"Do you know the combination?"
He pointed to the upper corner of the safe, where, upon closer inspection, I saw a number etched, 14. Two other numbers were etched into other corners, 29 and 63.
I said them out loud and he nodded. "Don't think of them as three numbers, think of them as six numbers. One, four, two, nine, six and three. With that in mind, what are the two lowest numbers?"
I glanced at them again. "One and two."
He nodded. "Good. And the next lowest?"
"Three and four."
"Good, good. And the two highest?"
"Six and nine."
"You got it," he said, giving me a half smile.
"Twelve, thirty-four and sixty-nine?"
He nodded. "You're the first person I've ever given the key to. Not even to my own son."
"How old's your son?"
"Twenty-one. But it's too soon to give him the key. My father gave it to me on his deathbed."
"I feel honored," I said, and meant it.
We stared at it some more. He made no move to open it, and I certainly wasn't about to. Somewhere down the hall, one of his piles of junk shifted, groaning, as boulders do in the deserts. The piano, I saw, was gone.
The light particles behind Charlie began coagulating and taking on shape, and shortly, two very faint old men appeared behind him. I noticed the hair on Charlie's arm immediately stood on end, as his body registered the spiritual presence of his father and grandfather, even if his mind hadn't. Charlie absently rubbed his arms.
"Well, let's get on with it," he said, and reached down for the safe.
As he did so, I said, "You really don't want to open the safe, do you, Charlie?"
"I do. Really, I do. A deal's a deal, and I want to pay you. Your half."
"But wouldn't you rather pass it along to your own boy?"
"Without you, Ms. Moon, I would have nothing to pass on to my kid. Besides, it's really a silly tradition."
"No, it's not. It's about family."
"We've been keeping this thing going for years and it's impractical at best, like a joke from beyond the grave."
"I think it's an amazing tradition," I said.
He didn't say it, but his body language suggested he thought so, too. He said, "Well, it is kind of fun not knowing what's in this thing. I mean, it could be anything, right? But I suppose it's time to find out once and for all?"
He made a move for the safe again, but he didn't get very far, mostly because I grabbed his wrist. He shivered at my cold touch.
I said, "This isn't right."
"A deal's a deal, Ms. Moon. Besides, I have no other way of repaying you."
I thought about that, then looked around. "Not true. You have enough junk to stock a dozen houses. There's got to be something in here that I want."
"What are you saying, Ms. Moon?"