Ticking the Boxes

Cherry

By luigi_pagano

Mon, 25 May 2020
  • 966 reads
4 comments
 

 

Following Jessica's request I have been searching any relevant material among the documents that I keep in the safe.

I used to be very methodical, perhaps to excess, and found a lot of stuff that was no longer useful that I kept 'just in case' but should have been chucked out ages ago.

A lot has happened since my younger days and, though my memory has been good, facts can be easily forgotten after so many years.

To remind me of pertinent dates I have drawn up a chronology of important events starting with the tragic death of Elizabeth, my intended wife, showing the age of various individuals at the time.

    Elizabeth             Lottie            Jeremy        Justin                 Francesca        Jessica

1995          18                      18                   36              38                           25                     -

1997 -                                  20                  38              40                           27                     -

1998 -                                  21                  39             41                           28                      -

2000 -                                 23                 41             43 deceased?          30                    born

2003 -                                26                 44             46 deceased?           33                       3

2020 -                                43                61             63 deceased?            -                         20

So far I have found Francesca's marriage certificate at the age of 28; a batch of letters from her to me that I have to sift through; newspaper cuttings with reports of Justin's disappearance in 1999 and a photographs album of her friends and family. 

I am still pondering the puzzling question of why she is concentrating on her mother and hasn't shown any desire to learn anything about her father, when the phone rings. It is Jessica. 

“Hello Uncle Jeremy, have you by any chance got mum's birthday certificate?”

“No, darling but I have her marriage certificate which shows that she was 28 in 1998 and by deduction the year of her birth is 1970 although I don't know the precise date.”

“Anything else?”

“Yes, there is an album full of photographs that you may find interesting. I'll send it to you.”

◊ ◊ ◊

I have just been speaking to my uncle. I hope I haven't interrupted his relaxation; I could hear Albinoni's Adagio in the background.

He told me what he has found so far and it doesn't amount to much. I am slightly disappointed but beggars can't be choosers as the saying goes.

I wonder if the family album will show any well known faces or anonymous personalities.

The big trunk in my loft looks more promising; it has a large number of handwritten notebooks in addition to numerous war photographs of Middle East's major hotspots, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen.

My heart misses a beat as I spot a bundle of letters tied with a ribbon. They are addressed to J, Mazziarello Esq.

Could they be billets doux? And to whom, Justin or Jeremy? There is only one way to find out: open them, but I hesitate for a long time feeling guilty of violating their privacy.

My conscience won't let me, so I decide that I will sleep on it before I take that drastic step. There is a lot of other material to keep me occupied in the meantime.

 

© Luigi Pagano 2020

 

see also https://www.abctales.com/story/luigipagano/jeremys-dilemma
and previous episodes

 

 

 

Certificate 15
Story
Just Stories
Drama

Comments

Submitted by onemorething on

I like how you have left us on tenterhooks with the letters. And yes, we need to know much more about Justin and his disappearance. I must say, you have woven so much intrigue and threads of stories into this now, it's very enjoyable to read, Luigi. Rachel x

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

It gladdens me to hear that you find this story interesting, Rachel. It gives me the impetus to carry on with renewed vigour. There are pros and cons in having several threads; the narrative can branch out to cover several situations but at the same time errors in the chronology or the sequence of events may occur. One has to be on guard not to confuse names or relationships but the challenge is rewarding.

Luigi x

PS You must be my talisman as, if by magic, cherries have appeared simultaneously. My thanks to the kind cherry picker.

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Hi Luigi,

I can see you've worked really hard on this part with the chronology, which must have taken a while to work out. I wonder what those letters are about! Jessica will soon find out.

Still enjoying.

Jenny. xx

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Hello Jenny, I found that drawing up a chronology acted as a sort of discipline to avoid errors and mix ups or even using wrong names as it happened once when I had to hurriedly edit the piece to correct the misnomer.
Jessica seems very excited about those letters. No doubt she won't be able to resist the temptation of opening them. Whether they reveal anything new or prove to be a false trail remains to be seen.

Luigi xx