A Diamond Key for Cathie
I once read that the most dangerous way to begin a tale is with: Once
Upon a Time…for that phrase holds within itself the promise of
magic and story telling extremely difficult to fulfill. I also read
that fools rush in where angels fear to tread. So…
Once upon a time…there was a lady named Cathie. Perhaps today she
lives only in memory and imagination. Perhaps she is still around
and is the only one left who knows the story behind the watch designed
as a diamond key.
Cathie was surely an elegant lady…if one were to judge her by the
cut of her jewels…An elegant young lady in an elegant house on top
of a hill. Perhaps it was her birthday. Perhaps she was twenty
one…waiting for her guests to arrive at any moment. Her father
would be taking a half a day off from work. He would be the first to
pull into the driveway. The others would soon follow…cousins and
aunts and uncles and friends. Twenty one years of age was a landmark.
She was no longer a child. She would not allow her excitement to
show. She would remain poised…as befitted a woman of her maturity.
Gifts were piled high on the living room table. Lighting from the
chandelier caused a bead of sweat to form above her lip. She tore the
wrapping off of each gift and held it up for the crowd to behold.
They ooh’d at each presentation. They clapped with glee…and each
donor congratulated him or her self on a gift well chosen.
Cathie kept her disappointment hidden. They were nice…each and
every gift…and each and every guest. All were thoughtful. But Willie
and Nellie were absent. And for that she could not help but feel sad.
They would forever be absent in her life…for only last month they had
both drowned in a freakish accident off the pier. They were gone. Of
all the people in her life…they were her favorites.
She had met them two years ago…while walking barefoot along the
docks. They were older…much older than her. They were fishing on the
jetty. They were evidently quite poor. It’s for our dinner, Nellie
had said. And Willie had smiled through graying whiskers and long
scraggly hair. When Nellie hooked a fish…Willie helped her reel it
in. Nellie was fragile. He loves me, Nellie would say. For always and
forever, he would answer. And then they would be silent.
Through the two years since Cathie knew them…she would fish with
them regularly. When they offered her part of their catch…she would
refuse. She didn’t want to take food out of their mouths. Two months
before her birthday she had invited them to her party. You must come,
she said. You must. And as though they knew their fate…they always
responded…we will be there…one way or another.
But that was then and now was now. And Cathie was nearing the end of
her gift opening. There was one more package left. A small thing. No
more than two and a half inches square. No card. No note. She did not
know who had given it to her. She waved it to her friends and family.
Who’s is this, she said. No one responded. She opened it. It was a
diamond key with a watch face. On the front…where the teeth would
have been…her name was spelled out. “Cathie”. She turned it over.
There was an inscription on the back. It said: “to Cathie from
Willie and Nellie.”
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where you will
scroll down the table menu till you get to the box that says
Tidbits…and inside the box where it says Tidbit Graphics…click on
the link that says: Key…where you will see a graphic of
our…Diamond Key Watch.
And there ya have it. That’s it for this week folks. Catch you all next
week. Benjamin Mark
TYLER-ADAM CORP.–Jewelry Manufacturers
Tel: 1-800-20-TYLER
E-Mail to: webmaster@tyler-adam.com