Death by Honeymoon

“Please,” Cindy said, holding her head in her hands. “I’m not ready.”

“Well, the time has come! You have to be ready. Whether you want to or not,” Ann said, over her limit. “You have to open your mail, answer phone calls, fill the fridge with food, set a time when you’re going to go back to the office—start your life over again. You can’t just lay around here, dreaming up theories on what might have happened to Clint.”

Cindy put her hands over her ears. “I hear you,” she yelled back.

Ann pulled Cindy’s hands away. “Really hear me, Cindy,” she yelled. “You’re in limbo and it can’t go on.”

Ann’s voice was shrill and painful.

“Do it for me,” Ann suddenly looked tearful.

That stopped Cindy cold. Ann had done so much for her .

“All right,” she said, softening, “I’ll do it. I’ll get started.”

“Good,” Ann said, relieved . “Because I’ve bought a plane ticket. I’m going home.”

“Go home?” It was as though someone punched Cindy in the heart. “When?”

“The day after tomorrow,” Ann said. “I have to, I have no choice.”

“Oh God,” Cindy ran to Ann and threw her arms around her, giving her a huge hug.

“It’s okay, Ann, I understand.”

Tears started falling down Cindy’s face.

“You’ve been the most wonderful sister in the world, and I’ll never forget all that you’ve done.”

“You’re a wonderful sister, too,” Ann sounded teary. “And I can’t bear the thought of losing you.”

“You’ll never lose me,” Cindy was taken aback.

“Sometimes when one person dies, they take others with them,” said Ann. “Some people never get over a loss. I just mean, I need you strong and healthy. Please.”

Chapter 7

The next day Cindy let Ann borrow her car, and Ann left early in the morning to go into town and pick up a few things she needed to pack.

Now the house was completely silent, except for the sound of the rain. For the first time, Cindy was alone.

It felt odd. She paced the empty rooms, seeing reminders of her life with Clint everywhere, and finally, she realized that she couldn’t go on like this. She had to do something, or else risk losing her mind.

It was a good time to start putting things in order, she thought.  She put on jeans and an old tee shirt, and brought the boxes of gifts into the living room, piling them high . She made trip after trip, her arms full of packages, not realizing how many they’d received.

She got a pad and pencil to make a note of who to thank. It was strange to open the gifts alone, they were for a marriage that barely got started. A marriage that had lasted less than a week.

As she placed the boxes out on the living room floor, Cindy thought of the day they became engaged. It was only three months after they’d met. A regular weekday, they were going to meet after work at Central Park, go for a walk, and then grab a quick dinner. When Cindy saw Clint walking towards her, she knew something was different. He had a huge grin on his face. Clint wasn’t one to hide his emotions, ever.

“We’re going for a horse and buggy ride,” he told her and practically picked her up and put her into the buggy.”

Cindy had laughed. She loved his surprises. She loved everything about him.

So, when he’d asked her to marry him in the horse and buggy, it felt completely natural. She was ecstatic. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he was the one. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind either.

Cindy had looked at Clint and felt how grateful and fortunate she was. From almost the first moment she met him, she knew he was the man she wanted to live her life with. Tall, rugged, handsome and determined, he was the most honest and caring man she’d ever met. There were many new doors Clint had opened for her, and she’d walked through them gladly, always excited to find out about something new. He’d introduced her to new food, friends, ideas, activities and encouraged her in everything she did.

“You’re a brave woman, Cindy,” he once told her. “That’s what I love most about you. “

That shocked her. She’d never thought of herself as brave. She just loved discovering new things and Clint had been a wonderful guide .

Now she sat down on the floor and opened the box closest to her. Inside was a large, crystal punch bowl . The card read: “Love and congratulations. To years and years of happiness. The Jennisens.”

Cindy held the punch bowl in her arms. It was round and sparkling, full of happiness. There were so many wonderful occasions they could have used it for. She looked at it for another moment, then she put it back in the box, making a note who it was from. She would return it.

Next she opened a long, thin box. In it was a beautiful, ceramic vase. The card inside said, “May your new life be filled with beauty.” Cindy stroked its smooth surface and envisioned the fresh flowers from the garden she and Clint could have filled it with.

A long wide, heavy box contained silverware. “Congratulations to a beautiful couple,” signed from a friend of Cindy’s mother.

She wrote the name and address of each person who sent the gift, then re-wrapped it in its box, to return. With each gift she returned, she felt their marriage slip further away.

As she opened packages, Cindy heard the phone ring. She let it ring. She couldn’t stop every time someone called. And she didn’t really feel like talking to anyone anyway.

There were linens, glasses, wall hangings, picture frames….

She’d opened and closed about seven gifts before something odd caught her eye: an eight by ten envelope, stuck between two boxes.

Cindy picked up the envelope and looked at it. It was addressed to Clint, postmarked six weeks ago, with no return address. Someone had sent it before the wedding. She didn’t know how it landed here—probably misplaced in all the confusion.

What could it be?

She quickly opened it up and took out a piece of paper. A photo was inside of it. On the paper was scrawled - For You .

She held up the photo and saw a candid picture of a beautiful woman—tall, dark haired, walking down the street with a little child at her side.

Cindy held the photo closer, looked at it at different angles, turned it to the light. Her hands shook as she realized that the little boy looked startlingly like Clint.

She turned the photo over to see if there was a date. There wasn’t. Her heart started beating faster.

Who was this woman, and when was the picture taken?

Who sent it? Why? Did Clint know her? Was something going on between them?

Cindy stared at it, trying to make sense of everything.

Her heart started to break, but she stopped it. She refused to jump to the worst conclusions. She knew that Clint had had girlfriends in the past. He’d told her those relationships were all over, didn’t care about anyone but her anymore. No woman he knew was anything like her. She was the one he wanted .

She had to stay calm and keep a clear mind. She wasn’t going to let one photo destroy her memory of Clint, or let him be smeared in any way. But she did have to find out more about it. For sure, something strange was happening. And this photo confirmed it. Had they sent other envelopes like this? Had Clint been hiding them?

Cindy decided to go into Clint’s study to check it out further. She hadn’t been able to spend time in it before . It was his private space, full of his belongings and memories. She felt like an intruder even at the thought of going in. But this photo jarred her. Someone had wanted him to have it before the wedding. She needed to know more.

Cindy got up and went straight into the study where Clint’s computer, papers and files were stored. The room