories to crash down and overwhelm her. It took all of her remaining emotional strength to not flee the room, slamming the office door behind her.
“Just sit here Claud, let the memories crash down. They can’t hurt you.” Claudia was talking herself into staying. One hand clutching the coffee cup, the other clutching the arm rest on the chair but what both hands had in common, were white knuckles and tight grips on their respective object. The tension in the room was palpable. The tears began to slowly slip down her face, silent sob racking her body. The only sound that could be heard was the sounding of tears splashing into her coffee.
An hour or so later, the tears had stopped and at some point Claudia had set down her coffee cup. She tucked her feet under her and curled into the chair, accepting the simple warmth it provided. She drifted off to sleep, to emotionally exhausted to shake herself awake and begin to search Abe’s office. She fell asleep in Abe’s office for the first time since he died.
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