Epic Fail or Epic Win, Miracle II

The second miracle occurred during cleanup.
We were about four days in.
The mud had been cleaned up, but the floors, walls and windows and merchandise, were still covered with a layer of smelly slime
We covered our faces with those cloth masks, and plugged on.
Oh yeah, did I mention it was over 100 degrees!

This was the day I was told that the walls of the building had to be cut open up to 5 feet in order to air them out and avoid the dreaded mold.
I don’t know why that hit me so hard, but it did, and I went outside and sat and cried while the sawzall carved up my beautiful little store.
This felt serious…and sad.

Gary came outside and put his arm around me, and we sat silently watching 
the carnage.
When he finally did say something, he asked me if I wanted to go in and box up the things in the bathroom storage closets that hadn’t gotten wet.
Since the walls would be wide open, someone could potentially get inside and 
help themselves to whatever was left behind, so he suggested I go take a look.
I think he also just wanted to keep me busy, so he didn’t have to look at my big, sad, soggy face.

The bathroom was pitch dark, as I poked around in the back closets with a box and a garbage bag, waiting for my eyes to adjust.
It felt weird to me to be salvaging windex, paper towels and toilet cleaner.
It occurred to me I could just leave it for the salvage crew.
I was numb, just going through the motions, trying not to feel too much.

Tucked in the back was a box of Tampons with the top torn off.
All my good customers knew it was there.
I would occasionally bring a handful from home to refill it.
All the women reading this know what I’m talking about.
There were several left in the box, so I tucked them into my pocket,
and tossed the empty box in the garbage bag.
But it wasn’t empty. There was something heavy that was sliding around the bottom of the box as it hurtled toward the trash.

I reached inside and pulled out the expensive watch my husband had given me for our 5th anniversary.
I stood there in the dark, the hair stood up on the back of my neck, and I started to shake, then I started to scream!

That watch had been ” missing” for about 2 years.
My husband had just recently mentioned how disappointed he was that I hadn’t found it yet.
We both knew I wasn’t someone who lost my jewelry.
In my previous life as a jeweler, I had worn the watch a lot.
But since opening the store, it seemed too fancy, and I only took it out of the safe for special occasions. 
I NEVER wore it to the store.
One day I had gone into the safe to get it…and it was gone.

Did I mention I found the watch on September 9th?
Our anniversary is September 9th.
The missing watch had mysteriously appeared after 2 years,
on a sad but significant day, in an impossible place.
It was a sign.
Don’t lose hope.
Miracles occur.
I couldn’t call my husband fast enough.

XoxJanet
( to be continued)