Part 3 – Continued
The time passed quickly as Trudy and Joe made the final preparations. They rearranged some furniture, brought up some extra chairs from the basement and set out napkins and plates for the pie and coffee. Finally, everything had to pass inspection under the critical eye of Marjorie Sanderson. She approved.
After the housework was done, Joe decided to go out and mow the lawn. Trudy went upstairs to get ready. She fixed her hair and made sure that her mother’s clothes were ready. Grudgingly, Marjorie finally allowed Trudy to begin work on her hair. By the time they had arranged their appearances to close to perfection, it was approaching eleven-thirty.
“Trudy, you’ve fussed with my hair long enough. There’s only so much you can do with it. We don’t want to be up here when the letter finally arrives.”
“Okay, that should do it then.” Standing over her mother’s shoulder, she looked at the both of them in the mirror. “You know Mom, I think that the man from the post office won’t know who to give the letter to, you or me. You look so young, he might think that we were sisters.”
“Nonsense, I’m not so young anymore. These wrinkles don’t lie. I think I’m putting on a little weight too. You watch out Trudy, one day if you don’t look out, you’ll be old and fat too. Now let’s get downstairs, I think I hear some of our company coming.”
As they came down the steps, Joe was going to the front door to let in the first guests. In the next few minutes more relatives and neighbors began to fill the room. There were many cries of recognition and hugs as the happy reunion began.
There was a light knock at the screen door. Only Joe heard it, and he went to see who it was. Outside was a thin balding man wearing a wrinkled tan suit and a matching straw hat that he just removed as he entered the house.
“Hello, is Mrs. Sanderson here?” the man said.
As Joe escorted him inside, he knew that this had to be man with the letter. Just then, another man appeared at the screen door and called into the house. “Roger Quentin from the Weekly Sentinel, is this the Sanderson house?”
Joe let the reporter in and along with the other gentleman directed them through the gathering towards where his mother was standing.
The thin man in the tan suit then cleared his throat and brought the gathering to attention as he began to speak “Well, Mrs. Sanderson, no sense making you wait any longer. You’ve already had to wait for twenty-five years and I apologize on behalf of the United States Postal Service for that.”
He pulled a clear plastic envelope from his inside jacket pocket. Inside the plastic, there was a smaller, thick discolored envelope. As he presented the letter, the reporter took a few pictures, the flash from the camera catching Marjorie by surprise each time.
“Thank you Mr. Pappin. I guess the mail will always get through, no matter what….it just takes awhile sometimes.” she laughed. She had practiced that line in her head this morning to make the man feel comfortable. Everyone laughed nervously at that and it seemed to break the tension. The talking that had died down when Mr. Pappin came into the house, began again. They were all eager now to discover what was in the letter.
Some of the ladies voiced the opinion that it would be appropriate if it was a long, touching, romantic love letter. What you might expect from a Hollywood movie. Ed Widdoes thought that maybe there might be some cash in the letter. If so, he told Marjorie that she could sue the government for back interest. Buck Shobalt, a cousin, hoped that maybe there would be some description of aerial combat and other military matters.
Of them all, only Marjorie knew. Nolan’s letters were usually short and not filled with much of anything. He said he really didn’t have much to mention about his daily life. His social life was nothing to talk about and so usually all he did was ask questions. He’d ask about things back home and about the kids. He told her to send them his love and to all his family and then end the letter. That was why she was going to read the letter to everyone. It would be best to end the suspense and get on with the rest of the day. All she had to do was to work up the nerve to open it.
As Marjorie looked down at the letter, Joe came to the center of the room and asked for quiet. “I know all you folks are curious to hear what’s in that letter from my Dad, but first my Mom would like to read it in private and have some time to herself. Then she’ll be back to share it with you all.”
After Joe made his announcement, some of her earlier nervousness returned. She looked around the room uncertainly. A few people voiced some enthusiastic remarks to her. Trudy walked over and put her arm around her mother.
“Go on Mom, we’ll take care of the guests till you come down. Take all the time you need.”
Marjorie was glad for this break, she really did need a few moments to herself before reading the letter. She turned and walked back upstairs. At the door of her room she hesitated, then walked in and closed the door behind her. The picture of Nolan stared at her from the dresser as she sat on the bed. The street outside was quiet save for the occasional passing car. A soft, tranquil breeze blew through the screen and gently lifted the window shade and set it back again. The conversation from downstairs was muffled and passed from her consciousness as she began to open the envelope.
The letter had been encased in plastic, with some type of official postal message stamped on it. The envelope itself was musty smelling and crumbled a bit as she opened it. Pulling the letter out, she hesitated a moment, it seemed thicker than usual, her fingers shook as she opened the pages to read it.
copyright@2020 bill melnik