by Ryan Conway
"So, Spencer," Pastor Meadows said with a grin, "your uncle tells me you eat pretty healthy, and stay away from sweets."
"Yes sir, I do, for the most part." Spencer responded.
"Well, if you want any help with your diet, I'll have your piece of cake." Pastor Meadows said. The laughter started up again. Some of the visitors already had full mouths, and almost choked on their cake. Even Spencer was smiling.
"Thank you, Pastor Meadows, I appreciate that," Spencer remarked with a sly grin. "But I save up for special occasions. I think I'll let myself go this time."
Shortly afterward, they all settled down into the living room, taking up every seat, dining table chair, and spare cushion. Uncle George and Pastor Meadows began planning the week ahead, arranging meetings. They even included Uncle Fred, Uncle Alan, and Gary in some of their plans. Meanwhile, Aunt Sandra talked with Aunt Tricia, Aunt Jackie, and Linda about ideas for a potluck the following month.
Tripper and Cookie followed the crew into the living room, hoping to get some cake of their own. Tripper sat in the middle of the floor, staring silently at people and drooling, while Cookie was up to her usual antics, climbing up on the couch and snatching any piece of cake left unguarded. While amusing themselves by watching the dogs, Tom and Spencer discussed the possibilities for summer vacation and what they wanted to do before the beginning of their first semesters of college. Drake interjected a few times with adventures from Panama and other countries. Some of his stories interested Spencer, but Tom didn't seem as impressed with his tales. In fact, he seemed unimpressed with Drake in general.
Within half an hour, they all started sharing stories as a group. Gary spoke about his career, while Pastor Meadows spoke about his mission in South America in more detail. He also praised Drake for all the help he'd contributed over the last few months. They learned that the blond man was fluent in five languages—including Portuguese—and he gave them a little demonstration in each.
Spencer could tell that the conversation about Drake was starting to aggravate Tom, but Spencer’s headaches never started up, so the discussion seemed innocent enough.
Drake was sitting on a bench in front of an upright piano against the wall. Oddly enough, not a single member of Spencer's family could actually play the piano; it was a family heirloom from Uncle George's side. Even Sarah, who had taken piano lessons when she was eleven years old, didn't really play. It had become little more than a beautiful piece of furniture, though occasionally it was an extremely loud toy for small, visiting children, before their parents could pull them away.
"Hey, I can play some piano for you all," Drake announced. Lifting up the keyboard cover, he began banging out chords on the piano, and soon everyone surrounded him to listen. Drake was actually an accomplished pianist, and left some of his listeners wondering why he hadn't pursued music as a profession. Some of the songs he played carried religious themes; others were common classics. There was something for everyone's ears, and just about everyone sang along to the lyrics they knew. The melodies were sweet, and Drake's playing was almost mesmerizing.
Aunt Tricia and Linda really started getting into the music and started throwing out requests, all of which Drake was able to reproduce. He even had a great voice when he started adding his vocals to his piano playing. Even when he was speaking, Drake kept rolling out the tunes in pitch-perfect melody. Oddly enough, it looked like Tripper and Cookie were as hypnotized by the music as everyone else. They sat motionless, like two plush toys, side-by-side about ten feet away from Drake, staring at him with their ears pricked, eyes wide open, and mouths shut. Nobody had ever seen those two chowhounds exhibit such a level of obedience before.
Despite all the socializing and story-telling, Spencer never forgot about what had made him so anxious to get home in the first place: the gift. He really hoped it wasn't something minor, and wouldn't be a big disappointment. He'd been briefly sidetracked by visitors, cake, missionary stories, and music, but now his curiosity about the gift returned. He looked at his uncle, who was engaged in conversation with Pastor Meadows, Uncle Fred, and Uncle Alan. Spencer didn't want to be rude, though, and decided to wait for the moment they finished their conversation.
Finally, he saw an opportunity to approach Uncle George. Both Aunt Jackie and Aunt Tricia confessed that it was getting late, and told their husbands it was time to return home for the night. Uncle George and Aunt Sandra saw them out the door while they all said their good-byes. Gary said he had to get up early for work the next morning, so it was time for him and Linda to head home as well. They also had to put Tiffany, who was already fast asleep in her mother's arms, to bed. After everyone else had left, Pastor Meadows acquired directions to the bathroom and disappeared into the hallway.
"Uncle George?" Spencer began. "You told me earlier that you had something for me?"
"Oh, yes. I did," Uncle George responded excitedly. "Come on upstairs to my study and I'll get it for you. Sandra, let Bill know I'm upstairs with Spencer when he gets out of the bathroom, and I'll be down in a little bit."
"Hey, Tom," Spencer called out to get his friend's attention. "I'll be back down soon."
"Do whachya gotta do, man," Tom replied, glancing at Drake. "I'll be waiting down here."
Spencer followed his uncle upstairs and into his study, where he could often be found online or reading. As they entered the room, Uncle George turned the light on, closed the door behind him, and walked over to a painting on the wall behind his desk. Spencer recognized it as the painting that concealed Uncle George's wall safe. The whole notion made him laugh. After watching so many TV shows and movies with safes hidden behind paintings, it just didn't seem very inconspicuous to him at all. Spencer sat down on a small sofa in front of the desk, as if he were sitting down for a meeting with a boss, and waited for his uncle to open the safe. When George finished spinning the dial back and forth, he popped open the two-inch thick reinforced steal door, removed something, then turned and laid a thick manila envelope on the desk. He flicked on the desk lamp, closed the safe, and sat down in his chair behind the desk.
It was clear that the envelope contained something substantial. Uncle George pushed the envelope toward Spencer, looking at him with an unusually solemn expression that seemed unsettling on his normally happy face. The lamplight highlighted and shadowed his face, making him look even more serious, as if he were sitting at a campfire about to tell a ghost story. "Spencer, this is something we were instructed not to give you or even tell you about until you graduated high school," the older man explained. "But this was something your father wanted you to have."
Spencer was shocked. "What? You've been holding onto this envelope for eight years?"
Uncle George sighed. "Yup. You can go ahead and open it now."
Spencer was so surprised that he almost forgot he was even holding the envelope. As soon as he snapped out of it, he looked down and started digging his fingers under the sealed flap. When he finally got the flap completely opened, he held it open with both hands and peered inside. He saw a small box, wrapped in brown paper, and a small white envelope. Holding the bottom of the manila envelope, he upended it and shook the contents out onto Uncle George's desk.
"Well, I'm going to head back downstairs now," Uncle George announced. "This is actually from your father to you, so I'll leave you in private for now. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to see what you're opening or not."
"Oh, I'm sure Dad wouldn't have said no," Spencer guessed, but Uncle George was already on his way out the door.
"Spencer," Uncle George called to him as he went downstairs, "Don't forget you've got Tom waiting for you downstairs, too, okay?"
"I won't be long, Uncle George," Spencer assured him. Or so he expected. His hands trembling, Spencer opened the box first, as it was the more interesting looking of the two items. He ripped off the brown paper, uncovering a small but fancy-looking cardboard pen box. The lid was securely taped down, and Spencer had to find a pair of scissors to finish openi
ng the box. He finally lifted the lid off to reveal a shiny, bronze-colored medallion on a leather thong. It was octagonal, slightly larger than a silver dollar. The most fascinating thing about the amulet was that it had a raised design, almost like a bas-relief, on one side that had no meaning to Spencer. The design didn't create a picture or words; it was just a strange design with squared edges and grooves. The other side of the amulet was flat, inscribed with what appeared to be Chinese pictograms. Spencer didn't know Chinese, let alone read Chinese characters, but he did recognize the writing as such. It was obviously meant to be worn as a necklace; the thong was long enough to leave the medallion dangling below his throat.
Though he had no idea what it was or what it meant, Spencer thought the amulet was pretty cool looking. Maybe he could find someone who could translate the writing for him, just for kicks.
After marveling at his new piece of jewelry, Spencer's curiosity turned to confusion about his father's reason for leaving him such a gift. It reminded him of the kinds of artifacts and cultural items he might have found around his family's house when he was young. Spencer had never even showed an interest in jewelry or Chinese artifacts, so what was the point? In addition to the meaning of the gift itself, why was it so important that he receive it only after graduating from high school?
Spencer held his new necklace up in the light with both hands, and then hung it around his neck. He looked in a full-body mirror off to the side of his uncle's desk to check out how his new accessory looked with the rest of his wardrobe. It was pretty novel, and might even make a good conversation piece to score some points with the ladies; but, Spencer wasn't much of a jewelry guy.
Spencer looked down at the flat white envelope, wondering if the contents would make any more sense to him than his new medallion. The envelope had a slight tint of yellow, due to its age, but for the most part it had kept pretty well in the larger manila envelope in Uncle George's safe for the past eight years. Spencer started digging at the sealed flap like he had before, but with much more ease this time. Inside, to his further bemusement, he found a business card for a Chinese restaurant located in Chinatown in New York City. Accompanying the business card was a brief letter, written in his father's handwriting. Spencer recognized it, even after all this time, because he had periodically seen it written on other documents and had read other letters his father had written.
This was the first time, however, that he had read anything that his father had written directly to him, and his vision blurred; for a brief moment, as he almost felt reunited with his father, Jason Callaghan. He couldn't keep his eyes from continuing to water as he read, and despite his earlier words to his uncle, he was glad that no one was around to see him tear up. The letter proved to be a series of instructions:
Dear Spencer,
If you are reading this letter, then it means something unforeseen has happened to your mother and me, and we could not be with you anymore. On the lighter side, it also means you've graduated from high school, and for that I couldn't be prouder of you. Congratulations. I've held your hand since the beginning and watched you grow, but you've grown up so fast in the short time we were together.
Clearly you've been strong enough to make your way through school without us, but what I'm about to ask of you is going to challenge you. If you follow my instructions, a lot is going to change for you, but you have to keep faith. There will be people to help you along the path, to guide you, to protect you, and, most importantly, to teach you. You must pay close attention to what you're about to read and do everything under heaven and earth to fulfill it.
As soon as possible, you must make a trip to New York City and find a certain restaurant in Chinatown. The address is on the business card I've included with this letter. Do NOT call ahead to notify them of your visit. On the back of the card there are three names. When you get to the restaurant, ask to speak with at least one of them. That is all I can explain to you for now. Bring the amulet with you.
Remember, Spencer, you can accomplish anything, as long as you envision it in your mind first and never allow your focus to veer away from it. Your mother and I love you very much, and we're very proud of you.
Dad
It took Spencer a few more moments before he snapped out of the emotional turmoil caused by the letter, remembering the company waiting downstairs. He wiped the tears from his eyes and pocketed the note from his father after folding it back into the little white envelope. Spencer pondered the directions that were laid out for him, once he came to his senses and was able to turn off the emotions. At first, he really wasn't sure if it was a venture worth pursuing. Spencer loved his father, but the man had been dead for eight years. He also wondered how serious these instructions were. The possibility of this letter from his father being an elaborate joke crossed his mind, but if it wasn't written by his father, then it was the single most authentic forgery Spencer had ever seen—from his father's handwriting, right down to his manner of wording.
After thinking about it, Spencer concluded that the message was authentic, and decided he would go through with it. Before returning downstairs, though, he was going to visit the bathroom to regain his composure after this overwhelming moment. He placed the small box that had contained the amulet back into the manila envelope, and brought it with him as he headed toward the door.
As Spencer pulled the door open, he was startled by Drake, who was standing alone directly in front of the door. A look of surprise came over Drake's face, and it appeared as though he was stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh, just looking for the bathroom," Drake said hesitantly.
"First door on the right," Spencer replied with a twinge of suspicion. Given that the bathroom was the very first door at the top of the stairs, Spencer thought it unlikely that Drake would have passed right by it without seeing it. Was he snooping? Then again, maybe the door was closed; all the doors in the house looked the same from the outside. Spencer also thought it strange that Drake was unaccompanied in the upstairs hallway, but then again, Pastor Meadows was in the downstairs bathroom when he and Uncle George walked upstairs to the study.
When Spencer entered the living room, he found everyone waiting except for Drake, who was still upstairs. "All right everyone, I'm back now. The party may go on," Spencer announced. "Sorry for being upstairs so long."
Everyone turned and looked up at him for a moment, and of course the dogs immediately ran over and started jumping up on him. He was never going to break them of that habit. Tom looked relieved, because his boredom was obviously starting to kick in; the cellphone generation wasn't good at being with the stodgy older generations. "Oh, you weren't gone that long," he lied cheerfully. "I was enjoying learning about church finances from Pastor Meadows here."
The pastor winked at him, forgiving him the lie. Tom shot him a cocky smile while getting to his feet, as if the party was about to get wild. Then his eyes focused on Spencer's chest as he stared with curiosity at the medallion—what Spencer's dad had referred to as an "amulet" in his letter. "Is that the surprise you got upstairs?" Thomas asked under his breath, gesturing to the amulet.
"Oh, this?" responded Spencer, pulling the medallion away from his body. "Yeah, this was the gift that couldn't be given to me until I graduated, for some reason. I don't know what it's supposed to be, but it's cool, right?"
Tom peered at the amulet even more closely, studying it with a kind of scrutiny that Spencer had never seen in him before. "Until you graduated?" Tom marveled.
"That's right," Spencer reconfirmed. "Uncle George just told me today that he was holding onto something he couldn't give to me until I graduated, and here it is. I don't know why this had to wait 'til now."
Tom nodded thoughtfully, and glanced at the pastor and Uncle George, who were now talking money. "Hey, you want to go sit outside for a little bit?"
"Yeah, we can step outside for a while." As they began walking out of the living room toward the corridor, Aunt Sandra called, "Spencer, hon, what's that you're wearing? I
s that the gift you got from your dad?"
Startled by the sudden question, Spencer stopped and turned toward his aunt. "Yes ma'am, I guess this was what was waiting for me to graduate," Spencer said, with a slightly sardonic smile. He removed it from around his neck and handed it to her. She looked at the obverse side, with its odd grooves, and then turned it over, revealing the Chinese symbols. As she moved the medallion around, it shimmered like bright gold in the lamplight. Aunt Sandra, Uncle George, and Pastor Meadows all gawked at the piece of jewelry. "What is this, Japanese?" Aunt Sandra inquired as she glanced at the reverse.
"I think it's Chinese." Spencer answered. "They use a lot of the same characters as the Japanese, but in a different way. I can't read it, of course, but I remember my mom teaching me some Japanese characters when I was little, and these characters look a little different. Kind of reminds me of the artifacts that Dad used to have around the house. Anyway, it looks cool. I'm probably going to have to find somebody who can translate it for me."
"Where are you going to find someone to do that?" asked Pastor Meadows.
"Well, when I start at IFCU, I could find a Chinese instructor from the Linguistics Department, or maybe take a ride into Chinatown in the city," Spencer said. "I'm sure I could find someone there to look at it." There was already so much curiosity about his amulet that Spencer figured he should have started wearing it under his clothes from the beginning. He didn't tell anyone about the letter from his father. The instructions therein presented themselves as a message that wasn't meant for public knowledge, and that included friends and family. Given that fact, Spencer figured the amulet also had a greater significance that he himself didn't yet understand. Whatever the inscription said, was probably supposed to remain a secret as well.
