Jane’s grandparents coexisted peacefully for nearly 63 years grace and frank have been friends since they were children they married when they reached 18 because grace became pregnant frank nelson died about 10 years ago leaving the inconsolable widow with their home where they reared two children and shared a long life mrs nelson refused to sell the house and
Move in with her grandkids when her husband died promising her a tranquil life surrounded by care and comfort grace however turned out to be a bit of a dinosaur even though she was lonely she preferred the comfort of her own house than a change of environment mrs nelson’s three grandkids took turns coming over to help with the housekeeping and the lovely jane stood out among them
She decided to pay a visit to her grandmother on a gorgeous summer day mrs nelson was overjoyed to see her cherished granddaughter jane standing in front of the house jane had a special place in the old woman’s heart and she loved her a little more than the rest of her grandchildren it was possibly because jane worked really hard and was unrivaled in the housekeeping department mrs nelson wiped away her tears as she
Remembered when she was a child and looked at her grandma jane hurriedly straightened up the house and washed the floors after giving her grandmother a big embrace then bustled about in the kitchen mrs nelson who was in the living room would periodically exchange a few words with her it wasn’t as hot there thanks to the functional air conditioning the chat seemed lively at start however after approximately a half an hour the
Elderly lady fell silent jane also overheard gentle sobs from the living room jane went to check on her grandmother without even taking off her apron after hearing this to avoid startling her grandmother she carefully opened the door jane was taken aback when she saw that the elderly woman grieving over a photograph of her late spouse mrs nelson still ignorant to her granddaughter’s
Presence spoke softly frankie why did you have to leave me here all alone darling for so many years we’ve lived in perfect harmony and now i’m all by myself i’m unwell and i don’t have the money to get better i’m not grumbling but frankie i can’t leave the house without feeling trapped within its confines but i don’t have the energy to keep it going i just asked for one thing that you take me as quickly as possible to
Wherever you are if you don’t want me to accompany you at least make a sign tell me what i’m supposed to do jane’s eyes welled up with tears as she heard her grandmother’s heartbreak she gathered herself though and proceeded into the living room pretending not to have heard anything grandmother what’s the problem dear do you have a sour mood the granddaughter inquired further
Stroking the woman’s bowed skinny back with care there’s no love i’m okay i was thinking about frank the other day and it made me sad mrs nelson said hesitantly attempting to make her remarks sound credible jane on the other hand was a sharp young lady and wasn’t easily fooled so the next day mrs nelson’s caring granddaughter called her relatives and described the situation demonstrating that she could no longer
Live alone jane approached her manager because she was the only one of the grandchildren who could work remotely and he agreed to allow her to work from home the majority of the time reporting to the office only twice a week the young woman was meant to complete the most of her work from home jane moved into mrs nelson’s house a few days later delighted with this fantastic answer to their difficulty
Well grandma now we’re going to live together so you won’t be unhappy or lonely anymore the granddaughter exclaimed cheerfully as she hugged the frail elderly lady mrs nelson couldn’t believe what she was seeing and came out laughing i’m grateful for the lord’s assistance both jane and her grandma were overcome with emotion on the day she moved in with her grandmother they were overjoyed to be able to live together mrs nelson
Couldn’t seem to quit smiling which made jane’s heart skip a beat then later that evening while the two women were enjoying tea in the kitchen jane summoned the confidence to approach her grandmother about something she’d overheard her saying in the living room a few days before mrs nelson’s face darkened immediately and wrinkles appeared on her forehead bought with a mournful sigh the woman gathered her shrink and said
Of yes jane your grandfather and i married at the age of 18 and lived together for the rest of our lives despite the fact that we’ve known each other for a long time i still feel as if i didn’t know him at all frank never handed me any of his money despite the fact that he brought home a lot of money every week he most likely spent it or hid it elsewhere frank never once mentioned his job over his entire life he certainly kept a lot of
Information from me and there’s the chance she’ll be joined by another woman jane who’d been listening intently to the elderly lady blushed and averted her gaze her grandparents family had always been exceptional in her eyes as a result she didn’t want to be told that it wasn’t great after all mrs nelson in the meantime took a sip of her usual beverage and continued as you can see dear for the past 10 years frank has
Been dead however i’m still unfamiliar with his work furthermore i have no idea who his friends or coworkers were the only thing i know for certain is that frank spent a lot of time in the garage which is now where his belongings are kept i consider going there from time to time but i always stop myself i’m afraid of what kind of truth i’ll discover there do you want to go through grandfather’s belongings with me grandma i believe
It’s preferable to discover the truth once and for all rather of allowing your mind to go three come up with horrible situations jane exclaimed grasping the elder lady’s hand and hers mrs nelson on the other hand was steadfast in her unwillingness to look through her late husband’s belongings much to jane’s surprise her statement sounded astonishingly assured and incisive
Jane shrugged unsure of what to say the young woman had plainly realized that her grandparents home life was not as idyllic as she had assumed jane couldn’t get these thoughts out of her head for the rest of the night mrs nelson entered her room just as she was preparing to go to bed the elderly woman struggled to find the appropriate words but she begged her granddaughter to forgive her for their somewhat tense chat and offered to go to frank’s garage
And check what he had there jane accepted her grandmother’s proposition despite the fact that it was already dark outside the women finally went inside after some trouble opening the rusted gate latch the table with many of her grandfather’s instruments covered in dust and cobwebs was the first thing jane noticed after the stifling stagnant air of a room that hadn’t been ventilated in a long time the girl sighed with regret
After exchanging eyes with mrs nelson and was ready to return into the home when she noticed a large metal cabinet standing in the corner the door was slammed shut they might not have been able to open it if mrs nelson had decided not to save a set of keys belonging to her late husband there were piles of neatly wrapped files with documents within the secure fireproof cabinet jane noticed an old damaged suitcase at
The bottom of this makeshift safe when she looked closer mrs nelson seemed unconcerned by the documents but the contents of the luggage seemed to peak her attention jane brought the luggage into the house to satisfy her grandmother’s interest and allow them to inspect its contents in a more comfortable setting the bag also contained a number of old letters written by frank nelson to his wife which she had never sent out for
Whatever reason frank expressed his affection for his wife and expressed regret for not being able to spend more time with her and their family in those letters in reality there was something in frank nelson’s letters that he couldn’t tell his wife during their years together the last letter in which mr nelson revealed the truth about his profession was the most terrifying and revealing the letter was written in miniscule
Handwriting and read as follows please forgive me for everything grace because i’ve been working for the cia for many years i’ve been keeping the truth from you of course you couldn’t possibly have known however many years ago i was appointed head of a top secret department that had direct communication with the country’s top executives i was doomed to live my life in deception pretending to be someone else because i had to sign a non-disclosure agreement
And all the information i was dealing with was classified grace i hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for my forced lies because that isn’t even the most important part for special operations i was highly compensated but because i couldn’t explain where the big sums of money came from i hid them and used them to buy jewelry for you the luggage you’re carrying now has a hidden compartment in
The bottom you locate the jewelry if you cut through the lining but don’t get too thrilled just yet this is only a portion of what i’ve set aside the second hiding spot is near the entryway in the wall there’s a secret entrance hidden behind a layer of plaster behind the painting that’s hanging on it this suitcase’s key is hidden at the bottom i’m confident that the earnings from the sale of this jewelry will bring you joy especially after all my dishonesty you now have
Complete knowledge please accept my apologies also don’t be enraged i’m in love with you frank it’s you jane and mrs nelson began crying without saying anything after reading the letter when the grandmother and granddaughter regained their composure they followed frank nelson’s directions which turned out to be those of a cia agent the women discovered 12 pieces of jewelry worth a lot of money at the bottom the biggest surprise though was waiting
For them in the wall-mounted safe it was brimming with gold bars quickly transforming mrs nelson into a billionaire jane’s grandmother felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders after discovering what she did in the garage grace nelson eventually opted to sell her home and move in with her granddaughter with whom she had shared a portion of her grandfather’s estate the old woman weeps at night recalling the
Years when she was content in her ignorance and had no idea who her husband was who was able to support her after he died mrs nelson begs frank to forgive her for fearing that her late husband had an affair instead of simply trusting the love of her life every time she looks at his portrait but the most important thing for the elderly lady was that she still loved her late husband deep down in her heart
And she was relieved to find that the years they spent together mattered as much to him as they did to her thanks for reading.