Stacked High

Peggy’s Prompt “stacked high” 01/08/10


She shoved another box on top of the one she had just stacked high about the concrete floor of the garage. Why was she keeping all this stuff, she asked herself, leftovers and mementos and presents accumulated over the fifteen years of marriage before Daniel’s death. It had never occurred to her that Daniel could die, just as it never occurred to her that she would re-marry within two years. Marry a man with 1 house (large), 2 boats (one sailboat, one powerboat), 3 automobiles (if you count the work truck) and 4 children (all grown). So she didn’t need her mismatched dishes, her second-hand coats and jackets, her beat-up pots and pans. But somehow it seemed disrespectful to Daniel to just throw them all away or leave them for Goodwill to pick up. Maybe in time she could part with them. Meanwhile, they’d be safe and secure out here in the three-car garage, stacked high off the floor in case of flooding. And no one would ever think to question what they held. But she’d know, and if she ever needed them again, well, she’d know right where to go.