Flirting With Destiny: Aedyn Book 1

Chapter 9

Aedyn 

When I entered the family room, Aunt Melissa was sitting on the couch, picking through the contents of an opened shoebox. Her once youthful hands held the old box by its tattered and frayed corners. I pushed the beer in her direction. 

"Would you like a glass?"

"No, I'll drink from the bottle." That's what I liked about my aunt; she was a real down to earth person, not an ounce of pretense in her. 

I tipped my glass and took a long drink before falling into the worn out springs of the couch. "You found them," I said, nodding toward the box. "Now I have no more secrets." 

She smiled as her eyes fondly soaked in the old photographs she was holding in her hands. "You're not getting rid of these, are you?" 

Before I could answer, she laid them in her lap and adjusted her position, turning toward me slightly. "I didn't tell you this before the funeral, but when I got the call about Richard's passing, they said he died on the street, like a homeless person. They said it was due to his alcoholism." We sat in silence for a moment and then her eyes shifted to the right as if remembering something. "I still can't believe no one came to his funeral. He was one of ten children and not one of them attended. What a shame." 

"You already said that." I said flatly, staring straight ahead, slunk back into the couch. "What a shame," she said again. "Well, I was there. Didn't want to be, but I was there. I did my duty." I spat the last word out with disgust and threw back the last of my Scotch. "A complete funeral for me and you and... who was that woman who came and stood in the back?" 

"I didn't see anyone," she said, giving me a quizzical look as she lifted the photographs from her lap and began sorting through them again, talking to me, but her eyes were fixed on the pictures. 

The ceiling held my attention as I finally felt the effects of the alcohol burning off the rough edges. "She was only there for a moment."

"I didn't see anyone, dear. Someone probably there on other business, most likely had nothing to do with us. The mind plays funny tricks when you're in mourning, you could have imagined it." 

I wasn't in mourning. I didn't have sorrowful feelings about my father's passing, but I didn't think it wise to reveal that to Aunt Melissa. She was obviously more concerned about my father's reputation in town than I was, no matter how misguided. "Maybe... but I swear I saw someone standing back there just the same... whatever." I wasn't going to waste any more time thinking about it. I had a ton of work to get done and my work schedule already had a huge hole in it thanks to this funeral. When I left Chicago, I told myself I would work from here, at least stay on top of priority projects. It hadn't happened, too many ghosts were vying for my attention and right now the only thing I wanted to focus on was Scotch.

I stood up to freshen my drink and Aunt Melissa looked at me, her eyes almost pleading. "You're at least keeping this, aren't you?" 

I shrugged and looked at the box. I took one of the photos out of her hand and glanced at it. "Doubt it." 

"Aedyn Dell Cumberland," she scolded. "This is your past, your childhood. Isn't this one of you and your best friend, Garret, in high school?" She smiled, gazing at another photo. "Look at all that hair. What ever happened to that hairstyle? You don't see that anymore. Wasn't it called a mullet?" 

My aunt's outdated fashion sense made me laugh out loud and it felt good to release that burst of air. She always had the ability to see my emotions, no matter how well I thought I hid them, and knew when to cheer me up. "Aunt Melissa, that hair style went out years ago."