The Weathered Birdhouse

Chapter Three

    Isabella drove home worried she gave too many hints to Travis. She questioned if Travis was oblivious as most men as Carol suggested. In the back of her mind she knew he paid attention to detail from the letters, he wrote her. She went from being a lust filled woman to a nervous girl thinking did I just ruin my chance at true love. She pulled up to her apartment building and unloaded her groceries. She walked to the front door of the apartment building and walked down the hallway to her apartment door. She set the groceries down to unlock her door, she reached down to grab her bags and the one bag ripped dumping some of the groceries in the apartment hallway. She said “great just like my life is a mess.”

         She took in the bags that didn’t rip through the front door as she kicked some of the groceries items on the hallway floor through the door way. She came back out the door grabbing the groceries lying on the hallway floor. She walked in the kitchen dropping the grocery items that she bundled in her arms on the counter. She thought well he did tell me about the letters, he leaves at the weathered birdhouse, so maybe he already knew that I am the one writing back to him. She was trying to ease her conscience as she put away her groceries.

      Travis drove back to his apartment dwelling is it her, but at the same time thinking how could someone that beautiful and wonderful like me. She is out of my league for sure or could it be she felt pity for me when she found out I was mute. He parked at his apartment building to get out his groceries and headed up to his apartment to put away his groceries. He unlocked his front door and walked in the kitchen putting the grocery bags on the counter. He thought maybe it is a coincidence when she said  chicken parmesan as her answer and when she said “always a gentleman,” but he knew it was her. He started putting away the groceries and thought I will start working on the next letter for Monday.

     Travis grabbed a soda and headed over to his desk thinking about how to be subtle when dropping the hint about the grocery store. He wanted to confirm for his own peace of mind that it was her writing the letters. He sat at the desk with the blue ink pen in his hand flicking it back and forth as he pondered what to write in his letter. He knew not to be too forward with his assumption that it was Isabella writing him the letters.

       Travis woke up on Monday to the brightness of the sun in his eyes as it glared through the window. He sat up and stretched as he got out of bed to get ready for work. He grabbed his car keys and went out his front door heading to work with the thought of Isabella on his mind. Isabella woke up that morning with the feeling of knots in her stomach not knowing if Travis had figured out it was her. She thought well if he does know maybe we can go out and have more moments together like at the grocery store. They both headed to work with their nerves on end about each other and about the letters.

     Travis pulled up to work at the bookstore, he got out of his car and headed through the front door. Jane said “hi did you have a good weekend” he waved at Jane to say hi and then rocked his hand back and forth to say so-so weekend. Jane said “that’s good” Travis then headed to the back of the store to get the boxes opened to get out the books to stock on the shelves. He loaded his cart and headed over to the book shelves. He was trying to stay busy till 11 a.m. till it was time to head down to the coffee shop. He knew the letter, he wrote would unlock the mystery woman in his letters once and for all.

    Isabella arrived at work heading through the door waving at Carol hi. Carol waved back at her hi and asked “how was your weekend?” Isabella said “ it was interesting” Carol said “oh really anything you want to talk about?” Isabella said “well I saw Travis at the bank in line and talked to him. He is aware, I know he is mute. We went grocery shopping together, but I dropped some hints from the letters while shopping with him like my favorite dinner chicken parmesan and in the parking lot before leaving, I said “always a gentleman” that is how he signs the end of his letters.” I am now worried he knows it was me. Carol said “would it be such a bad thing for him to know.” Isabella said while blushing “no it wouldn’t I enjoyed shopping with him and being with him.”