Chest interior has initials carved under tray. Photograph before repair.
Do not clean handwriting from film labels.
He had thought about me constantly.
Carefully.
Wrongly.
Lovingly.
Wrongly.
Both could be true.
I closed the notebook.
“What happens now?”
Adrian looked at me.
“That’s your decision.”
Good answer.
I turned to Evelyn.
“And you?”
She swallowed.
“Also your decision.”
Another good answer.
I looked at the cases.
“Our flight leaves in three hours.”
Adrian said:
“We can cancel.”
“No.”
He blinked.
“I want to go to the Aurelia Isles.”
“With me?”
“Yes.”
His face changed.
“But this is not resolved.”
“I know.”
“And Evelyn?”
I looked at my aunt.
“When I come back, we can have coffee.”
Her eyes filled.
“One coffee.”
“Okay.”
“No family reunion.”
“Okay.”
“No pretending eighteen years disappears because you brought me tapes.”
“I wouldn’t.”
“Good.”
Then I looked at Adrian.
“And you are going to spend the entire drive to the airport answering questions.”
