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Monday, May 7, 2012

Inside The Box

Conclusion of The Mystery Box



The box had occupied space in our garage for as long as I could remember, and even though it was off-limits I’d allowed Ricky Delgado, my best friend, to talk me into opening it. My heart sank when I didn’t see a Japanese flag or a chunk of scorched scrap from a kamikaze. Only boring papers and old photographs, just what Dad had said was inside. Black and white snapshots of a remarkably young Dad in his Navy uniform, hamming it up with buddies on shore leave, downing drinks in exotic looking bars. It’s hard to accept that your parents had lives before you came along, but here was proof.


Ricky looked disappointed as he went through a stack of papers. He unfolded a document. “No war souvenirs. What a waste of t—wait a minute.”


I was pissed at Ricky for once more leading me astray. “What did you find, a letter proving my dad was a spy?”


“No, but this is interesting.”


“What?”


“A marriage certificate.”


“You found my parents’ marriage certificate?”


“Uh, not exactly. Say, what year did your folks get married?”


I wasn’t sure, and did the math. I knew Mom and Dad had been married just over a year when my brother was born and he was now fourteen, so they were married in 1949.


Ricky handed me the document.


It had a spy-like quality to it; important and official. Engraved across the top it read: Certificate of Marriage. I didn’t see what Ricky had found so intriguing.


“Check out the date,” he said.


I found it—June 12, 1947. Then came the bombshell. I recognized Mom’s maiden name, but the other name wasn’t Dad’s. “I don’t understand,” I said, unaware that I was speaking.


“What don’t you understand,” Ricky asked. “Your mother was married to someone else before she married your Dad. Maybe your asshole brother isn’t really your brother. You look like your Dad, except he isn’t short and fat, but David doesn’t look like anyone in your family. Maybe the reason he acts so much older than us is because he is.”


I’d spent my entire life in my older brother’s shadow, tangling with him, being annoyed by him, yet it made my head spin to think he might not really be my brother.


The garage door rattled as it was pulled open. David stood in the driveway. He was about to say something snarky, as he usually did when he encountered me and Ricky, but his lips pressed tightly together as he looked at the open plywood box and the pictures and papers in our hands.


“You’re in big trouble,” he said. “It takes a lot to make Dad mad, but he’s gonna blow a gasket when he finds out about this.”


I handed him the marriage certificate.


He studied it for a minute and then turned to Ricky. “Beat it! I want to talk to my brother.”


“Maybe he isn’t your brother.”


David took two menacing steps toward Ricky and my best friend turned and fled through the open garage door. When Rick had gone, I looked at my brother and said, “Well?”


“Well what?” he answered.


“Are you my brother? According to this paper, Mom was married to someone before Dad. Is this guy named on the license your real Dad?”


“No.”


“But the name on the paper…”


“This just means that Mom was married to someone else before she met Dad. The marriage was annulled. Do you know what that means?”


I shook my head.


“It means it didn’t count. Like it never existed.”


“How long have you known about this?”


“Long enough. I opened the box and saw this certificate years ago. Mom and Dad’s marriage certificate is in the metal box in the hall closet, along with our birth certificates. This isn’t anything for you to worry about.”


“So we really are brothers?”


“Of course, you little moron. Believe me, sometimes I wish we weren’t but there isn’t anything I can do about it.” He reached down and picked up the screwdriver. “Let’s put this box back together before Mom or Dad find out about this and both of us get grounded for life.”


I gathered up the screws and handed them to David, one at a time. When the last one was securely in place I looked up at him and said, “I’m glad.”


“Glad about what?”


“I’m glad we’re really brothers.”


“You’re such a little goon,” he said, but there wasn’t any sting to it. He helped me move the box back to its spot beside Dad’s workbench before he went inside.


I stared at the box and wondered if there were other family secrets I didn’t know about. Twenty years would pass before I’d discover the answer was yes. For the next few years I’d spend each Christmas reflecting on the plywood box beneath our stout tree, remembering when it only held the harmless products of my imagination.



27 comments:

  1. Wow! That was quite a shock. Very well told~

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  2. Awww, what a touching story of brotherly love. But now I'm wondering who she married and why it was annulled.

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  3. "yes"...more family secrets? You've got a regular mini-series going here. "The Chubby Chatterbox visits Peyton Place". Haha!

    Great story. ;)

    S

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  4. Good conclusion to a good story

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  5. Great read, thanks :)

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  6. But there is more to this story and I want to her that part. The 20 years later part. Let's hear about the other secrets.

    Have a terrific day. :)

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  7. Great story, Stephen. That box held a biggie. It leaves me with many questions, especially since annulments are extremely hard to justify even today. I'm hoping you'll reveal more in time. Very well done.

    xoRobyn

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  8. I agree with Iowandslow...this has the makings of a mini-series. Did you ever get the whole story on your mother's first husband? Oh, you sneaky man, dropping us a "twenty years" later hint...you are a mean, mean blogger.

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  9. Great ending to a super story...but when do we hear about the twenty years later stuff? This is too good! Smiles - A.

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  10. Secrets can be so damaging. Hope the rest of them were good ones, like the story.

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  11. I would have never opened the box to begin with...it is true..ignorance is bliss.

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  12. Very interesting. Now I want to know all the other family secrets.

    Love,
    Janie Lola

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  13. Great story! Secrets... they usually Do come to the surface at some point and time and they can sure wreck havoc on families.

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  14. Great story! Loved that you were glad that he is your brother. So 20 years later? A secret that you can share?

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  15. I hope that discovery did not discourage you from "thinking outside the box" in your later years.

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  16. Hah - siblings! I was the oldest of five kids, and there were times when I thought my brothers and sisters were so stupid, I just told them I was adopted. There was no way I was going to be related to them.

    Really love them, all of them.

    Great story! So - third installment to follow?

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  17. You did a great job intriguing me enough to be sure to return to your blog tonight. I wasn't disappointed. Good story.

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  18. A very good touching story...Kept me hooked till the end..

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  19. Interesting story... now I'm curious who the other guy your mom married first. Curiosity never ends...

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  20. wow - interesting story, and i'm wondering what else was kept secret...

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  21. Great story, well told! Are you and your brother close now? I'm very close to my two sisters and my brother -- but you'd have never believed it would happen when we were kids!! Family secrets -- we all have 'em...

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  22. Yep, there are family 'secrets', stories, and things that are just not brought up. Excellent end to the story. Goon. Heh. Haven't heard that one in a while...

    Cat

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  23. A story that leads the reader along. Very well-written, Stephen. You got the dialogue of the three boys perfect. And, yes, I, too, want to hear about the "other secrets."

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  24. My only sibling is an older brother. Your excellent story has triggered memories of some of escapades we got up to. Thank you.

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  25. somehow I don't think this is the end of this family story..........

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  26. Wow.. Ricky Delgado.. some how I picture Eddie Haskel.

    You write a fine mystery. I hope the rest of the secrets were nice ones.

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