Annie is horribly damaged by life.
She believes she cannot be loved.
Then Bud becomes her pen pal
and love finds them both...
in one way or another.
Every few days I will post a little more.
Soon you will be able to read it all.
If you absolutely can't wait to find out
what happens between Annie and Bud,
(and I hope you can't!)
you are welcome to click a link and buy an e-book or a paperback copy.
And now, today's post:
CHAPTER FIVE
Part 1
Written Sunday, October 10, 2004
Please forgive me for being so rude in my last communication to
you. I had no business talking down to you as I did. Your response was
brilliant, and its kindness tells me you are the type of person I need in my
life, as a pen pal and a friend.
Don’t tell my mother – she’d die of shame if she ever found out –
but I’m not always the nicest guy. That’s one of the reasons I treasured
Bennie’s friendship. Being around him made me a better person. We were good for
each other that way. For my part, I was much more a go-getter than he, and I
encouraged him to go for things he wouldn’t have gone for without me. You know,
like football and such. He was a natural born athlete, like me, but he liked
books and video games more.
I guess you could say he helped me avoid being a total jackass and
I kept him from being a 300-pound couch potato.
I miss him. A lot. If he had been here, he would have ripped me
for what I did to you. Crud, can you ever forgive me?
As Bennie may have told you, I work for my dad, same place Bennie
did before the accident. It’s a hanger factory. We make specialty hangers for
clothes that don’t work on regular hangers. Yeah, I know, that’s kind of weird.
We sell a lot, though. That’s my job. I sell them. At the moment I just sell
them around the Spokane area, but someday the guy who sells to the rest of the
world will retire and then I’ll become a world traveler. That’ll be fun.
I’ve never been a pen pal before. I have no idea what else I
should write. Hey, I got it, I’ll tell you about myself. Let’s see, I’m six
foot two, weigh 205 pounds, solid muscle of course, I would eat pizza every day
if I could, I have a girlfriend, I’m an only child, and I drive a full-sized
pickup with a shell over the bed because I carry a bunch of stuff around for my
job.
That’s everything worth knowing about me.
Your turn. Tag!
Bud
PS – I really am sorry I was so rude to you.
PPS – Referring to your letter I received on July 13, I like watching bald eagles too.
Received Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Dear Bud,
Yes, you are forgiven. A hundred times forgiven so you don’t
have to ask again because I am not perfect too. I am not natural kind I have to
work at it like everyone else. I was hurt at first but my sister said you must
be hurting worse to do that so it was easy to forgive it.
Did you know I never met Bennie? I have no idea how his
looks or weight and I’m glad he wasn’t a fat potato. A world traveler would be
an exciting job even if you are selling weird hangers. See I spelled hanger
right this time. Thank you dictionary.
I live in Boston, like to ballet do crochet play oboe 5 foot
3 inch weight never mind but in a good range. Would eat shrimp everyday if I
could. Never finished college went to a trade school for a nurse. It’s a good
job. No boyfriend right now but several lined up. I need to choose my next
victim. JUST KIDDING!
I love the zoo, nice one here. Lots of eagles.
I like that you wrote tag. Its funny.
Tag!
Annie
Written Friday, October 29, 2004
Dear Annie,
You’re a nurse? That’s impressive. At a hospital?
I see we’re following the same schedule as you and Bennie. You get
my letter around the first week of the month and I get yours around the middle.
Does that still work for you?
It’s been several months now since Bennie died. Wow. Is that even
possible? Halloween is coming up in two days and that was Bennie’s favorite
holiday. He had this closet full of costumes. Dracula, Wolfman, a ghost, dozens
of comic book superheroes and God only knows what else. He lived for the
costume parties. I swear, he would mow lawns all summer, and every penny we
didn’t spend on movies or junk food went to his costume collection. Me? I only
had a clown wig and a red nose. What can I say? I like the classics.
Last year was our first Halloween in our own place and Bennie went
nuts! He decorated our apartment door, played creepy music, bought a store full
of candy, the works. Oh, and he dressed up as a zombie, complete with fake
brains in his hand and blood everywhere. And yes, it was fake blood. Each time
someone knocked on our door, he would groan really loud, crack the door open
just far enough, and swipe at the kids with his bloody brain. Not the little
kids, just the big ones. They loved it. Those who didn’t run were rewarded with
handfuls of miniature candy bars.
I’m not sure what to do this year. Maybe I’ll just go to my mom
and dad’s and help them pass out candy. They love doing stuff like that.
What are your plans for Halloween?
Tag!
Bud
