Page 54 of Little Paper Games
“Well, then it’s a good thing we’re both stuck here for God knows how long. Now lead the way.”
With a smile and roll of her eyes, we headed off in the direction of the mystery boxes. Hopefully a few days of distraction from the mess that this world, and our lives, were in.
Chapter 16
JUDE
The amount of boxes Kenna still had not unpacked was astounding. I honestly had thought that she’d have a few, maybe up to five boxes left to unpack. In reality, she had an entire room that was half full of unpacked boxes.
“Where did you even get all this stuff?” I asked as both of us sat on the floor unpacking box after box.
“Well, I just didn’t know where to put all of it!” she exclaimed with a laugh. Laughing Kenna was so much better than cranky, bossy, or bitchy Kenna.
“Well, that’s why we are pulling everything out and laying it out on the floor. Then we can see what kind of space we need and what furniture we may need to get,” I explained, unwrapping another figurine from this box of bric-à-brac.
“Why do you have all of this stuff, anyway?” I asked, noting not one, but two piles of separate figurines and novelty items.
“I honestly don’t know what to do with them. They were my grandma’s, and I just don’t have the heart to get rid of them.” She sighed, looking around at the copious amount of them.
“Well, I find that this situation calls for a specific set of questions,” I responded, clapping my hands together and rubbing them back and forth. “First of all, would your grandma be happy that you have them?”
“I suppose so. They mattered to her, so I just couldn’t see them being tossed away or auctioned off.” She picked up one of the figurines, a smile spreading over her face that lit her up like a sunrise in the early morning
“Why were they important to her?” I pressed further, watching and gaging her reaction.
“Whenever I would come visit, I would look over her cabinet, the glass one where she kept them all safe and sound. She’d let me pull this one out every time. She’d wind it up and set it on the table. I’d watch it spin and listen to it over and over.” Her wistful sigh spoke volumes as she spun the little dial at the bottom and set the figurine on the box beside her.
“Do you feel the same way about the rest of these as you do about that one?” I asked as the figurine tinkled out a melody. Clair de Lune, I believe. It was one of my mother’s favorites.
“No, not the same. They were hers so I love them, but this one is something special.” The smile on her face was all I needed to see.
“Then get rid of the rest. Marie Kondo the rest,” I said with a chuckle, pulling a box from the side of the room. It was full of newspaper and would re-wrap each piece nicely.
“Marie what the rest?” she questioned.
“Marie Kondo. You know, only keep what gives you joy. And that one there, Kenna, that gives you serious joy. I’d bet dollars to donuts that your grandma wouldn’t care a lick if you got rid of the rest. She wouldn’t want you keeping every trinket she owned. She’d want you to fill your home with happiness and joy, just like she had.” She looked at me with her jaw dropped, purely silent.
“You’re right,” she whispered.
“Of course, I am.” I shifted out of the way as she threw a wad of balled up newspaper directly at my face.
“You’re also an ass,” she teased, sticking her tongue out at me.
“I do have a fine ass. Thank you for noticing,” I agreed, standing up and mooning her.
“I can’t even argue with that. You have one fine ass, even if it is hairy.” Her giggles were infectious, and I caught myself laughing along with her.
“Men’s asses tend to have hair. It’s just the way of the world. At least I’m not Chewbacca over here.” Body hair didn’t bother me. I wasn’t ashamed of my ass.
“True, but yours is quite nice, if I do say so myself.”
We fell into a comfortable silence, wrapping the figurines back up and placing them in a box. The satisfaction on her face as she wrote DONATION on the top of the box was fantastic.
“Feels good to purge a little, doesn’t it?” I goaded. “Or maybe it just feels good to realize you have a whole room unused up here. Seriously, there wasn’t even that much stuff in these boxes. All easily put away.” I looked around the room, my hands on my hips. The items were all grouped together appropriately.
“It does. I think I could use a few of my shelves, maybe move things around a little and make space for these.” She stood up, dusting off her jeans.
“I am sure we could. Lead the way and let’s take care of it now before we lose momentum. Afterwards, we are couch shopping online.” I wagged my eyebrows at her, and she laughed.
