Poppi's Secret

They were so excited to be moving into their first home. Diane had inherited this wonderful old colonial from her grandfather who had passed away last November. She had loved Poppi more than anyone in her life and was delighted he remembered how much she loved this old house.

The steep gabled roof, and the central front door made the evenly spaced windows even more charming. The chimney from the main fireplace loomed over the three-story home like a soldier guarding his territory.

Mike opened the door and carried Diane across the threshold. Diane giggled and said “we aren’t newlyweds you know.”

“I know but it’s our first real home and it seemed appropriate” he said as he set her down in the large front entryway.

“Oh, Mike, its everything I remembered!” Diane’s eyes glistened with tears for Poppi but was also so delighted to be in this house she remembered playing in as a child. There were games of Hide n Seek and Guards at the Door that she and her brother had played for hours with the kids next door who always referred to Poppis’ house as the castle.

Now it was her home! Dust flew everywhere as she lifted the old sheets from the furniture. She remembered these old pieces. The rocker where she used to sit on Poppi’s lap for bedtime stories and the sofa where she and her friends would sit to watch movies and cartoons for hours and hours.

She decided to keep only the rocker and replace all the others with newer furniture, whatever they could afford. She was looking forward to making this their own home.

Diane went down the front steps and walked around the house to analyze its condition. Beside a little rust on the downspouts, it looked remarkably good. The siding was in a little disrepair but they had already planned on replacing that awful yellow color with something newer and fresh looking. Their budget was very tight but they had been saving for their first new home, hopefully enough to now make the repairs on Poppi’s house. She stooped to pull a few weeds from the garden and kept moving. Mike joined her outside to take the dimensions so he could get an estimate on replacing the siding.

When they returned to the inside of their new home, Mike measured every room for painting and floor replacements. He measured the living room and then measured again.

“What are you doing?” Diane asked.

“Rechecking my math. Something is wrong with my measurements or my math”, he laughed. Funny because he was the new math teacher at the local high school.

He went back outside to measure the front of the house again and came in scratching his head.

“The dimensions on the outside are 5 feet longer than on the inside of the house. Allowing for insulation and studs, and such, this couldn’t be right.”

He walked to the corner of the living room, looked out the front window and couldn’t see the corner of the house. Mike was now getting very distressed.

He should have been able to see the corner of the house from this position.

“Did your Poppi ever do any work on the inside of this house?” he yelled to Diane who was already rearranging the kitchen.

She entered the living room covered in dust and cobwebs. “I don’t think so. I don’t remember anything ever having been done. Why?”

“The living room should be five feet longer than it is according to the outside dimensions.”

Mike moved the couch and walked to the corner of the room. He tapped on the walls and then suddenly stopped.

“Hear the difference between here and here?” he asked Diane as he moved his hand along the wall.

“I hear it but I don’t understand.”

“There is something behind this wall. It sounds hollow.”

Looking at Mike with concern in her eyes, she asked. “So what do we do?”

Mike left the room. Returning with a hammer in hand, he went back to the corner and struck the wall. The hammer went right through into an empty space on the other side.

He turned and looked at Diane who was now completely alarmed and yet somehow fascinated.

“Should I keep going?” Mike asked before he swung the hammer again anyway.

When the wall was completely open, they stepped inside and swung the flashlight across the hidden room.

“Oh my god, Mike, look!” she screeched. There were boxes and boxes overflowing with dollar bills. Fives, tens, twenties and quite a few hundreds.

She picked up the note that was laying on top of the largest box and read …

My dearest Diane,

When I knew I would leave you my precious home, the one you so loved as a child, I decided to also leave you enough money to take care of the house and you forever. I saved this money over the years and then built this room around it so no one would find it except you. Take good care of yourself, your new home and all my great grandbabies. I will be watching over you. Love, Poppi

With tears in her eyes, Diane turned and hugged Mike.