She Found It

She is a super sleuth and she wears the perfect disguise. You could see her anywhere at any time of the day and her cover kept her gift concealed. A police department would welcome her gift of pulling facts and truths out of murky words and events. At times it was like she was easing her hands into a mud puddle and pulling out diamonds. Her disguise was simply the fact that she is a wife and the mother of four children. I call her Sassy and that nickname fits her personality. The dictionary says that Sassy means “ lively, bold and full of spirit; cheeky”. That perfectly describes my bride.

Sassy’s life outlook is simple black and white. You are telling her the truth or you were lying to her. There are people in her life who can not handle her honesty, particularly if they aren’t looking for an honest answer. Perhaps they were seeking white lies and half truths from her but there was no way that those would leave her lips.

You had to know how Sassy’s brain was wired and how her thought process functioned. This was to allow you to know my challenge when she found the book. It was not just any random book, it was my black book. A black book that was worn and dated and of a style that seemed to come from another era. If you turned the book over and read the small fine print embossed on the back cover you would read, Miraculous Printing Company, Mystic, Connecticut.

My black book had remained tucked away for over 40 years, concealed and hidden from everyone with one exception. Until the time was right only the author of the information on the book’s pages would be allowed access. The deep secrets hidden within those pages were to remain my captive thoughts until I set them free. Unless my hiding places were discovered or I became careless, one of which was bound to happen eventually my secret was safe. To compound my worry was the recollection of folding money and keeping it inside my little black book. $20,000 in cold hard cash! The bulk of so much paper in my little black book made it look more like a big brownie!

I was betrayed by a dirty sock. In the corner of our bedroom closet was where my snitch lay in hiding waiting for just the right moment to squeal. When Sassy reached to pick it up, that sock squealed like a piglet looking for it’s Momma Sow‘s teats. It was laundry day and, as usual some socks had left the clothes basket to hide and this particular sock had chosen to hide at the base of a small door cut into one of the closet walls. She spied my perfect hiding place and, out of curiosity, opened the door. As soon as a small particle of light invaded the darkness of the hole in the wall, my secret was no longer a secret. The small sliver of light that had slipped into my hiding place may as well have been 10,000 candles once my little black book was found. The detective instincts in my bride went into full speed ahead mode.

I had a ringside seat for the discovery and went from shocked to “Ah dammit!” much quicker than I expected. As Sassy backed out of our closet I could see the object that had fueled her rapid exit. Clutched in her hands was my old pal, my little black book. As she turned to face me I noticed that her countenance was somewhere between “I found a new treasure” and “ Does he really still have his old lover’s phone numbers?” When I had deciphered her expressions I could only think, “What in the name of flying monkeys do I do now?”. After all of these years together I was finally going to have to ‘fess up to having a book like that. It was my secret, my treasure and now both the book and I were going to be exposed.

The interrogation began gently and quietly, Sassy would find out the truth now or later. First a simple probing question, “Is this yours?” I’m a pretty sharp guy and knew that she had the answer to that question before it reached my ears. Next question was a double play,“What is it and why did you have to hide it from me?" It was time to stonewall so I replied, “I can’t tell you, it’s not the right time.” which was met with, “We’ve known each other for a long, long time. What is your definition of the right time?” Damn fine comeback since I did not have an answer to that inquiry. Next was her technical question, “How do you open it?”

I had never anticipated having to present a defense for my book, being on the offense was my introduction plan. At the right time my vision was to present the black book with a full confession to the contents. Providing information would allow me to control the narrative and not be subject to any questions. At this point I must admit that had I found a little black book that my wife owned it would have been ripped open, no questions asked. My need to know would override any common sense thoughts that would arise!

I keep mentioning the right time for a grand opening of the book. In reality, I had no idea when that would be. It had been tucked away for 40 plus years with no right time ever occurring. Perhaps that very moment was the time that I had been waiting for, the book had been discovered, if I lied about it Sassy would have seen right through me, no need to prolong the unknown. As lovingly as I could I took her hand and she let the book slide into mine. Then my declaration was made, “Now is the right time.”

The book was old and its leather straps had dried and were difficult to release, much more difficult than I thought they should be. As I fumbled and struggled I began my explanation and history of the black book. “Do you remember when we first met? Can you still feel those feelings? Sassy those feelings never left me, they were too beautiful to lose. Do you remember the years that we spent apart? That long period of no contact, you had your life and I had mine? There was not a day that went by that I did not think of you. Where you were, who were you with, who was kissing you, what were you doing that should have done with us together.” Those days are written down in this book, of this I am certain since I wrote them as love letters to you. I missed you greatly and wrote all of my thoughts down so that I would never forget the pain of letting you go.

My introduction continued. I bought this book at a dusty old used book store. As I browsed old publications this black book seemed to jump off the shelf and into my hands. As I examined it further my heart leapt for joy. Tucked away neatly in the back of the book was money, lots of money. I made a beeline for the register and paid for my treasure not letting anyone in the store touch my book. The title is worn and faded but as I opened books cover my curiosity was piqued. For on that first page was stated, “If your true love is in your life, pick up your pen and write. A day in your lives is drawing near, a day when the time is right. You will know that day.”

While we both were seated on the foot of the bed Sassy asked, “If there are just words in this black book why can’t we read them. You said the time is right.” I had to agree with her or risk her inquiries once again. After four decades of being kept secret and out of the sight of the entire world population it was the right time and I didn’t have a clue about Sassy’s reactions or what happened next.

While bracing myself for much needed explanations and interpretations I pulled the pages apart. Suffice it to say that what took place next was totally out of the realm of my imagination. All that I could do was to sit and stare with my mouth hanging agape and my eyes wide open. I glanced at Sassy and saw years rolling down her cheeks and a smile on her face. She had never looked so happy. It was a perplexing moment.

The object of our rapt attention was something that I believe no has ever seen. The very split second that I opened the book a bright light leapt into the room. It looked as if a rainbow had exploded in our bedroom. Colors enveloped the room, greens, reds, yellows and some that I had never seen before. The unknown colors had my full attention and my eyes stayed fixed upon them as they danced about the room. A warm breeze was pushing menagerie of hues in circles all about us. A warm sense of peace and protection surrounded us. My glance at Sassy revealed that she was mesmerized and that she was smiling in a manner that I had never seen.

I had picked up my black book out of fear of losing it and discovered an unknown piece of paper peeking out. It was folded with exact right angles and a handwriting that I did not recognize. This is what was written. “Oh my son and my daughter, I have longed to show this magnificent display. You’ve never seen anything like it before, nor will you ever see it again. This is what love looks like. It is hypnotically beautiful with a whisper of beautiful angelic music. It is soothing to your souls and heals your bodies. Just as you can’t take your eyes off the swirling beauty love has you in its grip and is ready to never leave you.

As we came out of our state of amazement all that I could hear was Sassy asking “Why? When did you do this? How did you do this? “ I proceeded to explain again that the book contained nothing but my thoughts and feelings during our long time apart those years ago. There were 20,000 other things that I needed to bring up at the same time. I lowered my head in shame for the other thing I was getting ready to confess. Slowly out of my mouth poured the words, “And I hid money in the book, $20,000 in big bills.” I opened the black book once more and before I could pull the bills out into daylight she asked, “Where did you get the money? Is it stolen? Why did you never spend it?” I answered her with the retelling of my day in the book store. Sassy quickly said that the money was not mine and I should have left it with the store’s owner. Before replying I finished my cash withdrawal and let all the bills tumble to the floor and they looked beautiful lying there. $20,000 in gold, pink, yellow and white bills with the word MONOPOLY printed on each of them. A sigh of relief and a pinch on my shoulder came from my bride.

The words that were written in my black book are nothing more than pen or pencil and filled each page of my black book. With the cash on the floor the book seemed much smaller. I certainly don’t know all of what we just experienced or how it happened. My super sleuth had uncovered the truth of my little black book, showered me in brightly colored money and we ended that episode embraced on the bed.