Page 42 of Save the Drama for your Mama
Cooper raised his eyebrows. “Are you going to tell me how you know that?”
I held the key next to the picture on my phone. “My friend Abigail has a safe deposit box there. This is a photo of her key. Perfect match. Let’s go.”
“What?” he said. “It’s the middle of the work day.”
“Exactly!” I said. “Time for your lunch break, right? We can stop and get one of your Peachy Moo smoothies after we finish up at the bank.”
I could see the temptation flickering in Cooper’s gooey-rich chocolate eyes.
“You know you want to,” I said. “Moooooove it, mister!”
“You’re a bad influence,” he said.
“I prefer the term inspirational catalyst, which can get you out of your comfort zone, which can be good. We’ll call it even,” I said.
“That makes no sense.”
I placed my hands on my hips. “Eating is a basic human need. I’m helping you, actually. Maybe this will inspire you, and then you’ll come back and hit your writing goal.”
Surprisingly, Cooper agreed, then went to grab the documents he would need to prove the security box was now under his ownership.
We walked down the street toward the bank, passing a homeless man sitting on the bus stop bench. I was checking a notification on my phone when out of the corner of my eye I saw Cooper pull out his wallet and hand the man a ten-dollar bill. He quickly slipped the wallet back in his pocket, like it had never happened. I pretended to be absorbed in my phone, but I was very touched by his act of quiet generosity when he thought I wasn’t looking.
Mr. Crankypants has a heart, after all.
Ten minutes later, we walked inside the bank and approached the first desk.
A woman greeted us with a smile. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, please . . . we’d like access to my mother’s safe deposit box,” Cooper told the clerk, sliding over the key, his ID, his mother’s death certificate, and paperwork showing his power of attorney and his heir status. “The ownership has been transferred to me.”
The clerk reviewed the documents, then said, “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” Cooper said.
“I was a big fan of your mom. Still am.” She opened her desk drawer and pulled out a paperback of hers. “I just started this one. I’ve read all the others.”
Cooper nodded and gestured to the book with a proud smile on his face. “You saved the best for last. That one’s my favorite.”
After the woman verified that the documents were legit and Cooper signed a couple of forms, she led us back to the enormous vault and used his key along with her own to unlock the holding place. She pulled the box out and handed it to him.
“We have a place where you can go through the things at your leisure, if you’d like to follow me,” the clerk said, leading us back out of the vault and to a private room with a desk and two chairs inside. “Take your time.”
“Thank you,” Cooper said.
After she closed the door behind her, we sat next to each other at the table with the box in front of Cooper.
“Do you know what’s inside?” I asked, bubbling with curiosity.
Cooper shook his head, his hand on the safe deposit box. “I had no idea this even existed until we found the key. It wasn’t listed on any of my mom’s documents.”
“Why do you think she would hide the key?” I asked.
“There’s only one reason to hide anything,” Cooper said.
I nodded. “Because you don’t want anyone to find it.” I tapped the top of the box. “Which begs the question, what was she hiding in the box that she didn’t want anyone to find?” I could barely contain my excitement.
“I guess we’re about to find out,” Cooper said.
