Green Tea

"What's that smell?" asked Elsa.

"Don't ask questions you don't want answers to." replied James.

It was one of the only things left in the house. The first things to depart were the little things, the valuables, all the various this and thats that were claimed. Next went the furniture. After that, all the junk, the memorabilia, the little notepads and sentimental things that meant the world to one person and were incomprehensible to the next. What remained were squares of dust on the carpet, little knicks and scratches on the doorframes, the breeze gently rustling the curtains, the space left by a couple decades of memories.

Elsa and James had taken seats out on the back porch. The view wasn't anything to write home about, but there was a special stillness reserved for the few remaining old trees in the yard that lent itself to quiet appreciation. Every now again a car could be heard lumbering off far in the distance.

"Well," sighed Elsa, "are you glad it's over with?"

James considered awhile. "Yes and no," he said, leaning back in his chair, "Glad that the whilrwind is over with, uncertain about what to do next. It's a strange thing when your life gets upended like this."

Elsa nodded. "It's quite a bit of money, as well. I don't think any of us saw that coming."

James chuckled. "Nope... that was his style, all right. Keep 'em guessing to the very end. I never could tell if he was just born that way or because of all the wild things that happened throughout his life. And just imagine, that was only what we heard. Everybody has things they can't tell anybody. Some of them would be nearly impossible to believe."

"Anyway," James said, leaning forward to tie his shoe, "what would you do with it?"

"Oh, my goodness," Elsa mused, "what wouldn't I do? I'd go to Morocco. I'd go underwater spelunking. I'd buy a used car and hire someone to paint it to look like a Van Gogh. Fly first class and keep the hot towels. Rent a llama for a week. I'd get my roof re-tiled. Take up all the lanes at the bowling alley. I'd go to a food cart that sells $1 tacos and buy 20,000 of them."

James laughed. "It sounds like you're saying it's a lot of money, but it's not a LOT of money."

Elsa took a sip of her drink. "I think it's what you make of it. Oh, before I forget, I found this tucked away in a little drawer." She handed him a little well-worn black notebook.

James took it and hefted it in his hand. It had a nice weight to it. He opened it up and started to flip through the pages.

Elsa leaned over. "Anything good in there?"

"Almost entirely blank," answered James, still flipping through. He stopped near the end and stared. "What...?"

A series of numbers and letters had been carefully written in black ink, going on for a few pages.

"Looks like code. A lot of it," said Elsa, "any idea what it means? There's quite a bit of it."

"No," said James slowly, "I wouldn't even... oh, no." James closed the notebook and set it in his lap. "He wouldn't... would he?" He stared off into space for a bit. They both sat at a loss for words.

James turned sideways in his chair. "What was her name? Jeane?"

Elsa blanched. "No! You don't think...?"

James stood up quickly. "I think I do. There's a mirror in the bathroom, right? I bet we can crack this in ten minutes."

They rushed inside, leaving their drinks on the porch. James flipped on the light and Elsa followed behind with a pen and scrap paper. James took a look at the tiles on the wall, did some quick math and started reading out letters. Elsa wrote one down, repeated it and they continued back and forth for awhile. Every now and again the house creaked and settled into place, adjusting to its newfound space.

They reached the end. "Okay," said James, "hold it up to the mirror and let's see."

Elsa did as such. The message read:

The Secret To Happiness:

The kitty purrs,

the dog wags its tail,

the wind blows, the bees buzz,

the rain falls, the moon rises,

dreams come, nightmares end,

have a cup of tea.

Elsa stared. James made a face.

A drip of water fell out of the faucet.

Elsa turned to look at James.

"Laaaaaaaaaaame!" she shouted. They both burst out laughing.

On their way out, James turned to lock the door. "You were right, though," said Elsa, "He did keep us guessing."

James smiled. "Yep. The master of uncertainty. Well, shall we?" He trotted down the stairs. "I could go for twenty thousand tacos if you're up for it."

"Actually I was thinking ten thousand and we use the other half on chai lattes, what do you think?" asked Elsa as she strode to the car.

"Fine by me," said James, "it's all just green tea."