There was a noise in the background. "Oh, God! Howie's awake! What will I tell him?"
"Julie," I said firmly, "Take your time talking to Howie. This is the most important conversation you'll ever have in your life."
"I have to tell him everything!" she said on the verge of panic.
"Take it slowly. If you sound anxious, it will only upset him more. I'm counting on you to explain everything calmly. You don't need for Howie to go off the deep end. He loves you; remember that and you owe him all the consideration you can muster. Okay?" She murmured an assent and ended the conversation.
After I hung up the phone, I plodded to the kitchen where I found a half bottle of Canadian Club. I realized booze wasn't the recommended wash-down with my pain medication but I wasn't driving any farm equipment and I really needed a stiff drink. I poured a healthy slug and looked at my watch. Betsy was taking a long time.
I had barely taken a sip when I had a vision of a motor home I'd recently seen in Keene, with California plates!
Keene, New Hampshire - Greenbriar Road. Here I sit, having to listen to a sobbing lady instead of being on my way to more pleasant chores. She surprised by her unexpected visit and I am sorely inconvenienced by her presence that blocks my egress. Why she sits there in the near darkness of the kitchen, I'm not sure. She is the one from Surry and her name is listed as Elizabeth in the phone book but they call her Betty, or Becky or some foolish diminutive. She is a mother to the beautiful young girl I saw walking the family dog. Ever since I saw the sweet girl I have coveted he. Had this woman brought her child on this nocturnal visit, I'd have surely snatched her away. Then, these near silent sobs would have turned to shrieks of anguish while I made the young beauty my own.
If she just turned her head, she could see me, sitting comfortably a scant ten feet away in the darkened living room. Betty-Boop or whatever your name is, if you tarry much longer I may be forced to introduce myself, though taking you, at least at this time, would cause a mild alteration to my carefully formulated plans.
She's not as beautiful as the one who bore the infant and until, and until today lived in this house. However, I do feel a kinship to this Elizabeth woman. You and I dear lady have shared that interesting and informative letter you hold so closely and are staining with your tears. My reading was most enlightening.