Love Letters

by Geraldine Solon

  “I know.” Chloe rinsed off a plate and handed it to Jill. “Didn’t she even try looking for him after Dad died?”

  “So much time has been wasted that I think she just figures it wasn’t meant to be.”

  “It’s never too late for love. Why didn’t she become a Broadway actress?” Chloe asked.

  “Chloe, are you coming? I need to watch my favorite show soon,” Suzanne called out from her room.

  Jill giggled. “We both know she would have driven the cast crazy if she’d become a Broadway actress.”

  Chloe snickered.

  “That was her dream when she was young. A year before that she wanted to be a detective, and the year before that a doctor, so it was nothing serious,” Jill added.

  As if on cue her mother called, “Chloe, what’s taking you so long?”

  “You better get going or you’ll never hear the end of it.” Jill laughed.

  “I’m coming,” Chloe said. “Thanks again, Aunt Jill, for sharing this with me.”

  “It’ll be our secret.”

  “I promise,” Chloe said, giving Jill a hug.

  As Chloe walked upstairs and entered her mother’s room she said, “Mom, I can only stay a short while. I have an early day tomorrow.” She was so confused about her situation, yet everything Jill told her today only made her realize that she was in the same boat as her mother. She wished she could talk to Suzanne about her confusion, but she knew what her mother would say: Use your head, not your heart, Chloe. Your heart will only cause you pain.

  Now, as she regarded Suzanne, who was seated on her vanity table looking at her jewelry box, she wished it could be different.

  “Before you leave, I want you to know that although Richard isn’t my first choice for you, I’m happy to see he’s a go-getter. Now,” Suzanne said, setting aside her set of one-carat diamond earrings, necklace and bracelet, “I wanted to give you something.”

  “Oh, Mom, you can’t give this to me,” Chloe cried.

  “This belonged to your grandmother. She wore it on her wedding day and gave it to me to use on my wedding day. I want you to have it.” Suzanne handed Chloe the jewelry set.

  Oh no, if she wore this on her wedding day it might be cursed. “Mom, I don’t think I can accept these.”

  “Why not? I’m giving them to you and I’m sure you will pass them on to your daughter one day when she gets married,” Suzanne said.

  I don’t want to pass the curse. “Um, it’s too elegant for my wedding.”

  “Chloe, it’s a wedding; it should be elegant,” Suzanne said, her hands on her hips. “Now I insist that you take them. It will be bad luck if you don’t.”

  “Who says?” Chloe asked.

  “I do.”

  Chloe reluctantly took the set. “Thanks, Mom. I will treasure them forever.”

  She caught sight of a heart shaped locket inside her mom’s jewelry box. Haven’t seen that before.

  Suzanne shut the lid of the box and put it inside her vanity table. “Are you all set with your wedding needs? Did you order the flowers and cake? How about the photographer and your dress?”

  “I have it all taken care of, Mom. I haven’t mailed the invitations yet, but I’ll be doing that this week.”

  “Did you make your guest list?” Suzanne asked.

  “Yes, we have a total of eighty guests, and don’t worry I’m inviting Dad’s side of the family and yours too,” Chloe said in advance.

  “Good girl, you got that from your mother.” Suzanne squeezed her hand. “But you’re forgetting something.”

  “What?”

  “How about my dress?” Suzanne asked.

  Chloe bit her lip.

  Suzanne grinned. “You forgot, didn’t you?”

  Chloe flushed with anxiety. Richard’s mom had already bought her dress but since she recently reconciled with her mother, she hadn’t thought about her mother’s dress. “Sorry Mom.”

  “All right, now when do I meet Richards’ parents?”

  “They were here when you were in South America. They live in Atlanta. Perhaps we can schedule a—”

  “Maybe we can fly there so I can see where Richard grew up.”

  “Uh, I don’t think that would be a good idea, Mom.”

  “Why not?”

  Because you might end up pulling each other’s hair out and there goes my wedding. “Let’s talk about it later.”

  “Okay.” Suzanne gave Chloe a hug then walked her downstairs. “Drive safely then.”

  “Thanks, Mom, for the beautiful jewelry.”

  “And thanks for coming over. It meant a lot to me.”

  Chloe picked up Greta on her way out. She opened the door and walked to her car. Jill was outside throwing the trash. “Aunt Jill, I need to ask you something?”

  Jill approached her. “What is it?”

  “I saw a gold heart shape locket inside Mom’s jewelry box. I’ve never seen that before.”

  Jill winked at her. “Ignacio gave that to her. She could never put his photo in it because of your – ”

  Chloe nodded. “I know what you mean.”

  Jill smiled. “Drive safely, Chloe.”

  She got inside her Jetta and sat there for five minutes before starting her engine. Finally I know the whole story about Mom’s life.

  Now she needed to finish her story. She just hoped it ended better than her mother’s.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chloe was busy at work all day and hadn’t spoken to Josh since his proposal, or to Richard. When she arrived home, she took a shower and heated the frozen raviolis. She turned on the TV to watch “Law and Order” but couldn’t get Josh’s proposal off her mind. What was she going to do? She couldn’t think with Greta bouncing around the house barking. That’s when Chloe noticed the light on her answering machine.

  There were two messages from Suzanne. The other message was from Richard apologizing again about his behavior that weekend. She checked her cell phone where she discovered four similar messages from Suzanne and three from Richard. Josh had asked her to marry him and although she couldn’t answer him now, she knew in her heart that he was the only one for her. How was she going to tell Richard? After hearing her mom’s story from Jill, she realized she couldn’t marry the wrong man.

  Chloe figured she would call Richard tomorrow. She ate her ravioli, then downed two big scoops of Ben and Jerry’s chocolate brownie fudge, her favorite.

  Chloe realized she couldn’t drown her emotions with food forever. She needed advice. She decided to turn on the speaker phone then called her best friend. “Nic, you’re never going to believe what just happened.”

  “Matt and I were in the middle of watching a baseball game. What’s up?”

  “Josh asked me to marry him and we kissed,” Chloe said.

  “What! When? Where?” Nicole asked. “Did you hear that, Matt? Chloe kissed Josh and he asked her to marry him.”

  “Shhh! Don’t tell Matt,” Chloe pleaded then overheard Matt asking Nicole to call Chloe back later so she wouldn’t miss the game.

  “Josh kissed her,” Nicole repeated, ignoring both Matt’s and Chloe’s requests.

  “Should I go watch the game in the other room?” Chloe overheard Matt ask.

  Chloe heard a rustle as Nicole covered the mouthpiece, but Chloe could still hear her. “Yes, please. I’m sorry, babe, but this is important. Chloe and Josh are getting married.” Then to Chloe she said, “You have to tell me all the details. Does Richard know?”

  “Of course Richard doesn’t know, but I was hoping to keep it between you and me.”

  “Don’t worry. It’s only Matt, and he won’t tell a soul,” Nicole said. “Now, tell me everything.”

  Chloe was lying down in her pajamas admiring her toenails as she told her all the details of the past day. They were giggling like two teenagers when Nicole said that Matt was calling her again to watch the game with him.

  “Okay, let’s talk soon,” Chloe said before hanging up. I almost f
orgot I need to check Facebook. She turned on her laptop.

  There were two messages from the Ignacio Rodriguez she emailed last time. The first message was a surprised hello and that he was happy to hear from Suzanne. In the second message he requested a meeting and informed her that he lived in San Francisco. OMG! He lives here. What was she going to tell him? She had to verify that he was the real Ignacio. There were so many lunatics out there and she had to make sure he was the one her mother had fallen in love with.

  She wrote,

  “Dear Ignacio,

  It is so wonderful to hear from you. I would like to make sure this is the real you. How long have you been living in SF? Tell me more about yourself and things that only you and I know.

  Suzanne”

  The phone rang as she pressed send. She hadn’t showered so she let it go to the answering machine.

  “Chloe, I’m worried about you. You haven’t been returning any of my calls. Did you receive my messages? Did you mail the invitations? You haven’t told me when I would be meeting Richard’s parents. You know I’m busy with my charity work. I need to know soon.”

  Before she entered the bathroom, the phone rang again. This time it was Richard. “Hi, baby, if you’re home please pick up. I’ve been calling you all day. I miss you and I hope you’re no longer upset with me. I closed another deal today and want to celebrate. How about dinner tomorrow?”

  Chloe just stared at the phone, and then jumped in the shower. After blow drying her hair she decided to check Facebook again. There was another message from Ignacio.

  “Suzanne, my love,

  It‘s me, Ignacio. I’m so happy that you’ve found me. After we spoke, I never heard from you again. All the letters I wrote came back to me and I figured you had moved. I respected your wishes to move on, but I never gave up hope, Suzanne. Are you still in San Francisco? You don’t know how happy I was to receive your message. I know you told me to move on with my life, and to forget about you, but how can I forget my one and only true love?

  To recap on where we left, Giselle and I tried to work out our marriage, but she eventually left me two years later for a much younger man –a photographer who did her shoots. We both decided it would be healthier that our four children live with me since she was travelling all the time. I raised four kids by myself, and devoted my time to them and my work. They were my life, and I’m proud to say that they turned out well and successful.

  They all have their own families now. The youngest just turned forty. I’m a proud grandfather of eight grandchildren. I have a lot of stories to tell you about them. Two of my children live here in San Francisco, while the other two live in New York. I worked for the same company in New York for thirty-six years, until they gave me an early retirement. My son, who is also an architect, opened a business here so I moved to San Francisco four years ago. We work together and, at sixty-three, I plan to retire for a second time in two years.

  Please tell me more about you. I still remember the last time we spoke, when you told me that you were pregnant. Do you have a daughter or a son? Are you married? There’s a reason why you found me again. Suzanne, I will never give up on you.

  Te quiero mucho,

  Ignacio”

  OMG it’s him! After all these years, Ignacio was still in love with her mom. She let loose a shout, which made Greta jump. Now what was she going to tell Ignacio?

  She wrote:

  “Dear Ignacio,

  I’m glad to know that it’s you. I’m sorry to hear about you and Giselle, though I’m delighted to hear about all your grandkids. They must be your pride and joy. I have a twenty-four-year-old daughter named Chloe. After we last spoke, my husband’s job relocated to Half Moon Bay and we lived there until two years ago, when he passed away. He was a good man. When he died, I moved to San Rafael and got my own place.

  I live beside Jill, who’s also a widow like me. She convinced me to move closer to her, and we are both actively involved in charity work. My daughter lives in Half Moon Bay, where she works as a bridal shop manager.

  I did think about you on several occasions, wondering if you were happy and how your life was going. I know it was difficult for both of us not to be together but, like you, I also devoted my life to my daughter and our family. You can say I learned to accept our situation, despite how painful it was for me.

  I’m glad that your kids turned out so successful and that you and your son share a wonderful business.”

  Chloe’s eyes misted as she wrote the letter. She wasn’t sure she was doing the right thing by contacting Ignacio. What if her mom got upset with her? She frowned, then shook her head. Her mom deserved a second chance and so did she. Or maybe she was overstepping her bounds and should just delete it. She needed time to think.

  With a sigh she stood up to change into her pajamas and get ready for bed. But before she could shut her computer, naughty little Greta jumped on top of her bed and placed her paw on the keyboard of her laptop. When Chloe sat back on her bed to look at the message, it read “Message Sent.”

  “Oh look what you did, Greta! I didn’t even finish writing the letter. How can I undo that now?”

  Greta let out a guilty whine.

  Chloe had no time to dwell on what had happened though, because she heard a loud knock on her door. She grabbed her robe and rushed downstairs with Greta by her side. She peeped through the peephole and sighed. Richard. And he wasn’t alone.

  She opened the door halfway, but to her dismay Richard pushed it wider and walked right in with a stocky man, tall and in his fifties, following close behind. “I’ve been trying to reach you for three days. This is Guy. He’s ready to make an offer for your house today. I showed him all the photos and paperwork, and he’s willing to buy it for eight hundred fifty thousand.”

  Chloe turned her back to Richard and walked towards the living room without turning on the lights. The price seems to go higher each time. “Can we do this another time? I’m already in my pajamas.”

  Richard gestured for Guy to follow while he turned on more lights. “There’s no time to waste. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you and you haven’t returned any of my calls.”

  “I’m sorry to disturb you, Ms. Rogers, but I’ve been looking for a house like yours in Half Moon Bay for some time now, and your fiancé was kind enough to offer information about your house,” Guy said.

  “That’s all right,” Chloe said, eyeing Guy. “Richard, can I talk to you for a second?”

  Greta growled at Richard as he followed Chloe to the kitchen.

  “Will you tell your dog to shut up,” Richard said.

  “No, you shut up. Who do you think you are, barging in here bringing a client at this unholy hour!” Chloe snapped.

  “Chloe, you’re the one who never returned my calls. Don’t tell me you’re still upset over what happened in Yosemite.”

  “That’s beside the point. This is my house and you don’t have the right to march in whenever you want,” Chloe yelled. “And yes, I’m still upset about Yosemite but more than that, I’m fed up with you.”

  “Will you keep your voice down! You’re going to drive away the client.”

  Chloe walked back to the living room, Richard following at her heels. “I’m sorry, Guy. There has been a misunderstanding. The house is not for sale.”

  “Chloe!” Richard turned to Guy. “Don’t listen to her. It is for sale.”

  “Richard, you both better leave or I’m going to call the cops,” Chloe said, picking up the phone.

  “Chloe, are you out of your mind?”

  Chloe dialed 9-1-1.

  Guy held up his hands. “Excuse me, but I don’t want to interfere with the both of you. It’s clear to me that the house is not for sale. No hard feelings, Cleo, er, I mean Chloe. This happens all the time. I know how difficult it must be for you since it looks to me that you have wonderful memories here. I wouldn’t sell it if I were you, and I can always find another house in Half Moon Bay.”

  “
Thank you, Guy. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell Richard, but unlike you, he doesn’t seem to get it,” Chloe said, glaring at Richard as she escorted the pair out, then shut the door.

  Thank God! They’re gone.

  Five minutes later, her cell phone rang. “Richard, I told you I’m not selling the house and that’s final.”

  “Is this Chloe Rogers?” A woman with a husky voice was on the other line.

  “This is she,” Chloe said, still shaking with rage.

  “Well, hello there, Chloe, this is Trish … Trish Stewart.”

  “Um, I’m not sure I know any Trish Stewart,” Chloe said, hoping it wasn’t a telemarketer at this late hour.

  “You don’t know who I am, but I know who you are. I’m Josh’s girlfriend.”

  Chloe was silent. Josh has a girlfriend? Had he been lying to her? “Josh Goldman?”

  “Yes, Josh Goldman.”

  Chloe was breathing hard now. Why didn’t Josh tell her that he had a girlfriend? He never told her much about his life in Oregon.

  “Please stay away from Josh, Chloe. It’s because of you that Josh and I are apart. He belongs to me and you stole him.”

  Before she could answer, there was another knock on the door. “I don’t understand.”

  “Oh sure you do. You’re fooling around with Josh when you’re supposed to be getting married soon,” Trish said. “So stay away from Josh.”

  Chloe heard her shut the phone. She had almost forgotten the door when she heard another knock. Chloe ran to check. Richard. What was she going to do? She needed to talk to Josh.

  Chloe took the last tissue from the tissue box on the hallway table before answering the door. “Look, I can explain.”

  “I’m listening,” Richard said, storming past her. “You don’t know how important that client was to me.”

  “And you don’t know how important this house is to me,” Chloe said, drying her eyes. “Didn’t I make myself clear? I’m not selling the house.”