The secret life of tapes

The old antiques store has been here ever since anyone can remember. Evie Summer spoke of it often. She always joked with the owner, Tobias, that she would leave him her most precious gift. She kept me in her purse, so her secrets could remain safe.

When Evie died, I so wished that I could have cried. Then they had unceremoniously piled me and her old movie reels into a box and donated us to the antiques store. Tobias was a bit disappointed as he had expected something which was way more valuable, something more personal which could be his. I just chuckled, the things I wished he knew.

Me, I loved to watch Evie dance and sway to the old memories of her glory days. She had performed on stage and in what she called movie theatres, and would sit for hours by herself rummaging through beautiful frilly frocks, jewelry and memorabilia from her younger days. Sometimes I would hear her cry, I imagine she had just been lonely and missing the fame and applause. Evie had no children that I knew of, why she lived alone in that big old rambling house, I never understood.

I overheard Tobias telling the store clerk, Tyah, that the troubled looking young man came alone to the store every day. He had been doing so ever since he was a wee lad. Tobias, who looked as old as the shop was faded, had a kind smile for the trusted customers and browsers, and an evil glare for the other lot. He turned to look as the bell above the door tinkled, announcing possible sales. Things were slow and his arthritis was acting up today, what with the dreary weather outside.

"Well, hello there young master Flint, back for some magical and fanciful finds today".

"Hey Tobias, I sure am. How are the feet today. I hope you have some interesting finds for me to rummage through". Flint said smiling. He was now 17 years old, so he felt himself enough of a man to address Tobias as an adult. No more Mr. Tobias for him. This made Tobias smile.

"Feet are witchy today, it's the darn rainy weather. Some old tapes came in today, a movie star owned them, maybe you can take a look, I know that you love to restore them as a hobby". He pointed to the box as Flint quickly hurried over, much too excited to spend any more time talking.

Flint offered to buy the entire box of tapes with his small fortune which he earned from his part time job at the supermarket, but Tobias would not hear of it. He gave it to Flint as a gift amidst his insistence to pay for it. I knew instinctively that the right hands had found me. He left his bike with Tobias and took the bus home, the box being too cumbersome to hold onto.

Alas, the bottom of the box fell out on the bus, someone helped Flint to fix the box as best they could and gathered up the tapes. Unfortunately, I slid under the nearest seat and was completely ignored. If only I could have shouted to Flint. Letting him know that I was the most important tape in that box. The things I saw and heard while misplaced would make my grandma blush (if I had a grandma) that is.

Two days later, Diana, sitting in the very same seat, dropped her phone and bent to pick it up, that is how she came to find a lone lost cassette tape, resting below her seat. On it was written 'Evelyn Summer's last wish".

"Who is Evelyn Summer"? She wondered. She decided to keep it and try to find Evelyn. That is when she stuck me into her handbag and forgot me there for an entire week.

Diana then proceeded to empty out her handbag into her desk at work so she could go on some kind of a stupid date. Frankie went snooping in her desk and decided to listen to the tape. He listened to my business and forgot me in the cassette player. Two weeks passed before Diana finally remembered my miserable existence. By that time Monica had tossed me in the rubbish bin since people didn't really need cassette tapes anymore. Luckily for me, the janitor was lazy and never bothered to empty the bins until they overflowed, and someone yelled about it.

I found myself back in Diana's handbag after much asking of questions and Frankie lying about doing what was not his to do, and Monica remembering that she had thrown me in the trash.

Diana googled Evelyn Summer and was surprised by whom she had been. She had been famous before Diana had been born, and she had been a really beautiful woman. Now she had died. So being an overworked, unpaid apprentice to a journalist at 17 years old (on account of her well connected mother) would certainly work in her favor. She could track down Evelyn's people and return me, while maybe finding a story to help her budding career as a journalist. A friend helped her to track down an agent who agreed to meet her. Luckily, we had no more bus accidents and I was snug in the bottom of the purse.

Sherena Thorpe was a prissy, well dressed young woman, she agreed to return the tape to Evelyn's estate. They exchanged numbers, but Diana refused to give up the tape. She wanted to return it herself and get a story about the mystery lady to boot.

"You are out of luck, all the tapes were donated to Tobias' antique store on Fifth and Main, maybe you can go sell it back to him". Sherena huffed, as she walked away.

Swinging by Tobias' on her way home, she learned that Flint had bought the tapes and probably lost one. Still, she refused to leave the tape.

"Flint just left here, but if you return at 3pm tomorrow, you will find him in here". Tobias advised.

Diana thanked him and we left the store with plans to return the next day. Promptly at three the next day, both Diana, myself and Flint, arrived at the door at the same time, she had me firmly clutched in her hand, having just played me at the library. They stood for a minute looking at each other, Flint gallantly held the door, beckoning her inside like a true gentleman. I could tell he thought she was cute, as I heard them both giggle.

Introductions were made, after a long chat, Flint agreed to go through the tapes with Diana. Diana was surprised to find that he lived alone in a tiny apartment on a larger property, he would explain another time, he told her.

"You are not a serial killer or defiler of young women are you". She asked with a serious face, which he found quite cute. Flint said he was, and she should probably run away real fast. She said she wanted to be a great journalist, so danger came with the territory. They ordered pizza and settled in to listen to the cassette tape before tackling the other stuff.

The first few words took him completely by surprise.

"Flint, I am Evelyn Summer, your grandmother. Before you start asking questions, hear me out please". Flint gasped, looking around as if the ghost of Evie were here in the tiny apartment room.

I could not believe what I was hearing, so this was Evie's Flint. I was now all ears, what could possibly have happened. A tense quiet ensued as Evie continued speaking.

"I was very young when your mother was born, my career was just taking off and my parents refused to help with the baby. They insisted I give her up for adoption. I had no choice, no, that is not true, I choose me over the baby. My parents were strict and unyielding my entire life, I could not wait to get away from them. I had no wish to settle down in that God forsaken place. I often thought of how the child was doing, so I hired a private detective to find her. They did, but like my parents, she too refused to speak to me. I did not blame her. I should have been there for her, but she had a good life. I often sent money to help her adoptive parents.

That is how I found you. I became friends with Tobias when I found out that you visited the shop every day. I would watch you and wonder if I had made different choices, would I be a happy grandmother today, instead of the lonely woman in a great big house. I was planning to reach out to you, but I got the news of how ill I had become, plus your parents have restraining orders against me. They had found out about the PI's that I had hired.

Please forgive a selfish old woman for not being an active part of your life. I decided to honor my daughter's wishes and stay away, especially since it would have seemed that I was reaching out simply because I had now become ill. My lawyers have been informed to reach out to you as soon as you listened to this and informed Tobias that you had. Tobias knows the whole story. Please know that I sincerely wish that I had done things differently where my daughter is concerned, but I also do not regret doing what my heart desired. I hope that you see and appreciate the contradictions of life. Please follow your heart, as I believe that you have already figured that out for yourself. After all, you have lived by yourself from the age of 16. I see myself in you, more than you know. Follow your heart".

There was such a long silence after the tape ended, that I thought maybe they both had fallen asleep. Diana finally spoke.

"Oh my God. I am so sorry Flint. How very sad for her and for you".

"So now you understand why I live on my own, my parents live on the property, my father allows me to live here by myself as my mother and I do not get along. I often asked about my famous grandmother and was told that she had died long ago".

"So now we know. Let us go through the rest of these tapes, you need to know everything". Diana was very intrigued by the life of this mysterious woman.

Flint called Tobias and learned that Evie had left a key to her house with him. He and Diana, with me back in the box, were then able to watch the movies and life of his grandmother on one of her old movie projectors. What a wonderful life she had lived in her younger days. She had fallen in love many times, broken some hearts, had her heart broken, but never formed any lasting relationship. This was by choice as shown in her many interviews. Apparently there had been someone long ago, but that was shrouded in mystery and secret romance.

Needless to say, Flint inherited everything. The lawyers would pay for his education if he desired and allot him a small but generous sum to assist him until he turned 21 years old.

Diana, at her tender age wrote a beautiful tribute to the once famous and generous Evelyn Summer. It won her a Junior Journalism award, and for a while, my Evie became alive again.

Tobias got his shop upgraded and a few of Evie's treasured gems which got bequeathed to him in the will, now adorn his shop window, bringing curious customers eager to discover the old days. He got his treasure after all, but the greatest treasure was living to age 92 and meeting Flint and Diana's two children.

Flint finally got his parents to watch some of Evie's personal tapes, the ones the world knew nothing about. His mother cried a lot, his father shook his head in regret.

Me! I now repose in a gold engraved little case on the wall, right next to the lovely pictures of my Evie.

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