The Ashes of Marriage

Chapter 13

"Well, don't keep me in suspense, Bram."

"Sorry Ali, but hear me out. You said in your dream your mom was crying at the gravesite, showing she must have cared a lot about that person. She dressed you guys in your best clothes, meaning she wanted you guys to look your best out of respect."

"Ok..."

"Really Ali? It's not connecting?"

I shrugged my shoulders

Bram sighed and rolled his eyes.

"How did you know how to find the metal box?"

"Mama showed it to us once. She showed us how to move the bricks in the fireplace and said we should only open it if something happened to her, almost like she knew things were going to get worse with her and step daddy."

"So, the clue on top was just for you and Candy. She showed you guys, so she expected you guys to find it."

I am ashamed to admit I never thought about who Mama left the box for. I just thought she kept her personal things in there to keep from step daddy.

"So the clue would mean something only we would know." I scrunch my nose. Then my eyes widen as I have an epiphany and I know why I had the dream.

"Candy was drinking a Pepsi in my dream... and I was covered in glitter from the butterfly barrettes. We left them at the grave for the spirit. We are the only ones who would have known that. So whoever grave that is, holds the key to opening the box."

"You figured it out too!" Bram says, smiling. Of course, his smart ass already figured it out. Honestly, I'm not the best detective. I really should have partnered up with Bram sooner.

"Ali, why are you smiling like that?"

"I just find it funny that in one day you have created more of a lead than I have in years and I wish..." I pause because I'm unsure of what to say. "I wish I would have opened up to you sooner."

Bram kisses my forehead, and I lean against his chest and listen to his heartbeat.

"Whose grave do you think it is?" Bram asks. I scrunch my nose because I really don't know. I know where all of my family is buried, and that was not the right place. My family has a burial plot in a cemetery nowhere near Mama's church. Even though Mama was a member of the church, Auntie buried Mama in the family plot. I haven't been to the church since Mama was alive.

"I don't know, but I feel like whoever it belongs to is a man."

"Why do you say that?"

"The way Mama caressed the headstone was exactly how I used to caress your chest. It was tender in a way I never saw her with step daddy."

I look at the silver box and begin playing with the lock.

"What do you think is in this box, Bram? What if it doesn't help us find step daddy at all?"

"I think whatever is in there was important enough for your mom to lock it in a fireproof box, then it's important to know and investigate. She wanted to keep it safe and only trusted you and Candy to share where she hid it. She left clues for you two and she didn't know how long she had left, but she felt like she wouldn't be around long. I think she hid it from your stepdad because what's in there would help us find out where he had gone. I think it will help us find him now."

I think about what he said, and I feel some renewed confidence.

"You are right, Bram. I'm scared to be hopeful."

Bram squeezed me tighter before giving me a light kiss on the lips. I smile at the tender gesture.

"Well, we have to find out now," I say, standing up. "So, it seems like we are making a trip to good old Macedonia Baptist."

Bram groans loudly.

"Yea, I guess we are," Bram says as he stretches. "Let's go to Forsyth."