TRINKETS AND TREASURES
Where’s
my list? Ah, here it is
- Meals in the freezer for The Man
- Book the dog in at the kennel
- The Man’s suit
- My outfit
- Mum’s pearls
They’re in my jewelry box in the
bedroom. Better get them out now and put them with the other things, I'd really not like to
forget them.
Mum’s Mikimoto cultured pearls lie next
to other pieces that belonged to her. I don’t remember now when it was that Dad gave these
treasures to me. Looping the smooth pearls through my fingers, I close my eyes and
I can see them as they lay in their black velvet lined box that sat in the middle drawer
of the built in dressing table in Mum and Dad’s room in Pharazyn Street. I can
only guess at the reason Dad gave them to her. I think it must have been a combination
of Mum’s fortieth birthday, and their twentieth wedding anniversary, though
traditionally pearls are for the 30th anniversary.
I’ve still got lots to do to get me ready for
the five day medics course that starts inCambridge tomorrow, and I have to finish the other packing for the wedding too. Even so, I just can’t close the jewelry
box without taking out and fingering the five small broaches each in turn.
I choose my favorite
first. It’s about five centimetres long and the oldest of the five. Mum told me that when she was just a little
girl she bought it for her mother. So I suppose it must be almost
80 years old. It’s made of a silvery metal imprinted with a pattern that makes it
look like eight wide eyes laying side by side, each with a bright green glass pupil. I
wonder at the fact that this little piece of metaland glass actually survived all these
years.
I’ve always liked the feel of the smooth
surface of the next broach. A diamond shaped piece, of what looks like, clear
plastic it’s almost four centimetres across. Inset across the widest part are
three faded blooms, two yellow roses flanking a central pink one. My memory of
it goes back to when I was about ten years old. It was always kept with the
other four. I just wish I knew its history.
Carefully I lay the next broach in the
palm of my hand. Its oval gold frame not quite three centimetres tall is rimmed
with a loop of twisted gold wire. Inside the frame two tall giraffes stand on
either side of a palm tree, they’re a bit loose and I worry that they’ll fall
out. I used to think they were made of ivory, but the words FRANCE and DEPOSE
are stamped onto the back of the taller giraffe. Dad bought it for Mum, in
Egypt when he served there during World War Two.
I select
the littlest broach next, because it too is a keepsake. Dad gave it to Mum
just before he was shipped overseas
It’s a two centimetre tall brass heart, surrounding what looks like a pearl
button. Mounted on the button is a replica of The Royal Army Ordinance Corps
regimental badge, Dad served with them during World War Two.
Picking up the last one
sets off a raft of memories of old faded photos. The broach is a miniature
ship’s wheel made of brass, about three centimetres across. On it waves a
shipping company flag. Divided into four by a broad red stripe, the flag is
white except for the upper left-hand portion. This quarter is also dived into
four by a red stripe and in each quadrant a red star sits on a blue background.
Underneath the flag is a ship’s name. S.S.Tamaroa It’s the ship that Mum, Dad
and my sister, Nan and Granddad came out to New Zealand on. I just wish I had
time to get out those small photo’s they took on the voyage.
Reluctantly I put the five broaches away
and close the jewelry box lid, then gently curl the pearls into a red velvet
pouch and tuck it securely into the pocket of The Man’s suit; soon they will be
worn at our daughter’s wedding
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