I began this story on Saturday, September 24, 2011 4:51 PM



The Jewel Box ~ The Changing of the Guard
By Ora Lea Harrison



      Zoe and Charley boarded the train with the jewel box securely wrapped and placed in their carry-on bag.   This they kept with them with their eyes on it, the whole trip.
      They were going to their granddaughter, Barbara’s, fourteenth birthday celebration.
      Neither Charley nor Zoe had ridden on the train before and were thoroughly enjoying it.
      “So, this is what it’s like to ‘ride the rails’,”   Zoe joked.   “I rather like it, don’t you?”
      “I could get used to it, it sure beats holding onto the horses for such a long trip and finding places to stay and eat and everything.”   Charley agreed with his wife with a smile.
      The conductor came around to gather the tickets and noticing the bag that they had between them on the seat, asked wouldn’t they like him to put it on the rack that was overhead for just such a purpose.
      They declined, of course, trying to be nonchalant so no one could suspect its valuable contents.
      “We’d forget our heads if they weren’t attached,”   Zoe laughed.   “We’re on our way to our granddaughter’s fourteenth birthday and we wouldn’t want to forget our gift.”
      He nodded and went to the other passengers.
      Even though Zoe wasn’t planning to give the box to Barbara, she wasn’t really lying, she explained to herself.   She was indeed, taking the box to Bridgett, her daughter.
      She had explained the box to Bridgett when she was thirteen but had never handed it over to her for her to guard.   Not that she didn’t believe Bridgett was mature enough but remembering how heavy the burden of the box had always been, she hadn’t wanted to pass it on to her own daughter up to now.
      Bridgett’s twin sons, Harry and Hugh, met the train since Zoe had written telling them to expect them.
      The boy’s were out of high school now and looked like Charley had at that age, Zoe remembered.
     
      As soon as Zoe could get Bridgett away from the party, she gave her the jewel box and told her that it was now her’s to keep and pass on, if she never needed it herself for something important.
      “I’ll tell you like my Mother told me, you might just want to have it made into jewelry but do remember the price that’s been paid for these jewels that our ancestors used to come across the sea to save their’s and other’s lives.”   Zoe explained to Bridgett.
      Bridgett, being a true Scotswoman, knew the value of a dollar and said that she’d think long and hard about using the jewels that might be needed to help a descendant at some later date.
      “Momma, you know that Campbell is a doctor and makes enough money for us to be able to live comfortably but if something comes up, we’ll know where we can find our financial resources.”
      Bridgett smiled her winning smile and hugged her Mother.   “I’ve thought about the box at times and hoped that I’d be ready for it when you gave it to me.   Since I’m not visibly shaken, I must be ready.   Thank you Momma.   I’ll cherish it as long as I live and I know that Barbara will do the same.   She’s such a good girl, Momma.   I hope you and Pop will stay for a good visit, this time.   I’d like to show you off to my friends and take you around the town.   It can be pretty exciting at times.”
      Zoe glowed when she was around her children, she must have done something good, she thought.
     
      Rejoining the party, Zoe hugged her granddaughter and gave her the gift that she’d brought for her.
      “Oh Grandmomma!   What a beautiful purse and shoes to match.   I’ll certainly feel like a proper lady in these.”   Laughing, she posed with them, making the group laugh with her.
     
      Returning on the train a few days later, Zoe felt lighter without the jewel box. She was relieved and saddened at the same time.
      “The ‘Changing of the Guard’ is officially done, are you alright?“   Zoe heard Charley say as he put his arm around her shoulders.
      “I will be,”   she answered.
      Together, they watched the scenery as it seemed to fly by the window.
     
      After they had gotten their carriage from the livery stables and were driving home, Zoe asked Charley if he’d mind stopping by the little cemetery at the church where her parents were buried.
      “We have time before dark,”   Charley answered.
      The church was on the same road as their house was so it wasn’t out of their way.
      “It’s been twenty years, you know,”   Zoe referred to her parent’s time of death.
      Zoe’s parents had been pioneers in this vicinity so Zoe had grown up knowing most all of the people who were buried there.
      There was a wide variety of headstones there, Zoe’s family had a large monument in the middle of the yard.   The Graham’s, Charley’s family, had a smaller monument over to the side a little.
      “Your family should have as good a place of honor as mine, Charley,”   Zoe remarked.
      “Zoe, if we were still in Scotland, your father would have been a chieftain of his clan.   It’s only befitting that he have an honorable burial place, even over here.   Birth right was everything in Scotland, it wasn’t up for argument, that‘s all there was to it.”
      “Where will we and our children be buried, Charley?”
      “We’ve never decided on that?   We could stay at the house or come here.   We really should make some sort of decision, I suppose.”
      “I’d like to be close to Momma and Poppa and I guess the children should decide for themselves, since they’re already grown and have their own families now,”   Zoe thought aloud.
      “That settles that, then.   We’ll be buried here, should we talk to someone about it or what?”
      “Yes, we should tell Deborah and Bridgett and the boys so they’ll know.   We also should write wills.   We’ll talk to Tommy about it since he’s our lawyer.   That way it‘ll be on official record.”
      While they were talking, Zoe and Charley had been doing a little weeding around their respective parent’s graves.
      Standing up now, they looked around, trying to see where a good spot would be for their own burial places.
      “Do you think this is morbid, Charley?”   Zoe began laughing, breaking the little tension that had hovered over them since they had left Bridgett’s.
     
      As they were leaving the church yard, they noticed another carriage coming down the road and as it came closer, saw that it was Zoe's sister, Deborah, and her husband, Edward.
      They pulled up alongside of Zoe and Charley and passed the time of day.
      “We were out for an afternoon drive,”   Deborah said.   “Why don’t we stop here for awhile and have our picnic, Edward?   You two can join us, we have plenty.   I always pack a lot, you never know who you may meet on a drive.”
      Going to a nearby picnic table, someone had thoughtfully placed near the church, the group enjoyed their afternoon respite.
      “We were just talking about where we want to be buried, have the two of you picked out a place yet?”   Zoe asked.
      “As a matter of fact, we’ve already put our double tombstone next to Momma, Zoe.   We thought that since you and Poppa were so close that you’d rather have his side.   You haven‘t seen it out there?”
      Zoe and Charley shook their heads no.
      “The way the country is growing, we wanted to be sure of our place, we did this a long time ago.   I didn’t realize that we haven’t told you about it. You might want to take care of your’s as soon as you can,” Edward continued where Deborah had stopped.
      After eating, they walked into the cemetery and looked at the double tombstone that read Smythe at the top and Deborah and Edward on either side.
      Seeing the expressions on Zoe and Charley’s faces, Deborah quickly said,   “It’s just a lot better to take care of this while you’re still around to see that it’s done properly.”
      Zoe sneaked a peek at Charley to see if she could read his reaction then turned to Deborah and said,   “Actually, we were just discussing this very thing.   We were wondering where would be a good place for us.   I’m glad that you’ve got this started.   We’ll have to go and choose a stone for us, won’t we, Charley?”
      “Yes, we’ll have to do that soon but right now, I need to get home.   We’ve been at Bridgett’s for almost a week and need to check on the house.”
      Deborah and Zoe hugged bye and Charley and Edward shook hands and the couples climbed into their carriages.
      After a couple of minutes, Zoe noticed that Edward’s carriage was coming alongside their’s and thinking that they had something to say, was leaning forward when Charley suddenly jerked on the reins and the carriage began moving faster.   On his side of the road, Edward was doing the same.
      Zoe was horrified that these men, at their age, would actually be racing on the open road, or anywhere, for that matter.
      She leaned back and held on for what possibly was dear life.
      She looked at Charley’s face to see what had possessed him and couldn’t believe the gleeful look in his face that he was beating Edward.
      She couldn’t see the look on Deborah’s face since she was on the other side of Edward but assumed that she was frightened, she and Edward were over sixty-five years old, for heavens sake!
      Suddenly, above the horses hoofs, she thought that she heard laughter.   Looking over at the other carriage, she could see Deborah doubled up with laughter.
      It must have been contagious because without even thinking, Zoe began laughing herself.
      Not knowing what to think, the men slowed the carriages down and looked at each other.   This was definitely not what they had expected when they had acted on impulse.   They began laughing and Edward slowed down his carriage to follow behind Charley and Zoe.
      They came to the Graham’s house and when Charley led the horse in, they all waved and merrily called out their good-byes.

The End


Finished writing: Sunday, September 25, 2011 11:33 PM

      The background music is 'Eriskay Love Lilt, a pretty melody.
I'd love your feedback on my stories.   You can email me at ora.lea @ gmail.com   Thank You
These stories have been written by me, Ora Lea Harrison.

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