The Happy to Chat Bench

"What will I do now"

"EVICTION NOTICE. Dear Riley Mercer. This is the official notice of your eviction. Rent has not been paid for this location for over three months. The amount due is $1150.00. You have three days to pay otherwise you must vacate the premises''. As soon as they read that, Riley knew they wouldn't be able to come up with that kind of money in such a short period of time. They were barely making ends meet as it was. Working two jobs and still not making enough money to pay their rent, some days they would go without eating just to save a few bucks. Even with the small trip they took with Amelia, they thought that they would be able to get some money to pay off some of their rent before it came to this. Riley didn't have anyone in their family to reach out to, they haven't spoken to anyone in almost four years. They only had one option. No matter how much they didn't want to, they only had one person to turn to. After putting all their stuff away they checked the time. It was only half past three so they picked up their phone and dialled a number they knew very well. "Riley. What's up?" the voice on the other line asked. "Hey Amelia. I've got something to explain to you". They explained their situation and awaited the response. Amelia then came up with what she thought was an amazing idea. "Well I have a spare room in my house you could move in there to save up some money to get on your feet and get your own place". "No. No no nonono. Absolutely not. I can't put you out like that. I honestly don't even know why I told you. There's nothing you can really do about it". "Riley" she said "it's not putting me out if i'm offering". After arguing back and forth a little over twenty minutes they eventually gave in to Amelia's preposition. It was decided that she would go over to Riley's place the next day to help them pack, then the following day begin to move the boxes into her house. The only things that they would take over to Amelia's were Riley's clothes and items they kept for sentimental reasons. Everything else that Amelia already had, like kitchen stuff and all the furniture, would be sold in a yard sale so Riley could make some extra money. After the plan were made and they hung up the phone, Riley had some time to sit and think about what was happening. They tried packing up small stuff in boxes so something would be already done when Amelia got there the next day. Every little thing they found would distract them and it was at that moment they realized they wouldn't be able to do this by themself. When Amelia got there the next day the house was in total disarray. Stuff was thrown everywhere. "RILEY? WHAT HAPPENED IN HERE? WAS THERE A TORNADO THAT BLEW THROUGH TOWN I WAS UNAWARE OF?"  There was indistinct mumbling from the other room then "JESUS AMELIA YOU DON'T NEED TO SHOUT. I'M NOT DEAF".  "Well how am I supposed to know. You seemed lost in this, uh, whatever the hell happened in here." She begins walking towards Riley's bedroom where the talking was coming from. "You are here to help me not criticize" was their snarky reply. Amelia got an unassembled box from the floor then assembled it. "Now is there a dead body in your closet I should know about before I go in there" she asked jokingly. "Shut up. Just, shut up" Riley responded while they were taking clothes from their dresser and putting them into a large box. The two sat in silence for a while, just packing things in boxes when Amelia came across a box in the back corner of the closet. Curious, she opened it. She concluded that the box contained stuff from when Riley was younger. "What do you want me to do with this stuff?" "Woah. I didn't even  know I still had that" was the response, "I thought I got rid of it all. We have enough time, right? I really want to look through it" they said with a sad yet excited tone in their voice. Amelia nodded then Riley sat on the floor by the box. Quietly they took things out of the box one by one looking at them all. Amelia was only half paying attention but everytime she glanced over she thought she recognized some of the things. Riley pulled something out of the box and gasped under their breath. "Oh my god" they whispered. After hearing that Amelia looked over. She was curious and wanted to know what Riley had found. As soon as she turned her head, she realized something. She had definitely seen that before. It was a little picture book, the pictures glued on colored construction paper, a piece of thin ribbon holding it all together. The cover picture was a group of children about five or six years old. She didnt have to look at the picture very long to know where it was from. She quickly glanced down in the corner before Riley turned the page. Written on the bottom right hand "Ryan Grade Primary". So many thoughts raced through her mind. "This could all be a coincidence," she said to herself. Even though it was highly unlikely, it was a possibility. But something on the next page made her certain that this was who she thought it was.