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The woman who took the old washer and dryer cried when Mark and Brian offered to set it up for her. I was so proud of Mark and only giggled a little at the fact he wouldn’t have the slightest idea how to set up such a thing.
I doubted he had ever used one in his life. Brian, however, not being raised with the silver spoon, I had full faith in.
By midday most of the items had been collected, even the old sofa. The guys were tired from all the heavy lifting and I was a little sunburned despite my efforts otherwise. I had expected to feel desolate after letting Mama’s things go. But actually, it was the opposite. I felt lighter than I had in months. As we loaded up the remainder of the things to go to a thrift store, I looked back to where my trailer had been. So many memories, and now it was just a pile of old sheet metal, ripped up floorboards—junk.
“Are you ready to go?” Mark asked, slipping a hand around my waist.
“Thank you.” I lifted my face to kiss him, And then turned to Candice, Brian, Natalie, and Knox.
“You didn’t have to spend your day here. I appreciate the support and love that you have shown me.”
Mark’s arm tightened. “We both do.”
It was nice to be a ‘we.’I thanked God every day for bringing this man into my life.
Just as we were about to get into the car, I saw the old stump that resided in the weeds that should have been a backyard to the trailer. I had a vague memory of my Mama and me burying a time capsule that I wasn’t supposed to open until I was eighteen.
It had been such a fun day. I drew some pictures and cut out things from an old magazine of what I wanted for the future.
“Wait, I want to get one more thing,” I said, turning to Mark. “Do you have a shovel?”
He blinked. “I am sure we can get one.”
It was less than forty-five minutes later that the shovel hit the metal box. Mark turned and grinned at me, his white teeth glowing against his tanned skin. Once he was able to free the dirt around it, he pulled it out.
“There is a lock on it,” Mark observed.
“Just a second.” Knox went over to his car and grabbed a large tool. With a squeeze of his wrists, the lock was snapped off.
I bent down and opened the box. But the treasures that I had made and cut out of the magazines weren’t there. In its place were some very official looking documents.
CHAPTER 22
Mark
“And then this man came up to the house and Reena asked him if he was lost because he kind of looked confused...”