The Letter

Henry opened his desk drawer and pulled out a small, wooden box. Placing it on his desk, he opened the gold latch and stared at the folded piece of paper nestled amongst dried rose petals and a wedding band.

Gingerly opening the page, he stared at the splotched ink and limp corners. Light peeked through the creases, folded and refolded so many times. He read the words he had memorized.

"My dearest Hankie,

I know you hate being called Hankie, but I hated being called Squirt, and still you called me that until you started calling me Baby. Besides, you'll only read this after my death, so deal with it."

Henry grinned. Even years later, he could still hear Georgie's voice.

"You're downstairs right now, talking to Mama and Dad. I know you think I'm going to beat this thing, but I have to tell you, baby, I don't think I will. I don't know how to explain it, but I have a feeling that I'm not going to celebrate our tenth anniversary. I'm not sure I'll make it to our fifth.

I'm scared. You have to know that. Remember when I was eight and you boys dared me to jump off the rock at Big Falls? Remember how scared I was? I didn't want to be called chicken, but I didn't want to jump either. Do you remember what you did?

You walked up to me and said, "Hey, Squirt. I'll jump with you." You held my hand and we jumped together. That's the day I fell in love with you.

I know I'll be holding your hand when I make this jump. But when I hit the water, I won't be with you. That scares me so much. I just have to have faith that I'll see you again someday.

In the meantime, I have a couple things I want to make sure you remember.

Now, don't be stupid after I go. You're young, hot and will make some other woman a great husband. Just don't rush in too fast, okay? Go slow and find an amazing woman who I'd be proud to call friend.

But make sure she can't cook. I want to have one thing over her. okay? I don't think that's asking too much.

And, baby, keep an eye on Gage, will you? This is going to be harder on him than it is on you. Maybe it's a twin thing, but I know this could destroy him. I worry about him, but would feel a whole lot better if I knew you were there to make sure he doesn't do something he'll regret.

I love you, Hankie. I wish that I could have given you babies and raised them on your parents' ranch. I wish that we could have had more laughter, more fights, more loving, more time. Just a little more time. A decade or two. Or maybe three. What can I say? I'm greedy.

But that's not to be and I need to find peace with it. So do you. So love me. Love me forever. But don't let that stop you from loving someone else.

I hear you coming back upstairs. You're hollering that you're bringing some of Mama's pie. Thank you for taking care of me, baby. No woman has ever felt so loved.

I'll be watching over you with all my love,

Georgie"

Henry carefully refolded the letter and looked at the headline spread across his computer screen, "Local Hero Wounded in Raid". Picking up the phone, he dialed.

"Gage. It's Henry. I was wondering if I could ask you a favor." Henry paused, knowing Gage would never say no. "I need help at Hidden Hollow. Just for a few months. It's complicated."



This fictional post was inspired by the Red Dress Club writing prompt: You or your character find a forgotten letter or card from someone important in your life--whether good or bad. What does it say? How does it affect you or your character? What is done with it?

This post takes place just before last week's Coming Home. I hope it give you a little more insight to Gage and Henry.

For more on the Hidden Hollow series, (nice name, no?) visit Fictional Mandyland and catch up.