“Actually, I’m feeling quite a bit better. There was a chore I wanted to tackle this weekend, but since I have the day off anyway, I was thinking of heading over.”
“What’s the chore?”
“I got a bill for my parents’ storage unit. I usually pay a year in advance, but I’ve been thinking…maybe it’s time to face the past. Donate what I don’t want. Find a place for the things I do. Maybe we’ll find a couple things to hang on these walls and make my apartment look less like a serial killer’s lair.”
“Hey, you said it not me.” Nick rubbed her back as if sensing how much strength it took to suggest doing this. “After breakfast, I’ll take you over in my truck.”
“Thanks.”
Noel tried to mentally prepare herself for seeing all of her parents’ things again. The last time she’d been in the storage unit was when she’d been sixteen and thought she may have packed away her favorite book by mistake.
Standing in front of the white roll-up door, she took a breath. Inside this cement building was everything from her life before her parents’ death. She’d spent ten years refusing to talk about it, think about it. Avoiding anything that reminded her of them and what she’d lost. In the last few weeks, she’d let memories back in. Realized that by pushing her parents and past away, she hadn’t been able to move forward with her life. It left her stunted and closed to all the possibilities life had for her, including love.
Still, standing here, realizing that she was going to find things that would bring the pain rushing to the surface terrified her. The eggs and bacon settled in the pit of her stomach like cement as she waited for Nick to open the locker.
“You ready?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
Nick swung the door up and Noel gazed into the dimly lit unit, her heart breaking in her chest.
Heavy-duty black containers stacked to one side, full of photos, mementos, clothes. She took a step forward, swallowing hard as her hand ran over the dusty top of her grandmother’s piano.
“I learned how to play all of my mother’s favorite songs on this.”
Nick’s arms circled her waist from behind, unknowingly giving her strength. “I remember. My parents dragged us to every one of your recitals.”
“I’m so sorry. I never realized how boring that must have been.”
Nick shook his head, turning her in his arms. “Watching you perform never bored me, Noel. Music made you shine. It was the same with your parents.” He placed his hand on the left side of her chest, over her heart. “No matter how hard you tried to forget, your parents never left you.”
Noel sniffled, emotions already overtaking her. “I think this would look great in the living room. Don’t you?”
“Absolutely. Piano goes then?”
“Yes, the piano goes.”
“All right. I may need to call in some backup to help me do the heavy lifting.” He kissed the bridge of her nose. “You are in no condition to lift a thousand-pound piano.”
“You’re not wrong.” Noel pulled out the first black tote she could reach and lifted it to the ground with a grunt. It wasn’t particularly heavy, but she had the strength of a newborn kitten today and the exertion had her huffin’ and puffin’ like the big bad wolf.
Noel popped the top off, mentally preparing herself. Inside were boxes of pictures, albums, and underneath, a large bridal box.
Noel snapped the lid into place and pushed the tote out of the unit. “This goes too.”
Nick picked up the tote and tossed it in the back of his truck. “You doing okay?”
“Yeah, but fair warning,” she choked, “I’m probably going to cry a lot today.”
“That’s all right, I get it. I can’t imagine how painful this must be for you. Your parents were amazing people.”
“Having you with me helps.” She grabbed the next tote, finding stacks of men, women, and children’s clothes. “This one will have to be gone through, but I think it can all be donated.”
“Can I help with anything? I don’t want to step on your toes.”
“You’re fine. Just help me pull these totes out and I’ll look through. Any idea when your backup is gonna show up?”
“It will be an hour or so.”
“Pike, Anthony, or both?”
“Both.”
“Ah, great. They weren’t too happy with me on Saturday night.”
Nick pulled the lid off another tote. “They’ll get over it. They adore you. This one looks like more clothes.”