Object, Matrimony

Ch. 7: Better to Thee

To: Miss Victoria Beauregard

6 Logan Cir NW #2

Washington, D.C.

From: Mister Aaron Hotchner

Box 173

Sapíia, Wyoming Territory

August 29, 1874

Miss Beauregard,

I have delivered your letters to Jack and Jessica, who were both grateful for your response. I must confess, I was relieved to see you had included a response to me in your most recent envelope. When Jessica gave me the final version of her letter to be included in my previous correspondence, I was forbidden from reading it. While I do not think she wishes me misfortune, she possesses a unique ability to insult with the finest words. I do not know whether she balanced her many valid criticisms with my few virtues or you are a generous enough woman to offer grace to me despite my sister's honest depiction. I suspect it is the latter, though Jessica has repeatedly claimed it to be the former. Regardless, I am grateful for your continued correspondence.

I read your praises of his penmanship to Jack, and he promptly went to practice his letters. Spelling is the next target of his education, though I suspect that will take longer to improve. Jack has always been his own person and struggles to accept the rules of society, such as wearing shoes and not challenging everyone he meets to a duel. Spelling rules are even less acceptable to him, as he cannot comprehend why a word would require duplicate letters when one would surely "sufice."

His talent for drawing came from his mother. She enjoyed finding ways to make things beautiful and would draw cards for her friends and family to celebrate special occasions. Jack has inherited her skills, smile, and determination to be friends with everyone he meets. He was born early, and his mother claimed it was because he could not wait to meet everyone. I believe she was right, as he has always been ahead of schedule in learning to smile, talk, and write, for such proficiency allows him to take after her in her ability to find a friend in every stranger. Fortunately, all he has from me is his frown and coloring, though Doctor Reid has warned me that Jack may also take after my height. I have set aside a fund to feed him when the adolescent years arrive and have befriended the local tailor as we will likely need his clothes altered monthly.

Thank you for asking about his mother. I am sure you know how people avoid speaking of those we have lost to the point that we wonder whether anyone remembers them. I do my best to talk to Jack about Halley and bring her up in conversations around him, though others sometimes find it uncomfortable. However, my concern for their comfort comes second to my determination that Jack's mother be remembered. He lost her at such a young age that stories are all he has.

What was your mother like? Do you have any favorite memories with her?

I do not require any additional witnesses to your character. I did not need one before Missus Charlotte's letter, and after reading her testimony, I would be a fool to require another. She needn't have worried about the quantity of her letter dedicated to your flaws. The fact that the entire section was regarding the one fault she could assign to you is a testament to the quality of your morals. While I strive to observe the Sabbath, there are times when it is not possible due to the nature of my work. Therefore, I cannot condemn you for the same struggle, especially when yours stems from your desire to help others.

Your ability to communicate intangible ideas is a credit to your wisdom and education. The difference between a house and a home may seem insignificant on paper, but it is profound when experienced in one's life. Your description of the contrast between the two is as eloquent as it is accurate. The security provided by steady employment and housing is valuable, but belonging to a household is no substitute for having a home. I do not misread your words as ungrateful, nor do I consider it foolish to pray for more. The Lord created us to live in community with each other. To desire such a connection is to desire for the will of God to be fulfilled.