Object, Matrimony

Ch. 8: Well-Being

To: Miss Victoria Beauregard

6 Logan Cir NW #2

Washington, D.C.

From: Mister Aaron Hotchner

Box 173

Sapíia, Wyoming Territory

October 31, 1874

Miss Beauregard,

I hesitate to write this letter as I do not wish to be presumptive. However, it has been nearly two months since I last wrote to you, and I am unsure why I have not received a response.

If you have not received my letter dated August 21, I sincerely apologize and assure you that I did indeed write one. I will provide a summary in case it has not arrived. In my original, I thanked you for your intentionality in mentioning my late wife in your letters, as many tend to avoid discussing the deceased out of fear of discomfort. I, in turn, inquired about your mother and if you have any favorite memories with her. I do not require an additional witness to your character, for Missus Charlotte sang praises I did not know I needed to hear. I echoed your sentiment that houses are not always homes and wished you well in finding such comfort. I praised your reading of the Book of Ruth and how your story shed new light on her's. I am grateful for your handkerchief as a token of your surrender and have kept it safe since receiving it. To answer your questions, if I had the time, I would read every book I could get my hands on. I trust someone when I have seen how they handle the unpleasant truths of life. And I have no questions you have not addressed in your previous correspondence. Therefore, I return your questions to you:

What brings you joy that is not also for the benefit of others?

What shows you that a person is worthy of trust?

Do you have any questions for me that you have hesitated to ask?

If you have received my letter, then I hope you saw fit to respond. Please forgive my impatience in writing before your letter was delivered to me. I appreciate the time and care you spent writing them, and I did not want you to fear that I did not find your letter worthy of answering. If it has been lost in our unreliable postal system, then please do not trouble yourself with attempting to recreate it. You are a busy woman, and I am certain your answer was eloquent and gracious as always. You need not put yourself through another version to prove this.

Finally, if you received my letter and have chosen to cease correspondence, I humbly ask you to inform me why. If I have insulted you or given you another cause to wish to end our communication, I wish to know what it was so I may apologize for it adequately. I do not expect you to forgive any errors on my part, nor do I ask this so I may compel you to resume our communication. You deserve a heartfelt and specific apology, which I can only provide if you choose to grace me with an explanation. In the meantime, if this third scenario is the reality of our situation, I apologize profusely for anything I wrote that was offensive, for that was never my intention.

I hope this letter finds you well, and that I will soon have your response in hand.

With hope,

Aaron Hotchner

Postscript: Jack's birthday was this month, and he insisted on writing to you. I have included his letter, for I could not deny him.

~

October 31, 1874

Miss Beauregard,

It was my birthday this month. I am seven. I do not feel different from when I was six.