Chapter 2

“Auntie Mack,Auntie Mack, it’s time to get up.” Lucas yells as he bursts into my bedroom and takes a few seconds to get on the bed. “Come on, Auntie. You have to wake up. The birds told me that it”s time to have breakfast.” He takes a moment to catch his breath. ”They want pancakes, and they want ketchup.”

I rub my eyes and pull the blanket away from my face as I slowly open them. I take one look at my very excited nephew, and then it finally registers that I just heard himsay pancakes and ketchup in the same sentence.

“Lucas, you don’t eat pancakes and ketchup together. That”s, uh, not the way things are done.” I take a quick glance at the clock that”s sitting on the side table and then rub my scratchy eyes. I really need glasses because I’m sure the clock reads not much past five. I”m rubbing my eyes once more. ”Oh, my goodness, Lucas, it”s only ten minutes after five in the morning. Nobody gets up at this time.” I lean my head back against the pillow, grab hold of Lucas, and assist in getting him tucked in alongside me under the covers. ”Okay, it”s time to go back to sleep... Please?”

“When can I get up?” Lucas asks.

”I”ll rouse you in a couple of hours.” After turning my head to look at him, I”m relievedto see that he is already deeply asleep.

* * *

”Are you really,really sure that I can”t have ketchup with my pancakes?”Lucascomplains while maintaining a glum expression.

”No, Lucas, ketchup does not belong on pancakes. Ever. It was designed to be used on fries, which is why syrup was developed to be used on pancakes.”

In the midst of our intense eye contact, I place a glass of chocolate milk and a bottle of syrup on the table next to his plate and proceed to stare him down.

”Wow, chocolate milk,” is what he cries out in amazement. “Syrup is good.”

I make sure that Lucas can”t see the grin that”s spreading across my face as I turn my back on him. I need to avoid doing anything that might encourage him to act cheeky, not that it seems to make much of a difference.

As I take a seat, the first mouthful of mouthwatering coffee slowly makes its way down mythroat.

Following breakfast, I accompany Lucas into the living room, where I turn on a game for him to play for a brief period of time. ”Don”t have it turned up too loud, okay?”

”I won”t.” He cracks a grin, clearly already preoccupied.

I stand back and let him finish up while I make my way over to the bookshelf that is located on the opposite wall in the living room. I take one of the old hardbacks out and blow the dust away in order to read the title, ‘Gone with the Wind.’ My jaw drops when I realize I”m holdinga first edition.

”Why would such a book be left in a summer rental?” I mumble something to myself as I tinkle withthe worn bound cover of the book. As I slideit back into place on the shelf, I can”t help but wonder what other hidden treasures lay behind the layer of dust that hasaccumulated there. However, before I caninvestigate further, there is a brief knock on the door. Thomas walks in just as I”m about to respond. ”Morning, Miss Mackenzie. I hope you were able to get a good night”s sleep.”

”I did, thank you.”

Lucas rushes into the kitchen as I follow at a slower pace.

”I was wondering if you could let me take care of the boy for a couple of hours?” Thomas inquires while pulling a chair out from under the table and then removing his weight from his feet.

I need a few moments to think about this because, despite the fact that I have the impression ofknowingThomas for a long time, I don”t really know him... While I consider what he has asked of me, I ask him, ”Would you like coffee?” because I know that going with him won”t be a problem for Lucas at all.

He nods and then takes off his cap.

After pouring a cup of coffee for both of us, I take a seat next to him. ”I was wondering if you were aware that there is a first edition of Gone with the Wind sitting on the bookshelf in the living room.”

Thomas gives a gentle smile. ”It was a book that belonged to my mother, but it was the one that my sister read the most. Because of this, it has not been removed.” He gives a shrug. ”In regard to taking Lucas...”

”What do you have planned for today?”

”I was thinking that I have a lot of those comics, like we were reading yesterday, in a box in the garage,” hesays. ”Lucas could lend a hand in bringing them inside so that wecan go through them together.”

”What a charming idea. By the look of things, Lucas would love that.”

”Let me go and wash up once more. I”ll beback in a moment.” Lucas dashes up to the bathroom on the second floor.

The level of enthusiasm he displayscausesme to burst out laughing. ”I would like to thank you,Thomas,for the conversation we had lastnight. I found that listening to be very enjoyable. I sincerely hope you didn”t think I was prying into your business.”

”I haven”t really talked about them in a very long time, and I quite enjoyed sitting here, drinking coffee while I talked about them with you,” he says.

”I”m glad. When you left, I couldn”t help but feel a twinge of concern in case our conversation about them had upset you.”

He gives a light head shake. ”That happened a very long time ago. I haveno problems discussing them now.”

I nod. ”Are you certain that having Lucas won”t bother you in any way? He can be quite a handful at times.” The frown deepens. I”m a lot younger than Thomas is, and with the amount of energy that Lucas has, he could probably wear out a lion. Heaven alone can count the number of times that he has worn me down.

”You shouldn”t be worrying yourself. In the event that there is a problem, I have your mobile phone number, and I only live five minutes down the footpath.”

On his reappearance, Lucas slips his hand inside Thomas’s much larger one.

”Bye, Auntie Mack.”

”Bye, Lucas. If you want to have any chance of being invited back, you need to act appropriately.”

Lucas grins with his gapped teeth. ”I will.”

“I’ll see you later, Thomas. And I want to thank you once more.” I watch as they make their way down the footpath hand in hand.

* * *

“Mr. Degan,”Lucas asked. ”When were these comics first published? There is a significant amount of dust.” He sneezed.

Thomas laughed and coughed at the same time. ”I have owned these ever since I was a young child. I first used my allowance to purchase them in 1942, and I believe I continued to do so for a period of approximately five years.” He looked upset. ”Why don”t you call me Thomas?”

A grin appeared on Lucas” face as he continued,”Thomas.”

”That”s all there is to it.” Thomas beamed a grin as he observed the child”s expression of pure joy.

”Would it be possible for me to take a peek inside this one?” The question was posed by Lucas, who was brandishing a comic book with a rather gory cover.

”That is a special edition for Halloween. Please have a seat, and I”ll get you some milk and cookies in a moment.”

“Yummy.” Then he snapped back to his proper manners. ”Thank you.”

Thomas made his way into the kitchen while racking his brain for the last time he had this much fun. Sadly, he was unable to. Janet, his wife, passed away when both of them were fifty-six years old. It had been twenty-four years since then. They hadn’t been blessed with children of their own. Because Janet had been an only child and both of Thomas” siblings had passed away many years ago, he did not have any nieces or nephews; rather, he was an honorary uncle to the children of his friends whom he had become close with over the years.

It had been far too long since he”d had a kid over to his house for a visit.

* * *

I hadn”t realizedhow many books I”d actually brought with me until I unpacked them and arranged them in neat piles on the top shelf of the closet, in the hopes that Lucas won”t be able to reach them.During this time off, I”m going to try to get through at least half of those books. Lucas is only going to stay with meuntil his parents return.

After disassembling the boxes, I drag a chair to the kitchen counter, climb up, and cross my fingers that there are no spiders before carefully stacking the flattened boxes on top of the wall cabinets. The sound of a thump and the fact that the boxes do not slide into place make me frown. After lifting the boxes and looking underneath, I discover what appears to be a book of some kind, although it is completely obscured by a thick layer of dust. I reach for the book, and then quickly lay the boxes down before I jump back to the floor. I grab a clean cloth and wipe away the thick layer of dust that has accumulated on the cover.

When I pick up the ancient book, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end because I have a passion for history. It appears to be quite outdated and suggests that it has been in that location for quite some time. Before turning to the first page, I give the front cover of the supple book with the leather binding a light stroke.

This is the diary of a Rose

March 4, 1947

“Oh, my.” I get into a seated position on a kitchen chair. Stunned. The diary was kept for...seventy years, and who exactly is Rose? Why is she keeping her journal on the counter above the kitchen cabinets? My interest is so piqued that I can hardly contain it. After the passing of his parents, Thomas gave the cottage itsname—a relative?

”Auntie Mack, I”m home!” Lucasyells, enteringthe kitchen in a hurry.

The revelation that the diary was there has set off a frenzy of excitement within me. I certainly don’t want Lucas getting wind of what I’ve found. He wouldlook everywhere for it so that he can check it out for himself if he discovers it.

Thomas followsbehind Lucas, and glancing at me, frowns. But as soon as he sees what I”m holding in my hands, his face goes completely blank.

I keep a close eye on him and then I ask, ”Thomas, are you familiar with anything about this book? It was written in 1947 and it says, ”This is the diary of a Rose.” Could it have been a relative?” As I wait for his response, I conclude that Thomas may be in a state of shock. “Thomas, are you feeling all right?” As my anxiety increases, I move closer.

”Yes, yes, fine. I need to get home.” He makes a move in the direction of the entrance.

”But wait a minute, isn”t this yours? After all, it is the cottage that belongs to your family.”

Thomas has now completed his turn and is looking at me. ”It”s all right, you found it, so read it first and then give it to me to look over. I hope you have a pleasant evening.”

After that, there is no sign of him anywhere.

* * *

That evening,before I head downstairs to prepare a steaming cup of hot chocolate, I make sure Lucas is asleep. Even though I”ve already showered and changed into my pajamas, I just can”t get my mind to settle down for the night.

As I stir the hot milky drink, my mind keeps going back to the diary that I found earlier in the day. Within those pages is the story of somebody”s life, and the revelation of that fact fills me with excitement. When I think about Thomas”s reaction when he heard Rose”s name, I can”t help but frown. What had that been about?

As I take another sip of the hot chocolate and make my way upstairs to the bedroom, my thoughts begin to drift away. As I settle into bed, I keep the door to the room slightly ajar so that I can listen for Lucas. After that, I take the journal in my hands and open it to the first page.