Karen Morton opened the front door and stood in the entryway. Lee followed. The flood of memories was hard to ignore, and it took a few moments before either one had the courage to go further inside.
"I don't even know where to start," said Karen as she entered the living room. When the family came for the memorial service, they had taken a few more personal items, otherwise everything else was exactly the way Chip had left it.
"I guess we start with what you're keeping, and what's going," said Crane.
"They say you're supposed to do this right away. I just - I didn't want to get rid of something and regret it later." Karen paused and wiped away the tears threatening to spill. Her husband Jack had been in the Navy before he went to law school and, every time he was away she, had prepared herself for the knock at the door saying he wasn't coming home. She had thought she was more prepared for the phone call six weeks ago, but as she stared at the home that belonged to her son, she realized just how unprepared she had been.
Lee placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. The lump in his throat prevented him from providing any comforting words. Karen reached up and placed her hand over his and gave it a gentle pat.
"We can do this," she tried to reassure him.
"Where do you want to start?"
Mrs. Morton left out a small sigh as she formulated a game plan in her head. "I'm going to store the furniture, small appliances and dishes at my brother's place. Mackenzie can use them when she goes to UCLA. The clothes I'll pack up and give to Good Will, except for his Navy uniform: I'm not ready to part with that. Any knick-knacks and what not, I'm going to box up in case the boys want something to remember their uncle by when they get older. If there's anything you want, Lee, you can have it. I know Chip would want you to."
Crane nodded his head in understanding. There was only one thing he really wanted: his best friend alive and well.
The pair decided to divide and conquer, with Lee taking the main floor and Mrs. Morton taking the upstairs. The moving truck was delivered shortly after they arrived at the house. Crane spent most of the morning taking empty boxes from the truck to Karen, and then loading the filled boxes. He figured they could have everything loaded by the end of the day, and drive the truck to her brother's tomorrow morning. The few boxes the Captain did manage to pack were full of non-personal items. He just couldn't bring himself to start packing items with sentimental value yet.
Lee's stomach reminded him that the day had progressed to well past lunch time. He went upstairs to see if Karen wanted to go and grab a bite to eat. He found her in Chip's bedroom, a box of Kleenex on one side of her and a stack of framed photos on the other. Crane came in and sat down beside her. The picture in her hand was of two young blonde children in front of a haunted house.
"It's Ashley and Chip at the haunted house at Calaway Park," she said, "Ashley was about seven, making Chip about five. She wanted to go through the haunted house. She insisted she was old enough. We all went through together with Ash in the lead; made it almost to the door without any problems. Ash started running to the exit but it was dark and she didn't see the secret corridor where the staff member was hiding. It was his job to tap people on their way out with this creepy hand. She shrieked and booked it out the door."
Karen gave a faint smile as she told Lee the story. The Captain sat and listened. It felt good to hear stories about happier times.
Mrs. Morton continued, "Chip was so mad that someone would scare his sister. He took her by the hand, calmed her down, and together they went through the house again. Only this time Chip was in the lead. When they got to the spot near the exit, Chip jumped around the corner and nearly gave the employee a heart attack. Chip told him no one picks on his sister. He liked to take care of people."
"Ya, he did."
Instead of going for lunch, the pair remained upstairs and commiserated over the loss each one was enduring. They shared stories about Chip and his different adventures. Karen had many anecdotes to share with the young Captain that his exec had never mentioned before.
For the first time in weeks, Lee actually laughed. It felt good; he hadn't realized how good it would feel to laugh again. His day with Morton's mother had lifted a tremendous weight that had been crushing Crane for the last month and a half. No longer were Lee's thoughts fixated on the tragedy that ended his friend's life, but on the positive contribution that Chip's life had brought to those around him. As he turned off the lights and locked the front door one last time, even though it killed him to do it, Lee could see past the next numbing minute of his life. He could picture what tomorrow might be like.
The next day brought the three-hour journey to Karen's brother's home. Once there, they were able to unload the small moving truck in record time with the help of Karen's brother and her four nephews. With the job done, all that was left was to say good-bye to Mrs. Morton.
Karen had booked her flight home for three days from now and decided to stay and visit with her family. This left Lee to take the truck back to Santa Barbara by himself. The truth was Lee had enjoyed having Karen around; it was like having a piece of Chip around.
As they said their good-byes, Karen gave Lee a crushing hug.
"Thank-you for helping me with this," she whispered in his ear. The Captain nodded slightly, not wanting to disrupt the moment.
"Now I want you to promise me you will come for Thanksgiving. I know that we'd all love to see you." Mrs. Morton pulled Lee back, to look in his eyes as he promised to make the trip out for the holiday. Karen pulled him in tight one last time. "And promise me you will be careful. I buried one son; I don't want to bury another. Promise me you are going to look after yourself."
"I promise," was the simple reply. Crane climbed into the driver's seat and began his journey home.
