The Mysterious Suitcase

So the day had finally dawned; at long last Janice would be able to unlock the suitcase and discover just what this hideous green striped monstrosity contained.

On the very top was a huge surprise! A long blonde curly wig which reminded her of Brian’s obsession with Dolly Parton. Next came a beautiful gold dress studded with sequins and rhinestones, carefully folded in tissue paper to preserve its beauty. Finally a pair of white four inch heeled mules. It seemed Brian’s fantasy woman was dressing for a special night out. Beneath these was a pink shiny photo album. Janice let out a gasp as she turned its pages.

Revealed here was Brian’s secret life. Brian and his lifelong friend Eric appearing in a variety of female outfits! The last one being a photo of the pair in ball gowns. Brian’s was a stunning turquoise blue with matching evening gloves and what appeared to be a feathered fascinator over the ridiculous blonde hairpiece; Eric’s a rather fetching apricot number with white gloves and some kind of tiara masking his bald spot.

Rather sadly, there was no photo of Brian in his “Dolly” dress, perhaps his sudden heart attack had robbed him of the chance to finally realise his dream of impersonating the lady who Janice now believed was the true love of his life.

The Suitcase

She thought it was probably a bad idea as she knelt to retrieve the boxes from under the bed, she felt apprehensive, curious and yes, even a little afraid. Her beloved grandma Alice had left this house, probably for the last time, a few days ago imploring her and only her, to sort everything out, to go through her things, to put her affairs and belongings in order.

Unable to start in the main bedroom that Alice had so recently vacated, that was still too private and personal, Eleanor had made her beginning in the spare bedroom. She wasn’t sure who had last inhabited this space, her grandma had lived alone for many years now and the room felt stale and sad as if someone had walked away from it many years ago and now nobody cared. Beneath the drooping mattress of the single bed, Eleanor pulled a Kelloggs cardboard box, old and a little battered, a blue carrier bag and then there, tucked up towards the pillow end nestled a dusty brown suitcase. She could see the metal locks and the handle of it; they rattled as her fingers sought purchase, as she slowly drew the case out into the bright light of the day.

Eleanor was most intrigued by the old suitcase, she had seen the laced uppers of the shoes in the bag and had felt clothes stuffed tightly in the box, but what was it about an old and closed container of any kind that just piqued your curiosity. Lying down on the carpet and stretching her left arm out she touched then grasped the metal handle. A couple of minutes later she was positioning herself and the suitcase on the saggy bed, and with nervous fingers she fiddled with the locks until something clicked. Her thoughts were whirling – could there be money, a stash of old notes no longer in tender, or a pile of black and white photographs of unnamed relatives?

With breath-holding trepidation she lifted the dusty cardboard lid and prepared herself. What she saw surprised her – no pile of money, but there were photographs, just a few, a bundle of letters and there to one side, a photo frame displaying a lock of dark hair. The frame was a pattern of stars and stripes – American? Who do these belong to or relate to? Had grandma had an American boyfriend, or was this about grandpa? Had they even been to America? Touching the objects with great reverence Eleanor lay them out on the bed cover, a small pile of neatly penned letters which did indeed have American stamps on them, three or four photographs mostly showing a baby and then that frame with the hair. She simply sat and stared. At the very bottom of the suitcase Eleanor touched fabric, folded neatly and off white in colour, what was this she asked herself? As she lifted it the folds opened and spread, it was a kind of uniform, a naval uniform, white serge suit trimmed with blue.

The mystery of the case and its contents were starting to become clearer now, this was someone’s box of memories – her grandpa’s? He’d been in the navy. He had gone to America in the war, to help crew a ship being leased from the American Government. The ship had not been ready, and it was necessary for him to spend a few months there, sightseeing and having fun. Eleanor let her mind wander through the possibilities of this collection of memorabilia, what did it all mean? Her thoughts were whirling around, two and two were definitely adding up to five, she thought she needed to know the truth, so she settled herself down to read the first of the bunch of letters.

The lost suitcase

Felix and Patsy Drew were a newly married couple on their honeymoon in Newfoundland, Canada. The month was late July and towards the end of their romantic fortnight, they decided to take a walk by Shallow Bay in Cow Head, a sandy beach by warm and calm waters.

Surprisingly, there were only a few people on the beach, it was a very peaceful setting and the blue sky and the sun were the perfect retreat for the couple. They approached the water, ready to walk barefoot along the coast when they noticed a dark brown object partly buried in the sand. What could it be?

Felix cautiously approached the object, leaving Patsy to paddle by the water’s edge. She then noticed that Felix had picked up the object and was carrying it towards her. After placing it on the sand they both sat down and inspected it carefully. Yes, just as they thought, it was wooden, a bit battered and scratched and looked quite old and generally damaged by the natural elements. It even had some teeth marks on one side, possibly caused by a fish.

In order to satisfy their curiosity, both agreed to open it. The clasps were surprisingly easy to open, they looked inside and Patsy put her cardigan on the sand and placed the two items carefully on it.

There was a card, with writing still legible. It read: December 30 th Happy birthday dearest Ellen, with love from your mam and Timothy and James. Maybe one day you will be able to give hugs and kisses to Margaret, John and Catherine.

Patsy placed the second item on her cardigan. It looked like a notebook although some of the pages were well worn and some writing was not very clear. She carefully turned to the last few pages.

January in Lisrobin, County Cork.
I’m sick and tired working such long hours on our farm. So little money and so many bills to pay. But I’ve saved 10 shillings and with the other money saved from last year, including 2 shillings for my birthday, I now have five pounds and 14 shillings. Goodness knows what mam would say if she found out.
February
Hard work from five in the morning until seven at night. Three cows to milk, hens to feed, eggs to collect, market day means we take the eggs and the butter I churned to sell. End of the month and I’ve saved one pound and 2 shillings. Altogether six pounds and 16 shillings.
March
My hands are rough and worn. More eggs to collect, now it’s four cows to milk, butter to churn, James just moans at me, says I’m lazy, I can’t wait to get away from him and join the others in New York. Mind you, I feel a bit sad to leave Mam behind. But I’ve managed to save one pound and 3 shillings. That means I’ve got enough for a third class, costing seven pounds, 16 shillings and 7 pence. Easter will soon be here, I’m counting the days.
April
Good Friday on the fifth, Stations of the Cross in church, confession, (do I have to confess my sin of hiding the money I’ve saved?), Easter Saturday, baking bread and cakes, then church at night, then Easter Sunday on the seventh, off to church again, well at least I’m
resting and daydreaming.
Thursday April 11 th 1912, my dream come true day, from Cork Harbour, goodbyes to mam, lads working on the farm, maybe they will get married soon so their wives can help mam and do my jobs. Good luck to them all. I can’t wait to go. Mam was at first angry when I told her about the money but then smiled and hugged me and wished me all the best. Said she wished she could come too, she missed the others in New York. Goodbye, diary for now, I’m too excited to write. My destination, 205 Eighth Avenue, New York. Ellen Shine, your adventure begins.

Felix and Patsy gasped in excitement as they both came to the same conclusion. One year later and in their new home and the wooden suitcase, but without its contents, they looked at their three month old sleeping baby girl whom they named Ellen and hugged each other. They knew that they had done their best to trace the owner of the suitcase. Sadly, they were just too late by a few years. Ellen Shine, who was born in December 1891 had died in 1993 aged 101. They traced her relatives through the address in the notebook, made contact with Ellen’s family and sent the two items to them. Her family was so grateful to get the two precious items and said that Felix and Patsy could keep the suitcase. This suitcase now stands proudly in their hallway and is surrounded by posters and paintings of the famous doomed passenger liner.

Inside the suitcase

When my friend Terry died I was really upset. It was quite a blow. We had known each other since we were at school together.

He didn't have many possessions. He certainly wasn't a hoarder . His death did upset me - even though we'd not seen one another for years  - Oh 20 years or more. We'd still exchanged Christmas and birthday cards. We'd just not met up for one reason or another.

After a while I received a letter. It was from his solicitor informing me that Terry had left me a ticket for a left luggage locker and a small key.

Of course I was curious but even so it was about a month before I got round to see what was in the locker. A suitcase. A small suitcase. I took it home to investigate. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the contents. Inside were dozens of letters. Letters from my wife!

They had been corresponding for years. Right back to the time when we were first married. They weren't love letters - just letters showing evidence of a deep and sincere friendship. I will never really know much about their relationship as Jennifer died last year.