Train Wreck

thirty eight

Remington POV

The boxes were lighter than I remembered.

It makes sense.  The last time I moved any of these, I was sixteen.

Reese had only been gone for a few weeks when Dad decided to sell the house and move.  Mom left and it was only a couple days later.

We were in auto pilot at the time, just barely surviving.

I remember shoving books from childhood like my old Goosebumps mysteries and comic books in one box.  Another held trophies, ribbons, and awards both Reese and I had won at school and Little League.

There were dozens, piled high and covered in dust and cobwebs. I tucked the flashlight next to my neck and tilted my head to it was held between my ear and shoulder.

"Reese..." my voice breathed while wiping dust off another Rubbermaid container with his name marked in black Sharpie.  I shut my eyes and exhaled but a cloud of dust puffed around my head space, causing me to cough and sputter.

"You okay up there, Remington??!"  Kenny shouted from the office below.

I laughed through my distress and finally answered, "Yeah, just breathed a ton of dust!"

"Don't do that, idiot!"  Dad hollered.

I chuckled and shook my head, turning back to the task at hand.

Dad's attic was never used. I remember him these boxes getting shoved away when he moved here but was not exactly positive about what he kept besides a few that held my old belongings. 

All I knew was what he told me. "If you grab the boxes, you and Benji can go through them and decide what to do with everything."

Kenny was at the house to help Dad and offered to give me a hand so I didn't have to wait for Jesse.  He suggested sliding any boxes to the entry opening so he could lift and carry them down the ladder.  This would prevent me from doing any lifting but at least I could still help.

The goal was to empty this entire crawl space. Dad wanted everything out so we could start going through everything with Benji between today and tomorrow when he was visiting.

It took over two hours to retrieve seven large Rubbermaid totes and dozens of boxes from the crawl space attic above Dad's office, knocking dirt and debris down into the room while I was in the process of bringing things down. I expected most would contain photographs and random heirlooms or books that Dad stored away but curiosity was making me excited for Alice and Benji's arrival a bit later in the day.

"Thank you for all your help, boys..." Dad's eyes roamed all the boxes with amazement, "I forgot how much was tucked away up there!"

I chuckled, wiping cobwebs from my face with a towel, "Let me take a shower a minute and then I'll get the room cleaned up so all the dirt and cobwebs are gone. We can start digging a bit later when Lissy and Benji arrive, right?"

"That sounds perfect, Remi." Dad let out a yawn, "I think I need to get some rest, though."

Kenny smiled and moved behind his chair, "Let me help you get cleaned up and then get you in bed with a snack. It's time for meds anyway so you can get a nap in before they arrive for your cookout and sleepover with Benji."

I patted Kenny on the shoulder while they left the room and took a long drink of water, staring at the boxes.

Curiosity got the better of me and I opened one of the totes labeled with Reese's name and had to stifle laughter at the sight.

Baseball cards.

Flashes of memories came pouring back into my mind.

Reese and I would collect them and kept each in special plastic holders so they stayed in mint condition. Dad always said some would be worth a lot of money one day. I rifled around a moment, sharp corners of those holders a familiar feeling on my skin while I saw names and stats for players I remember discussing with my brother in the hours we spent laying on the grass after swimming. We would have long talks about the ideal fantasy baseball team during our long evening family bonfires under the stars.