Year by year we all grow a little older and more nostalgic for the good old days. I know for me as I’ve aged in years and there are more and more grays sprinkled in my once lush and now thinning hair, I have come to appreciate the good things in life. What better way to appreciate the good things than to look into the past and where we have all come from. My background and training as a high school history teacher sure has made this a little easier, even so it can be a bitter pill to swallow at the same time.

One of my favorite passed times on weekends is to take little trips with my husband to small towns throughout New England. These little trips let the two of use get away from our day to day lives and a chance to reconnect. A big added incentive is that it also gives us a chance to partake in one of our favorite little guilty pleasures, antiquing. There are some out there that might say that makes us a stereotypical gay couple, so be it. I look at it as they are uneducated in human behavior and ultimately need to get a life if my activities mean so much to them.

It was during one such trip where we ended up having one hell of an adventure. We were staying in the quaint little town in the mountains of Vermont. It was our first time to ever stay in this area, as it turned out our last too. We were staying in this old fashioned inn near the downtown area you could tell had been passed down for years. The rooms weren’t extravagant by any means, they were very homie. As with most of the places we stayed they gave us two separate beds, which we never needed.

Right across the street there was a nice little antique shop. That was our first stop that Saturday morning, we must have spent a couple of hours just looking around and examining some of the items. The owner of the shop was very helpful and knowledgeable about the items throughout the shop. I knew some of the history behind come of the items, he however knew the exact context and who had previously owned the item. While talking with him we found out that he had another larger shop just down the road in a small town that doesn’t even show on the map. We made plans with the owner to go there on Sunday after he returned from church.

For the rest of the day we just wondered town and checked out a couple of other small antique shops and of course the local tourist trap type shops. Every little shop we went into had some of the friendliest people around, of course, that always makes us spend more money, not that it really matters we aren’t hurting and you can’t take it with you.

The next day we went down the road to this other shop, okay it wasn’t just a shop it was a BARN. This had to be the largest antique collection I had ever seen in one place, it easily could be an all-day adventure to explore. It didn’t take too long until an item just seemed to call to me, not on an emotional level but more on a physical level, it’s kind of hard to explain.

What was really weird is that it was a brooch that I was attracted to. It was a beautiful silhouette carved in pure white ivory with a gold and black backing. In all our years of antiquing this was the first time I had even took a second look a piece of jewelry. I was not that much into jewelry to begin with, I of course had a watch, weeding ring and my chain with my cross on it, to me there was no need for anything else. When the owner told us it was the third time that brooch had landed in his case it made it that much more desirable. Apparently several people had died after coming into possession of it since the original family had died off.

My husband Mike found my interest in the item unusual, but, like any good spouse he stood behind my decision to purchase the brooch. Looking back I’m sure he now regrets that decision, I know I sure do.

This was the last time we were happy together. After we got home I refused to let it out of my sight and started to completely ignore him when he was home. I even took it with me to school and anywhere I went in fact. It started to make me jealous of everything he did. I would spend so much time checking up on him that it started to destroy my professional life as well.

In fact it was the wedge between us that ultimately ended our marriage after being together for 25 years. When he left that last day he stated “It’s as if that thing has possessed you, I wish we never went on that trip.” He was right it was like I was possessed by the spirit of the original family. At this rate I am sure I’m going to die lonely and miserable just as every other owner has.

I hope you all enjoyed this short story, if you did please give it a like to let me know. As always if you have any thoughts, comments, or suggestions for future entries please feel free to leave it in the comments below.

Check back next Friday at 1500 or 3 PM for a new original recipe.