The Letters

By Lisa Kurtz

"The Letters" is a captivating story about a father and son navigating through grief and loss in different ways, and how sadness and pain can also lead to hope and joy.

Arthur Campbell has lost the love of his life. Despite his suffering, he finds a unique way of coping with his grief that allows him to still feel close to her. His son Scott, however, isn't dealing with the grief at all. Ignoring his feelings, Scott makes choices that could destroy his marriage.

As both men travel down their own paths, one finds comfort and the other pain and loneliness. Can Arthur help his son, and will Scott let him?

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781667813806

Book preview

cover.jpg

Copyright © 2021 by Lisa Kurtz

The Letters

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording,

or any information storage and retrieval system now known or invented,

without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes

to quote brief passages in connection with a review written

for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or broadcast.

Print ISBN: 978-1-66781-379-0

eBook ISBN: 978-1-66781-380-6

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated in

the memory of my parents,

Tom and Joan North.

You left a legacy of love and

faith for our entire family

which will live on for

generations.

Thank you for always

being my biggest cheerleaders.

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Epilogue

From the Author:

Prologue

Scott arrived at the cemetery just as the snow began to fall. It was Christmas morning and he did not want to be away from home too long. He woke up this morning with a sudden urge to go visit his parents’ graves, to share the good news with them. Scott had only been to the cemetery twice, once for his mother’s funeral and then his dad’s. He wasn’t big on visiting graves. He felt closer to his parents by wearing his dad’s watch and seeing his mother’s favorite rocking chair in his living room.

Scott wound his way through the grave markers as the snow fell around him until he found their shared headstone. His mother had passed away two years ago and his dad about six months ago. Scott stood and looked at their names: Arthur and Isabelle Campbell. Now that he arrived, he wasn’t sure what to say. After a few minutes the cold had begun to penetrate his winter jacket. He had forgotten to grab a hat and so he drew his coat collar up around his neck, shivering. Hey, Mom, hey Dad. I just wanted to let you know that Jeanne and I are back together. These last few years, after Mom died, well, I realize now that her death tore me up so bad I almost lost Jeanne, and then after Dad died, his death brought us closer together, closer now than ever. The night you died, Jeanne and I, neither one of us wanted to be alone, she came home and shortly after your funeral we moved all her things back in. What I really wanted to share is the great news that we are going to have a baby. We started trying just before mom died and then…well you know how I was, Dad, I handled that really badly. Then just as I was getting my act together, you had your stroke and it brought Jeanne and I closer together. She wanted to come this morning but she’s been feeling really lousy, especially in the mornings, with nausea and morning sickness, so I told her to stay home and rest. I promised her I wouldn’t be gone too long. She told me to tell you hello and she misses you both. I wish you both were going to be here to meet our little one, but Jeanne says our baby will have two angels in heaven to watch over him, or her. I miss you both. Merry Christmas. With that, Scott turned and made his way back to the car, back home to Jeanne.

Chapter 1

After months of being barely able to get out of bed, or having enough energy to get dressed and shave, today Arthur Campbell woke up early, which surprised him but even more of a surprise was that he awoke with a feeling of excitement. Yesterday, he had mailed the first letter and he knew it would arrive this morning. He got up and got dressed and carefully picked out his outfit. He donned Isabelle's favorite tie, even polished his shoes a bit. He knew the mail would arrive at about nine in the morning, as it always did, but in order to prolong the anticipation of being with Isabelle again in a letter, he left before the mail came. As Arthur walked down to the local coffee shop, he thought about his discovery a few weeks back.

He came across a box in the hall closet. When he first opened it, he wasn’t sure what was in it. Then he realized it was all of the letters he and Isabelle had written to each other over the years. He had not realized Isabelle had saved them. Arthur had held the letters in his hands and the feeling of loss that swept over him was overwhelming. He put the letters back in the box, quickly closed it and pushed it as far back in the closet as he could.

For the next several days, every time he walked by the closet it was as if Isabelle was calling to him. Sometimes he would just stare at the closed closet door, knowing they were in there. After days of avoiding the closet altogether, Arthur had an idea, one that might help him feel Isabelle near him again and would give him something to look forward to. He bought a box of envelopes and several books of stamps and addressed the whole box of envelopes to himself. He put a stamp on every envelope and then he put one of the old letters into each envelope. Then each morning he would go to the post office and mail one.

He decided not to allow himself to look at any of the letters so he would not know which letter it might be. Was it one Isabelle wrote to him first or one he had written to her? Would it be filled with love and joy, or would it be one where they had been struggling and working through something. Would it be from five years ago or forty-five? He had no idea and he couldn't wait. As Arthur arrived at the coffee shop, he saw his reflection in the glass and was startled. He saw a smile on his face, he could not remember the last time he smiled. He actually had something to look forward to.

Arthur sat at the counter and had a cup of coffee and a donut. Some of the regulars there were surprised to see him, as he hadn’t been seen around town much since Isabelle had gotten sick and passed away. This morning he barely noticed any of them. He read the morning newspaper and found himself wondering what was inside that first letter. Finally, when he couldn't wait any longer, he left for home, the smile still on his face and a spring in his step. He was going to talk with his Isabelle again.

Arthur walked in the back door of his home and hung up his coat. These last several months he felt old, he was old, seventy-three years to be exact. But today was different. He felt just a bit less old today. He fought the urge to run to the mailbox, and then almost laughed out loud. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt the urge to run at all! He found his reading glasses and then walked to the mailbox on the front porch. Arthur quickly looked through the stack, looking for only one thing and found the envelope he had addressed to himself. He walked back into the house and sat down.

This was the house he had shared with Isabelle for their entire married life, forty-five years. It was not a fancy house, but it was theirs. It was a ranch house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a living room and large eat-in kitchen. The kitchen was painted a bright yellow on the top half of the walls and the bottom half had white paneling. Isabelle loved how bright and airy it was. She would have liked for the kitchen to have been a bit bigger with an island in the middle, and they had even discussed remodeling, but neither of them had the desire to live in the chaos required by a remodel.

They had a spare bedroom that they called the toy room when Scott was growing up, it also served as a catch-all room for extras. Once Scott had moved out they turned his room into a guest room, although they never had many guests. The toy room was re-purposed and became the room Isabelle probably enjoyed the most. They had painted it a soft cream color with light green curtains. She had put a book shelf along one whole wall for all her books and along another wall was a comfortable floral pattern chair that brought out both the cream in the walls and the green in the curtains. The chair was in the perfect spot to get the most sunlight, and was Isabelle’s favorite spot to read. She loved to read and would say books were her friends growing up since she was an only child, she said they would take her places she might never go. There was a picture of a huge tree on the wall with the sunlight filtering through the leaves that Isabelle said gave her a peaceful feeling. She also had a stationary bike that she liked to use almost daily.

Arthur recalled that later in life Isabelle started reading a lot of non-fiction books as well as novels by her favorite authors, covering many different subjects and she often said she liked the way they made her think and look at things differently. Isabelle said that she felt like she had lived in a small, safe box for her whole life and by reading about such things it opened up her world. Oh, how he missed her!

Arthur’s favorite room was the living room, as it had the television, a comfortable couch and his favorite chair, which he went to today. He set the letter on the arm of the chair and just looked at it for a minute. He then went through all the rest of the mail, sorting it and tossing aside what he knew was junk. He finally picked up the envelope and used his pocket knife to open it up. He took the letter out and smoothed the pages. He saw Isabelle’s familiar handwriting and then he read:

My Dearest Arthur,

Arthur felt tears in his eyes, blurring the words on the page. He could almost hear her voice.

I know we agreed to always be honest with each other, but I didn’t realize this omission would be, to you, like a lie. It wasn’t that I was keeping it from you, but I was waiting for the perfect time. You were working so much and I was tired all the time. I wasn’t sure yet how I felt about having another baby so soon after Scottie, and then before I had the chance to tell you, it was over. I know I robbed you of the joy of knowing another baby was on the way, but it was because I wasn’t feeling that joy yet. I know it sounds like a poor excuse, but I never meant to hurt you. And now, the baby is gone and I miss it so, and I miss you too. Can you ever forgive me?

Always, your Isabelle

Arthur hadn’t thought about this in years. He let his memory rewind, like a movie projector, stopping on that horrible day he arrived home and found Isabelle passed out on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood. Scottie was screaming in his playpen nearby. Thank goodness he had left the office on time that day. It frightened him even now, remembering the events of that day. He read his response to her:

My Isabelle,

I think I need to ask your forgiveness as well. I know I didn’t handle this well. Yes, I was angry you didn’t tell me about the baby. I haven’t been talking to you because I feel so guilty. Finding you on the floor like that scared me to death! I wasn’t sure what had happened and if you were even alive. I keep thinking, if I had only been home more, you wouldn’t have been so tired and you would have been happier about the baby and told me. And then maybe you wouldn’t have lost it at all. Maybe this is all my fault! I love you and Scottie so much, and never want you to doubt that.

Love, Arthur

Arthur didn’t realize he had been crying until he saw the teardrops fall on the letter. This had been so long ago, but he knew a part of Isabelle had always mourned this baby, especially because she never got pregnant again. She had been tested but the doctors had no reason why she could not conceive again. After this letter they had talked and cried together but then after that, Isabelle didn’t talk about it much. Arthur did notice, though, that every year on the anniversary of the day she lost the baby she was always a little quieter.

Arthur sat for a little longer, folded the letter and put it back in the envelope. He decided there and then, that he would put the letters in a new box, one that wasn’t so old and weathered, and some day he would share the letters with Scott. His son wasn’t very easy to talk with these days. Arthur knew the separation between Scott and his wife Jeanne was hard on him, and he wondered if the letters might help.

Arthur went on with his day and thought about the letter often, he even re-read it a few times. He usually prolonged going to bed, dreading the emptiness beside him, but he didn’t dally tonight, knowing tomorrow there would be another letter