Page 11 of Marvelous

***

Mrs. Elaine Hooper, we regret to inform you that PFC Jacob Hooper has been lost at sea. We hope these words comfort you in your hour of need.

PFC Jacob Hooper fought gallantly for his country. We are proud of him, and you should be too.

Your husband was an honorable man.

Sincerely,

Captain. Robert C. Marshall.

***

I placed the letters into my lap and felt tears trailing down my cheeks.

Oh. My. God.

The only reason she would have her letters as well as his... was if they sent his effects to her.

I moved to look into the trunk, and gasped at the dog tags that were there, as well as a photo.

It was black and white, and of a couple, they looked so in love.

He was in uniform.

She was in a dress and cute heels.

And on the back, it read,Jacob & Elaine, May 4th, 1969.

***

Over the week, I had done nothing but thought about those letters, and I wondered.

Which was why I found myself at the library at nine in the morning on a Saturday.

And that was why, later in the day, I was racing up the stairs of our apartment building.

Then my eyes widened when I saw that our apartment door was open and people were moving in and out of it.

What the hell?

I stepped into our apartment and felt everyone freeze.

And something about that didn’t sit right with me.

I knew why when Jules walked over to me, a friend of ours, and said, “You need to go to Will’s apartment.”

I read her face.

The signs had been there.

And... Sara’s bedroom door was closed.

Then I walked into Will’s apartment, and the moment he saw me, I saw his lips form the words, “Oh shit.”

“Where are they?” I asked him.

He stood as he said, “Cassie.”