A Paralee & Caroline Adventure

The Secret to a Good Marriage

Hinged.Press Writing Prompt: Tambourine

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“I can’t understand how you could live with them for fifty-three years and not see, or hear a thing. That’s just crazy, Paralee.”

Paralee squirmed in her seat and stabbed her Jello with the spoon she was holding in the air.

“I wouldn’t say that. Unusual maybe, but crazy? Bah! And you best mind your tongue, missy,” Paralee sniffed. “Plenty of married couples keep little secrets from each other in the name of peace. You ought to know that. Besides, they weren’t mine to snoop at.”

Caroline knew something was up because Paralee only took to sassing you when she was hiding something, or trying to fend you off before you got too close to a sore spot. She leaned in.

“But this is kinda different. How do you ignore a collection of 47 tambourines? Surely, Carl shook them, looked at them, admired his collection from time to time? You just had to hear them, Paralee.”

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you, but I didn’t,” Paralee shrugged. “The boxes, marked with a capital ‘T’ moved with us wherever we went; always reappearing neatly stacked in a corner of the new basement. Not a single jingle escaped them.”

“Wow. They musta been packed real good,” Caroline said.

“Can’t say. My niece found them and opened the boxes after she moved me in here. She took care of the entire estate sale. She did give me an inventory of what was sold. There was no mention of the tambourines.”

“You didn’t get a peek at anything?” Caroline seemed indignant.

“Nope. But what’s the difference? I don’t need a thing while I’m in here… waiting to die.” She said the last part under her breath, because Caroline hated it when she stated the obvious. “Truth is, material crap doesn’t mean what it used to. It’s the secret that bothers me.”

“But you just said married folks need their secrets, Paralee.”

“I know what I said. But you can know a thing is true, and still not cotton to it. Kind of like all those folks out there who know their guy lost the big election, but they choose to believe he was cheated out of it. Ironic, really, since he’s the King of Cheats”

“I’m sorry Paralee, but this is weirdly mysterious. Why did Carl keep them boxed up and drag them around all those years? Didn’t you want to know?”

“I reckon I knew already, just never asked him. There was a woman before me. A dancer and singer. He only mentioned her once when we first met. She’d been murdered while they were engaged and he was overseas. I can only assume the tambourines belonged to her. I think Carl kept them because it was all he had of her and he didn’t want to forget. I know he loved me and does still. I was never jealous and never once did I pry open the boxes. I know too, Carl appreciated my discretion. It was an act of love and respect, Caroline. Tambourines and my curiosity be damned.”

“Well, if they weren’t on the estate sale inventory, what did your niece do with them? Did she tell you?” Caroline wouldn’t let it go.

Paralee looked wistfully at her uneaten lunch as if it had been served to her by a five star chef and said, “Well, they’re here. I asked her to donate them to the Wilting Willows’ Music Therapy program. Anonymously, mind you. I thought it might help to finally hear them jingle-jangle, and this way I still get to have a little piece of Carl close to me, however thin the thread be.”

“Who knows? I might hate the sound and throw every stinkin’ one of ’em out the back door,” Paralee groused.

Caroline was already making plans to squirrel away at least one of the tambourines if Paralee decided they had to go. She made a mental note to sit far away from Paralee during music time, because she knew she wouldn’t be able to resist full participation with tambourine in hand. Hell, she might even grab two!

“Well Paralee, I think it’s gonna be just fine, don’t you? Caroline grinned at her best friend and spooned a fork full of macaroni into her toothless maw.

Thanks for reading!! This is my first story in quite awhile. I’m working my way back after taking leave to care for my father who died the end of 2021. I truly appreciate your support! ❤️

If you’d like to read more from the Cotton Top Mob @ Wilmington Willows click below.

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There’s more where these came from! 😁 Just search for Paralee and Caroline.

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