Quite some time ago, I posted a fictional series on my previous blog
about the origin of my engagement ring. Truthfully, we found the set in
an antique store in Micanopy, a small town outside of our college town.
The woman who sold it to us knew very little about the set, other then
when it was likely made. I have always been enamored with history,
mostly because I love imagining people's lives and the goings-on during
different time periods. The series is still one of my favorite things
I've ever written, and for that reason I'd like to re-publish it here.
It is entirely fictional and has no truth to it whatsoever, although it
is fun to imagine otherwise.
Part 1, here.
Part 2, here.
Part 3, here.
A few
days had passed since Nadine had placed her small, handwritten letter on
the lobby mailboxes. Her attempt to be mysterious had resulted in the
purchase of a pair of bright yellow shoes and a hideous blue hat. She
realized almost immediately that mystery could not be purchased. She
thought of her dear mother who had never tried to be anything but
herself. Nadine sighed.
George had spent minutes, hours deciding
what to write back to the woman in the floral skirt. The letter sat on
his empty dining room table, as if it needed all the space it was given.
He sat down. He stood up. He felt a little ridiculous over the
nervousness he felt. He sat back down.
Dear Woman In The Floral Skirt (Nadine),
It
is you, right? Your letter was not intrusive. Quite the opposite,
actually. I am sorry to report, however, that I have no experience in
tools or handywork or anything else like it. I, myself, was trying to
repair my typewriter, which now sits broken in the corner of my living
room. A shame, really.
Yours,
George (Apartment 2B)
He
looked at the letter. It seemed cold, distant. But he didn't know how
else to write it. And then he looked at the way he had signed it. He
wondered about Yours. It seemed too intimate. Oh well, he thought. And with that, he walked down to the mailboxes and taped the letter to Apartment 3B's mailbox. Nadine, he thought, what a lovely name.
Just then, he realized she was living right above him. He walked back
into his apartment and shut the door. He stood in the center of his
living room and looked up. Suddenly, he felt less alone as he imagined
what Nadine was up to. It was a comfort he had not felt since the day
before he had broken his typewriter.
Although Nadine was trying
not to care, she had checked her mailbox incessantly over the last few
days for any kind of sign that The Man With The Bright Red Socks had
been there. On this particular trip to the mailbox, she realized he had
been. She read the letter. A brilliant idea crossed her mind.
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