The Unbound Horizon

The second chance

Evelyn

Could this be real? She thought, she read the letter from Mason over and over again making sure she had read everything correctly, and that she understood everything he said. He called her darling and dearest, did he really feel that way? Apparently other wise why would he write this. Was it joke? She knew there was no way that Mason would ever play that kind of joke on her, yes he was mischievous, but he wasn't cruel. He loved her, he still loved her after all of this time. This was it, she thought. This was her second chance, not everyone in life is as lucky to get a second chance. She knew Mason was married, but she also knew that Elizabeth was all wrong for him. Anyway she knew him first, loved him first, and he loved her first also. He had always been hers, and she would always be his.

After she finished reading the letter she took it and his it in a wooden box she kept in her dresser. She then poured water into a basin, washed her face and hands, slipped on her night dress and got into bed, excited to have a second chance with the only man she would ever love.

Mason

This was by far the longest week that Mason had ever experienced. All he did was wonder about what Evelyn thought about his letter, if he would get a letter in return, and if he did, where things would go from there. He also wondered how much it would hurt if he did not receive a letter back, but he didn't want to think about that.

"Mason, honey?"

"Yes Elizabeth?"

"What would you like for dinner?"

"Whatever you make will be fine dear." Mason said tiredly. Elizabeth was not the best of cooks and he had learned early on in their marriage that she needed to stick to the recipes that she knew, because if she tried to make anything else it would usually be undercooked, burnt, or bitter. Evelyn was a wonderful cook, she would never admit to it, but she just had a natural gift for knowing how to give dishes extra flavor. This bothered her sister Rebecca to no end, probably because if Evelyn tried, she could outdo any woman and any man. She had so many gifts and talents and yet, no one ever seemed to notice them, but he did, and he would tell her everyday how wonderful she was. Well he would if she let him.

Evelyn

She wrote a letter to Mason early on in the week. She was so excited for her second chance with him it didn't take long to make up her mind that being with him was all she wanted. All week she kept the letter in her pant pocket. That Sunday night the dinner was at her house, as she helped with dinner, she was distracted, and kept making small mistakes, nothing terrible, just little things slip her mind.

When she heard the door open she almost jumped out of her skin, accidentally backing into Rebecca.

"Watch where your going Evelyn!" Rebecca whined.

"Sorry Becca, I didn't mean to." She said in a subdued voice. Rebecca looked at Evelyn confused.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing I'm fine, I promise." She said. Rebecca knew she wasn't for some reason her younger wilder sister who wasn't scared of anything looked terrified, and pale. But she knew she would never get an answer out of her so left it alone.

"Alright, just watch where your going Evelyn."

"Ok, I will." Evelyn said.

There he was, he had just walked through the door, smiling and shaking the hands of her father and brothers, and the. He turned around looking at her with his deep chocolate brown eyes, and giving her that smile that made her heart stop.

"Hello Evelyn" Mason said walking over to her.

"Hey Mason" she replied after a pause "uh, how are you?" She asked, almost shaking, why was she so scared? This was Mason, she had known him forever.

"I'm just fine, thank you for asking. How are you?" He asked leaning and elbow on the kitchen counter where she was mashing potatoes. He was always so calm, she thought, how did he do that?

"I'm fine too, thanks," she said and looked around to make sure there was no one to close to them, " I have something for you" she said.

He loved seeing how cute she was when she was nervous, it was very attractive to see a woman who could do just about anything be nervous talking to him.

"Oh, yeah? I'm glad to hear it." He gave her another heart stopping smile and took his seat.

Dinner seemed to last forever, and the only thing he could think about was that Evelyn wrote him a letter, which meant in some or another she was on board and how he wanted nothing more in this moment than to read it.

When everyone left it was the same exchange, they shook hands before he went out the door, and that was when she had given him the letter. Mason waited till they had gotten home, and stayed awake patiently as his wife Elizabeth fell asleep beside him. When he was sure she was asleep, he got up grabbed a lantern, match and the letter, and walked into the front room. He lit the lantern and opened the letter.

Dear Mason,

I must say that I was very surprised to receive your letter, and even more surprised to read its contents. I read your words many times just to make sure I had read them correctly. Mason the day that I came to you telling you I would change for you, because I knew I loved you and wanted to be with you, is the same way that I have felt for the past two years. I still love you and I still want to be with you. I don't know where to go from here, but I have only ever loved you and I know I will love you for the rest of my life. All my love

Evelyn

(So I just want to say I am really happy to see how many people are reading this story. I didn't really expect anyone to read it, I just had this idea and wanted to write it down somehow. So thank you! Hehe)