Oliver searched through the crowd as he shook hands and accepted their congratulations. He caught sight of what he thought was the back of her head but it ended up being someone else.
He finally found Max who gave him a sad look as he shook his head and instantly he knew she was gone.
"I'm sorry, son. She left." Max shook his head sadly as his lips tightened into a line.
"She just left?" Oliver's head spun, she didn't even stop to say anything. "Did she tell you why? Do you know where she went? How long ago-"
Marg cut him off from his tirade of questions and held his hand firmly, that's when Oliver realized he had been running his fingers through his hair. "She left as you closed out, didn't really say anything just gave Max a package." She gave him an angry look that was instantly replaced with worry for Oliver. "Put the poor boy out of his misery and give him the dang package Max."
"I was getting to that woman, I just thought he might want his questions answered before anything happened." Max reached for the package on the coffee table next to him that Oliver had completely missed.
"I want both. Do you know where Clara went?"
Oliver had to calm his shaking hands as he tried to patiently wait for Max to hand the small rectangle package to him, less than a foot in all directions and wrapped in red wrapping paper Oliver tried to guess what it was. He bounced it in his hands unsure if he was allowed to open it or if he needed to wait.
"You're going to cause me to have a heart attack if you don't open that now." Max grumbled and Marg smacked him lightly on the shoulder.
"What if he doesn't want to open it?"
"You know as well as I do that boy's in love, he wants to open it. Don't you, Oliver?"
Oliver watched them bicker over him and his heart wished for the possibility that he and Clara could one day have that, but if they didn't fix this it would never happen and Oliver's frown grew.
Setting his lips in a firm line he nodded and began unwrapping. Handing the paper to Marg he held the box set of the Newsflesh Trilogy, the same books he first found her reading. The same books that first brought them together.
Taped on the bottom of the box and written on the same kind of notecard he wrote his first note was her bubbly handwriting.
I thought it was only right that this came full circle with our very first story.
It's not a lost cause. Do you remember where we first met?
Sincerely Yours,
Clara
YOU ARE READING
Sincerely Yours
Literatura Feminina"Oliver had watched the way she watched the world around her as they had walked to the café and he more than anything wanted a glimpse of what she saw." It all started with a single library card, a single book, a single note, a single girl, and a si...
