She just laughed. "Ah, young love," she said.
"Y’see, that’s the good part about being the youngest of three," Ed said. "Mom has seen and heard it all."
"Definitely," she agreed. "Ed’s brother Patrick is a junior in college, and his sister Katherine is a freshman. And Patrick was a wild child. Katherine had her own set of issues."
"Being a bitch, mostly," Ed said, earning a glare from his mother. "You know it’s true," he maintained.
Mrs. Bauer sighed. "They’ve never gotten along."
"Anyhow, enough of Kate. I’m in too good of a mood."
"Who’s up for breakfast?" Mrs. Bauer said.
"I’m starving," Ed admitted. "Nat?"
"Well, I don’t want to impose."
"Don’t be ridiculous," Mrs. Bauer said. "How do you like your eggs?"
"Scrambled," I smiled.
"Scrambled it is. Ed, I heard the mailman. Can you check the mail?"
"I have nothing but boxers on," he said, bemused.
"You’ve been naked all week!" she pointed out.
"Relax. I’ll get it. You wouldn’t want to overexcite the neighbors," I teased. "Besides, it’ll be payback for breakfast."
I went out and got their mail, and brought it in. It was their mail. I didn’t snoop. But I couldn’t help but see the return address on the top letter.
They told me to just put it on the coffee table, so I did, then went back into the kitchen. We ate breakfast and chatted. Then, Mrs. Bauer got up and said, "So, what’s in the mail?"
I followed her, and whispered, "I was not snooping, but I saw the top letter. Would you mind if I gave it to him?" She looked at it, looked at me, smiled, and handed it. Ed came out of the kitchen and sat on the couch. I sat next to him.
"Anything for me?" he smiled at his mother. I took a deep breath, and handed him the letter.
"I saw this, it was on top. I think you should open it," I told him.
"Annie," he said in a whisper.
"I think you should open it," I pressed. "You should stop sending them back unread. You need to open it."
"Why?" he asked me, incredulous.
"Because you still care about her."
"But I have you now," he grinned.
"That doesn’t matter," I argued. "Look, if you open that letter and it says she wants you back, she can’t live without you, blah blah blah-would you dump me and go back with her?"
"Not a chance," he smiled.
"Good. So, then, it doesn’t matter that you have me. Because you still care about her. Maybe not in a romantic way, but you still care about her. I think you always will." I took a deep breath. "Look, because of the way I was up until a week ago, there are very few people I’ve cared about. Because of you and your friends, that number has gone way up in a week. Because of that, I know how valuable it is. Ed, open the letter."
He stared at it for a good minute-and then he opened it. I’ll admit, I was surprised. And, judging from the look on her face, Mrs. Bauer was shocked. I watched him as he read, getting shakier by the minute. When he was done, he put the letter in my lap.
"This is yours," I said, trying to hand it back.
"No. Read it. Please." He was practically on the verge of tears. "I’ll be right back." He headed upstairs.
"That wasn’t you, I don’t think," his Mom told me with a smile, "he hates crying in front of me." She took a breath. "That was one of the most selfless, loving, generous things I’ve ever seen. You’re quite a girl, Natalie Weinberg."
I just smiled, and blushed. Then I picked up the letter. It was dated Wednesday.
"Dear Ed,
Here I go again, writing the letter that’ll never be read. Sometimes I wonder why I bother. Crazy hope, I guess.
I’m fine. Aunt Kristina and Uncle Jack are wonderful. They’ve become the parents I hadn’t had since Dad died. I’ve gotten over a lot of things that happened. I’m in therapy, and it helps. I’ve been in it right along.
I talked to Amanda last night. She said there’s a new girl in your life-she said there’s nothing happening quite yet, but she thinks there will be. She also said you’d probably be pissed that she told me-and she’ll probably be pissed that I mentioned it here. Of course, you’ll never read this. But, if you do, please, Ed: GO FOR IT! You deserve it. Of all people, you deserve it. It still kills me that I couldn’t have been the one-but I couldn’t. Not then. And you’ll never know how sorry I am for that.
I’ve been dating Gary for six months. He’s the first, really, since-you know. I had to re-learn how to love and trust someone. It was easy-because you taught me. It’s my fault that I caught on too late, not yours.
Every letter I’ve ever sent has ended the same way. You’ve been my best friend since I was eleven. You’ll always be my best friend. And I miss my best friend very, very much.
Love,
Annie."
I finished-blinking back my own tears-when Ed came down, a forced smile on his face. He was dressed.
I stood up and walked over to him, handing him the letter back. "Ed?" I said. "Newburgh’s only twenty minutes away."
"I can’t," he said.
"Not only can you, you need to. Look, I know you loved her, but forget about your relationship. That was doomed, you know it, and she obviously knows it, too. But she was your bestfriend! That is not doomed, and doesn’t have to be. If this were-I don’t know-Amanda, would you even think twice?"
He grinned, surprising me. "That’s exactly what Mike said that night at The Mariner."
"Wow. And my mother’s not even a psychologist," I laughed. "Ed, get your car keys. You need to do this."
"Not by myself."
"OK," I agreed. He went to get the car keys.
"Natalie?" His mother said. "You’re a miracle worker."
"Just giving back what I’ve already gotten, that’s all," I smiled.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE EDI couldn’t believe I was doing this. I couldn’t believe it. Part of me was screaming in terror at just the thought.
But I was doing it. We got into Newburgh and found the address pretty easily.
I pulled up in front of the house. I admit it, I was shaking.
"Good luck," Natalie said, and leaned over and kissed me.
"Aren’t you coming?" I asked.
"Nope. I’m going to go for a little walk. We passed a store back on the main street, I’m going to walk there and get something to drink. Ed, you haven’t seen her in two years. It’s not my place to be there."
"Natalie, I-" he began.
"It’s not my place. Not right at first. This is between the two of you. I’ll be back. GO. I’ll make sure you get in the house, and then I’ll go for my walk. I’ll be back." And she smiled at me.
I kissed her, and opened the drivers’ side door, and headed up the walk. My brain was in turmoil. I didn’t know what to think. Except one thing-the trust that Natalie had in me was nothing short of astounding.
I rang the bell. A woman answered.
"Hello, I was looking for Annie Zipelski. Is she in?"
"Yes," she looked at me a bit suspiciously. Probably because I was a guy, and not the boyfriend. "May I ask who’s calling?"
"Yes, ma’am, please tell her it’s Ed Bauer."
"What?" she said incredulously. "You came?" She opened the door all the way. "Get in here!" She gave me a huge grin, then walked down a hall that led from the front door. At the end of the hall, there was a flight of stairs.
"Annie? Get down here. You have company," she yelled up the stairs.
"Gary? Eileen?" I heard from upstairs.
"None of the above. But, believe me, it’s someone you want to see."
"OK," I heard in a tentative voice, and then heard footsteps on the stairs. She came down, and turned the corner, and there she was. Two years, and she hadn’t changed much. The same shoulder-length brown hair in a ponytail, the same bright brown eyes, the same petite-yet-proportional body. She smiled at the woman-her aunt, I’d surmised-and then turned and saw me.