Rock Hard Neighbor

“Hey, hey, hey. Come on. Today’s supposed to be a day of celebration. You’re getting married to your hot ass neighbor. What could be better than that?” she asked.

“My grandmother being here to give me away.”

“I could give you away,” she said.

“You will?” I asked.

“Of course. I’d be offended if you asked anyone else to.”

Then, I remembered the note on my bed surrounded by all those things.

“Could you come with me?” I asked.

“Sure. Where are we going?” Sarah asked.

“Up the stairs.”

“You mean the stairs you fell through and almost killed yourself on? No, thanks.”

“Come on. Stop being a wimp.”

I pulled her up the stairs as we slowly made our way into my room. I opened the door and found everything as I remembered it to be.

“Is that a note?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah, and I can’t bring myself to open it. Would you read it to me?”

“Of course I will.”

I watched Sarah walk over to the note and take it between her fingers. She opened it up and let the envelope fall to the bed as she unfolded the piece of paper. My entire body was. trembling in its spot as her eyes scanned the note.

“Holy shit, Amanda,” Sarah said, her mouth open in shock.

“What? What does it say?”

I lunged at her and ripped the note from her hands. Sarah hovered over my shoulder as I read it, and I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Tears landed on the letter as I crumpled to my knees, my best friend’s arms around me to make sure I didn’t hurt myself.

“It’s okay. It’s all right. I’ve got you,” Sarah said.

My dear Mandy-Bear,

I’ve been sick for some time now. On and off with the flu and pneumonia. That’s what happens when you get old. I’ll make this short and sweet — I was never one for sentiment anyway. This cabin hasn’t been kept up. I didn’t have the money to do it after I was put in the nursing home. So when you come home and find it, don’t be alarmed. It withered away with its owner.

That brings me to the pile of things on the bed. One of them is your favorite doll from when you were younger. I found it cleaning out the attic. But there are some other things I want you to take and sell. The first is the jewelry box. It’s an antique, passed down in my family for generations. Inside the box is all of my jewelry, and the entire thing was priced around twenty thousand dollars.

The next is the vase. Be careful, though. It was a gift from a gentleman friend of mine. It’s laced with specks of gold and the silver lining on the inside is actually white gold. That alone is worth thirty thousand.

The rolled-up item within the vase is a hand-stitched silk table runner. Again, one of those things I am glad my family decided to pass down. I had it quoted at fifteen thousand dollars. Why on earth a table runner would be that much is beyond me.

The folder underneath everything has all of the official documentation on the items. Sell them, Amanda. Fix up the cabin. Buy your art gallery. Breathe life back into this place. You are the owner of it now, and a house should reflect the life of its owner. It’s the only thing I have to give you, but I hope it will push you into the life I know you deserve.

I love you, Mandy-Bear. You kept me young. And now, it’s time for you to claim the life you deserve.

Love You To The Moon And Back,

Grandma Scott

I held the note close to my chest as I sobbed into Sarah’s shoulder. I was shaking uncontrollably, trying to digest everything that was in the letter. I gripped tightly onto Sarah’s clothes and pulled her as close to me as I could get her, feeling her hands running through my tangled hair.

“We should get you ready for your wedding,” Sarah said. “We can deal with the rest of this later.”

“Oh, my gosh,” I said breathlessly.

“Come on,” Sarah said as she helped me up. “Let’s get you a shower.”

Sarah helped me to piece myself together enough to get me to the courthouse. I stood there with a small bouquet of flowers in my hand, ready to walk into the magistrate’s room. The ceremony was quick but perfect for everyone involved. Lanie was anxious to eat, Jack was there ready to treat us all to dinner, and I was itching to tell Brian about the note.

Deep down inside, I knew he was the man of my dreams. He was strong, secure, intelligent, caring, and sexy as hell. Just looking at him made me weak in the knees and being wrapped up in his arms made me feel protected. While we still needed to work on our communication, I never once doubted the sincerity of his words when he spoke to me. He spoke to me as an equal. As his partner. As someone he held in high regard.