Chapter 50
Carolyn (September 2023)
...
The letters took Carolyn a few days to read. Looking through the cursive handwriting reminded her that her eyes weren't as good as they used to be. She thought about blaming it on her glasses but she knew that that wasn't the case. Even so, she took her time and read through each and every letter, laughing at the jokes and remembering the things she and Nancy wrote about sixty-five years ago. She sniffed the pages as she held them and could smell the slightest familiar scent of room C7. Mostly, she smelled must and was grateful that the letters were still in readable condition. They were perfectly protected in the old shoebox that took most of the wear and tear. The letters, although fragile, showed their resilience. Carolyn got up from the kitchen table and made herself a cup of tea. She placed loose-leaf herbs into a strainer ball and dropped it into a kettle that sat on the stove. Soon the kitchen smelled of soothing herbs when the water came to a boil. She poured her tea into Nancy's favorite mug. The mug was now her favorite mug and she made the tea the way Nancy always took it. With honey and cream. She brought herself back to the kitchen table and sat down to look at the photo album once again.
The day after Lane and Ophelia returned the lost belongings, Roger paid Carolyn a visit and was shocked that the album and letters were returned after all of these years. After she and Nancy ran away, they had a plan where Roger would return to the hotel and retrieve the shoebox, but before it could happen, another hotel employee ratted out Roger, telling their boss that Roger had been secretly visiting girls on the third floor at Bradley Diamond's, something a man shouldn't have been doing. He was fired on the spot. This was something Roger had no regrets about; he hated working in the hotel and saw this as a blessing. Soon after, he got a job as a bus driver and was able to put himself through school. Oliver ended up leaving him and moved away but in school, Roger met Sebastian, the man he would marry in the future. Roger looked through the pictures and chuckled.
"I look pretty good here," he said to Carolyn. "Now I'm old and nothing but bones!"
"Do you remember what book you were holding in this picture?" Carolyn asked as she pointed to the faded photo of him.
Roger thought for a moment. "I could be wrong, my memory is slowly going, but I think it was The Invisible Man."
"That sounds about right," Carolyn chuckled. "You love your science fiction."
"Indeed!"
"Nan would have loved to see these pictures again," Carolyn sighed and wiped the tears in her eyes away.
"I'm sure she's glad they were returned. It's amazing that they were found in the first place." Roger ate the last piece of lemon cake that was on his plate and set the saucer and fork down. "That cake was stupendous!"
"Thank you. I used Nan's recipe," Carolyn replied. "She used vanilla beans."
"Are you going to visit those kids?" Roger asked.
"One of them called me yesterday and invited me over for lunch. Lane is such a sweet kid. Ophelia is also very sweet. I'm going over tomorrow. They're picking me up!"
"Well, how else would you get there?" Roger laughed. "You don't drive!"
"Taxi?"
"Well, at least you don't have to take one now."
"Like I said, they're sweet kids."
"Are you going to be okay? Going back into that building?"
Carolyn chuckled. "It's been so long. I think I'll be alright. It's all apartments now and I don't think Mistress Laurier would be waiting to scold me."
"Maybe her ghost would."
"Roger! Don't say that!"
He laughed at his own joke and at Carolyn's reaction. "Sorry!"
The next morning, Carolyn woke up early to tidy up the house before Lane and Ophelia arrived to pick her up. She swept the floor and dusted all of the furniture. As she dusted, she looked over all of the photos in her home. She remembered the first day she met Nancy and how they instantly clicked. Carolyn thought about how they got in trouble one day and had to scrub the floors for floor C. She remembered the late-night scare they had with the Ouija board and how Nancy became paranoid. Carolyn smiled at all of these memories that came back to her one by one. She looked over to Nancy's wheelchair which was folded up in the corner of the living room. Carolyn couldn't bear to get rid of it. She didn't touch any of Nancy's belongings. They were all going to stay right where they were.
"I miss you so much, Nan," Carolyn said quietly in the home. She thought about the life they led together. Graduating together and fulfilling their dreams together and enjoying each other's company for years; she was grateful for it all. And now her heart ached every day; missing the love of her life, and she knew that Nancy wouldn't want her to feel bad. Carolyn tried her best and kept on living. She felt Nancy with her every moment of every day and felt as though she was watching over her. She missed her even so.
While Carolyn was daydreaming about the past, she was brought back to the present when she heard a car horn honk. She quickly shuffled over to the window and looked out at her front yard. She saw Lane and Ophelia waving to her from the car that was parked outside. She waved back and then left the window to grab a tote bag that she had packed for the journey. Carolyn looked over the contents of the tote bag. There were a couple of photo albums tucked away inside as well as some loose photographs that were never properly organized into a book. Carolyn had also packed two hats that Nancy had made and a few snacks for the road. She knew that the drive would be a bit farther than she was used to. She hadn't been back to the hotel, now apartments, in so, so long. Carolyn clutched the bag and her keys close to her and waddled out of the front door and down the stone path to the car.
"Do you need help?" Lane asked.
Carolyn shook her head. "No, I got it. I may be old but I'm still fighting!"
She got into the back seat of the car and said hello to the kids as she buckled herself in. Lane was in the driver's seat and Ophelia was turned in the passenger's seat to greet her.
"How was your morning?" Ophelia asked.
"Quite well, thank you."
"I have a nice lunch waiting and ready to be made when we get home!" Lane said. "I've prepped everything and now I just need to cook it."
"That sounds lovely," Carolyn smiled.
As Lane pulled away from the curb and drove away from the house, Carolyn stared out the window as her home shrunk smaller and smaller in the distance, until it finally vanished beyond the horizon. She thought about being in C7 again after all of these years and she couldn't wait.
"Did you bring the pictures?" Lane asked.
Carolyn chuckled. "I sure did!"