August 10th
Dear Sis:
I'm not sure how long it will take for this letter to get to you or even if it will. The last postcard I got from you came from Vancouver. So that is where this will be addressed. You need to tell me if you are going to come back. I know that you were terribly hurt when your husband told you of his intention to divorce you and start a new life with the girls' volleyball coach in New Mexico. And I know you tried to make the best of it, but Sis, you left someone behind. I'm talking about your son, Charlie.
Sure, he's nineteen and you left the house for him to live in while he finishes college then it will be sold and he gets the profits. But Sis, you broke his heart. I don't care that you did sit down with him and treat him like an adult. He might be chronologically nineteen but he is still a son without a mother and as of today without a father nearby.
I begged Roger to take Charlie with him, get him reenrolled in college in New Mexico and be a real father to him. He told me he offered that and even to foot the entire bill for college but that your son refused. So now Charlie is rumbling around in that three bedroom, two and a half bath cape you bought on your wedding day with memories of his parents invading his every thought.
I am writing because I want you to know that I will watch over your son, my nephew even if you both won't. I hope that you find the happiness you are denying your son. Come back to him or at least drop him a postcard. You know my number. I hope you'll call.
Love, your twin sister
September 27th
Dear Sis:
Just a short note to tell you that Charlie is getting better more or less. We have dinner once and in a while and I fix his favorites, macaroni and cheese and much bacon and my homemade apple pie. He tells me about his day and we talk about my day. Being a flight attendant, I'm not always around for him as much as I'd like. He has my schedule and I try to bring him a souvenir from each stop. Every once in a while I get an overseas route and he has a newspaper from China, a bat signed by Saddaharu Oh, some big Japanese baseball player and had my picture taken for him outside of the Abbey Road Studios. We talked about going there on his spring break.
But Sis, something happened. I had gotten in late one night from a flight that was delayed by storm clouds and I had told Charlie that I would always call or text him when I got in. It was well past two a.m. when I got home. The lights were still on in your house so I went over. I sent a text, no answer, knocked on the door, no answer. His car was in the garage and the lights were on. I got scared.
I used the spare key and let myself in. I called for him and got no answer. All of the way through the house, no Charlie. Then I got to the kitchen and saw a half-eaten pizza in a box on the table. Someone had written happy birthday in bacon strips on top. I had forgotten his birthday! I felt terrible. Now I had to find him. So I tore through the house and wouldn't you know it, I found him in bed in his room out cold. You always told me he was a very deep sleeper.