Page 34 of Marvelous

After we had taken a seat, he nodded, “Okay, so tell me how you know my Elaine.”

His eyes softened as he said her name, and I saw it, a little glimmer of tears.

Oh. My. Stars.

I smiled, “I was at an estate sale a few months ago. I bought an old trunk; I’ve been looking for one for forever, but that’s not the point. Umm, inside the trunk, I found something that I think rightfully belongs to you.”

Smiling down at the letters, I handed them to Jacob.

He took them from me with a trembling hand, and then I watched as his fingers ran lovingly over the red ribbon that had been tied around them.

I had, of course, retied it.

“I probably shouldn’t have read any of them, but after I read the first one, I just couldn’t help it,” I told him.

Then I watched as a tear trailed down his cheek, then he bit his lip and looked out at the scenery.

He was silent for so long that I started to ask him if he was okay.

Until he started talking, “She was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eyes on. I’ve thought about what would have happened had I not gone to war.”

“Do you regret it?” I asked softly.

He nodded, “Sometimes. But then I look at this house. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to build this for her.”

Smiling, he ran his hands over the letters in a soft caress.

I watched as a tear trailed down his cheek as he said, “I just, I don’t understand why she never waited on me.”

“There's a letter in there that explains it,” I said.

He lifted a brow at me, “What is it?”

I moved to get the letter for him, but he halted my movements, “Tell me, please?”

I sighed, then I kept my eyes locked with his, then I told him, “From my understanding, she got a letter from Captain Marshall that said you had been lost at sea. She waited for over a year, for another word. Then she called a number she found, and they still had no record of you ever being recovered. So, she knew that you wouldn’t want her to be lonely and miserable. She waited another year before she remarried again.”

He sighed, then he nodded, “Yeah, I would have wanted her happy.”

Then he asked, “By the estate sale, I’m guessing she’s passed?”

I nodded, “Yeah. I don’t know what happened. I can try to find out if you’d like?”

He shook his head, “No, it’s fine.”

He was silent, then he asked, “Did she have any kids?”

I nodded, “She had a son.”

Looking at him, he gave me a gentle nod.

Then he sat back in the swing and held the letters close to his heart. Then, on a broken whisper, he said, “Thank you.”

I smiled, “It was my pleasure.”

We were both quiet as we rocked back and forth, and I said, “This might not mean much to you, but I think you made her proud.”

I looked at the door, the swing, then the flower beds.