All That Glitters

What a time - the summer of 1963. Up until that point, I hadn’t been living, just existing. The local accounting firm Kamerski and Roberts had just taken me on as an intern, one step closer to my dream job. I live in the small town of Nowhere, Wisconsin. Yeah, you heard that right. The town is named Nowhere. The nail in the coffin of my absolutely ordinary existence. I was never ambitious, but I worked hard in school and planned to be financially stable. I was introverted but never wanted to miss out. I wanted thrills, but cautiously considered the risks.

Anyway, I won't bore you with the details. The really interesting part is what occurred in the Fall of that year. Enter scene- Alice Warren. We had known each other since the fifth grade when she moved two houses down. She always had a thin frame, a long face and always tended to wear over-sized clothes prizing comfort over style. She had wild, frizzy curls that were about as stubborn as her soul. Often times after school we’d ride our bikes down to the train tracks and look for any loot or an X that marked the spot. Our wild imaginings at its finest. She had a sweet spirit under her prickly exterior and never cared what people thought of her.

As we got older, she always begged to go back to our old haunts to relive easier days. I started to say no. Something changed in me, and she could see it. I began to care about the rumors and comments from our peers, feeling the tug and pull of my desire to be accepted. I began to be embarrassed by Alice, and thought she was too attached to me. It came to a boiling point one night at Danny Gomez’ bonfire. Abruptly and with a cold tone, I told her that we should start making new friends. Separately.

She didn’t get defensive like I thought she would. She didn’t fight back, or punch my arm playfully to see if I was kidding. I could see it in her hazel eyes - I had broken her heart.

Being the dope of a boy I was, I left her on the porch alone. I thought I was a big man for saying those words. But I was just a boy.

Fast forward to Summer of ‘63. I got a letter out of the blue from Alice saying she was going to visit for Thanksgiving break. I was surprised she wanted to see me. Although it had been five years, things just weren’t the same after that night.

A week after she returned home, we decided that I’d pick her up at noon and we’d head to Sal’s Malts and Burgers for lunch. As the road transitioned to gravel the driveway got loud as I ambled up, gathering myself as I shifted into park. There was a spark of boyhood in me that lit up as I walked up to the Warren’s front door. I knocked. I could hear Mrs. Warren call. “Allie, Fred must be here.” My stomach knotted up. The door knob turned and I felt the rush of air. I stood there dumbfounded. Speechless. And I stared. There she was, my sweetest friend of youth. She stared straight back at me. Her frizzy curls had softened into red waves that laid on her shoulders, gently pinned back with a gold barrette on the right side. Her face glowed in contrast with her red polka dot dress and wore soft lipstick that highlighted her eyes. “Fred, are you stroking out?” she teased. I stuttered and cleared my throat. “Oh, no, just, um, nice to see you is all.” I could feel at that point that I was red as a beet. I was ushered in the entry way and Mrs. Warren walked in holding a tea pot she was drying. She addressed Alice: “I just thought of it, dear, can you please bring those antique dictionaries I told you about to the Library, on your way? you’ll have to grab it in the attic. In a box near the ladder.” Before she walked back into the kitchen she smiled and addressed me. As Alice put on her white cardigan she confirmed the new plans. “Sorry, Fred, do you mind if we make a pit stop?” Boy, she had a pretty face, I told myself. I remembered in that moment that she hadn’t changed at all. She was always the prettiest girl I’d known. “Oh no worries.” I said smoothly. The ladder stairs in the hallway descended from the ceiling with a rope. The small upper room was hot and stuffy as I sneezed upon entry. We spotted the described location in the corner and almost made if over, but not before I tripped and landed violently. Alice gasped. Then laughter followed. “Geez, Fred, you’ve gotten smooth. What did you trip on, anyway?” I groaned in embarrassment and looked at my feet to see what caused my quick demise. A black book. I reached down and brought it close as I sat up. It had a soft leather- like cover and a closure strap on the right side. A silver engraving of a diamond on the front with the words: ALWAYS YOU. I pulled the strap back and opened it up just as a picture fell to the floor. I picked it up. A black and white tattered scene of a young couple by the ocean. The gal had a smile you could hear as laughter. And the guy- wore a soft look as he stared at her, arm around her neck pulling her in. I flipped it over to find this inscription: “SOME PEOPLE SEARCH FOR TREASURE, BUT I’VE FOUND MY GOLD.” Alice was right next to me and had already picked up the black book and rifled through the pages. “Fred, look! What does this mean?” I cogitated and then figured it out. “Coordinates!”

LINE 1: 46.750198 -90.335617.

Additionally, the following words written were scrawled in cursive:

DIVERSIFIED INVESTMENT. TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS, GOLD. UNDER THE SPLIT.

We looked at each other with eyes wide. “Wanna skip the malt shop today?”

She agreed heartily.

As we hopped in my car, I saw Mrs. Warren’s quizical look, shaking her head most likely assuming we were up to our old scheming ways.

First stop: Avery Hatchet’s Antiques. Out of anyone, we figured he would know how to get us started. The bell dinged as we burst through the door. He looked up and smiled, as if he was expecting us. “Well the last time I saw you two on a mission was when you both were just kids!” we smiled at each other and then I slapped the book down on the counter. “Coordinates.” I said. He looked over his glasses and then opened the book. He laughed at our faces bursting with anticipation. “Let me get my map.”

Rolled out on the table was a map of Nowhere and the surrounding cities. We followed his every move leaning over the counter. A couple measurements, comparisons, grunts and then he took of his glasses laying them on the map. “Rail road tracks, near Alben’s Mill.” Was his announcement.

A wave went through me. A familiar excitement. Going back to the old haunts, looking for treasure again.

When we arrived, it was mid to later afternoon. The sun was gentle in its warmth as we walked briskly to the our destination. Before we even started our pursuit, we couldn’t help but reminisce when we looked around, which caused us to laugh about our memories and childish dreams of getting rich. Smiling about our unfounded dedication to the cause. “I’ve missed you, Fred.” She said suddenly. I looked at her and smiled, then at the ground. She truly was the sweetest friend with the kindest heart. I didn’t know how she could forgive and forget my lack of heart.

“I’ve missed you too, Alice.”

We softly looked at each other for what felt like a century. “The book.” She gently reminded. “Oh yeah.” I fumbled with it and considered the next line. UNDER THE SPLIT. As I was looking around she gestured toward the switch in the tracks and we both thought that had to be it. We jaunted over and I knelt down. My red- headed friend took the right side, and I started to look center left. A couple minutes into digging, I felt something hard. My heart raced. Frantically I lapped at the dirt with my hands like dog. I carefully excavated a black metal box from the wet soil.

My hands were mottled with dirt as I gingerly opened it. In the box, written on a small, tattered piece of paper were scribbled the words: LOOK UP.

My eyes squinted in the sunlight, but through the glare I saw her standing there. She clutched the black book, with an expression of anticipation written all over her face. I chuckled and shut the box. Whether someone had gotten there before I did, or there never was twenty-thousand dollars worth of precious metal, I didn’t care. The search was over.

She smiled, and I had found my gold.