Sweet Violet

Here's an excerpt from my new WIP, "Sweet Violet"...
      "The suitcase was large; the type of suitcase Jimmy Stewart was looking for in “It’s A Wonderful Life.” A great big one, big enough for labels from all over the world.  The blue leather was cracked and faded from years of exposure to the desert heat.  It was locked, and of course I had no key. It was heavy, but I had no idea if it had anything inside. I was about to find out.  I grasped the blue Bakelite handle and heaved the heavy thing up onto the bed.  The bed creaked and swayed, and I worried for a moment it was going to collapse. It was only a roll-away, one of two that we keep on hand for our guests. I had borrowed it for Emily, but if it collapsed, I’d have to rethink that. Luckily, after an initial protest, the legs and springs held, so I went to work on the suitcase.

A big heavy screwdriver worked to pop the two side locks, and I used the power drill given to me by my son as a housewarming present to drill out the center lock. I worked slowly and carefully, not wanted to damage anything that might be inside. Finally, I felt the lock give way.I set the drill aside and slowly lifted the lid. The suitcase was almost full. As I pushed the lid back, a silky white blouse slid off the top of the pile and fell to the floor.  I picked it up and placed it on the bed next to the suitcase. There were several other items of women’s clothing, and I lifted them out one by one.
     Underneath the clothing was a bundle of letters tied with a faded pink ribbon. I set those aside to look at later. Most of the rest of the space in the suitcase was taken up by a newspaper wrapped bundle. I lifted the bundle out and set it on the bed as well. It didn’t weigh much, so I could probably rule out my first impression, which was a bottle of wine, wrapped for travel.  The bundle was tied like a Christmas package, more pale pink ribbon tied in a bow right in the middle.

Before I investigated the bundle, I checked the satin pockets on the sides of the suitcase. The elastic had lost most of its stretch, but there wasn’t much in them, anyway. In the side pocket, I found a pretty silver hairbrush, with the initials AE engraved on the back, and a packet of bobby pins, with the 10 cent price sticker from Sprouse Reitz still on it.

Finally, I was ready to examine the newspaper wrapped bundle. The newspapers themselves were brittle and yellow, with cracks in the paper where it had been folded. Carefully, gently, I pulled the loose end of the ribbon bow and slid the ribbon free from the bundle. Gingerly, I folded back the corners of the newspaper. Underneath the newspaper was a thin white terrycloth towel.  To my surprise, the edge of the towel was embroidered with the words “Blue Moon” in dark blue machine embroidery. 

As I folded back the towel, I uncovered a flannel blanket, the kind I can remember my grandmother using for my siblings, with teddy bears screen printed on faded yellow, satin binding wilted and worn from use. 

The sight of that blanket gave me pause. I almost didn’t want to keep going, but as usual my curiosity was greater than my common sense.

           I should have listened to my common sense."