Chapter Twelve
Steve
April
Steve was at the end of the driveway getting the mail. Taking a pile out of the box and riffling through bills and junk, he suddenly froze.
To Steve, thanks for making me feel special.
His hands began to shake so much he wasn’t sure he could read the letter. He took a rattled breath and slowly did so.
Dear Steve,
I apologize for ignoring some of your calls and emails.
I hope this will be the start of something new between us.
You asked in one of your letters if I remembered you from the Belle Isle Art Fair.
Of course I do, how could I forget? Please don’t reach out to me though.
I will contact you. Station management wouldn’t like me talking to a viewer like this but I make an exception for you.
XO Faith
He almost fainted right there, putting one hand on the mailbox to keep himself from falling over.
She was finally coming through, finally getting back to him after so many months.
She did remember him! And she was flirty in her correspondence.
He felt a surge of love and wondered if he should just get into the car right now and drive to Channel 9.
“Stevie?” came a shrill voice from the house. “Can you hurry up with the mail?”
His mother was the last person he needed right now to break this magic spell.
“In a minute,” he snapped back, wanting to revel in this moment, this bubble of love. Faith knew his name, remembered him, wanted to start something new, acknowledged that he made her feel special, and she was even making an exception for him.
He started to get excited and knew he’d have to find a private place soon.
His Faith, his Faith was on the path to loving him.
It was all finally coming true. Just as he knew it would.
He wanted to write her back so badly, to profess his love and suggest some places they could meet up.
He couldn’t really afford a fancy place, but something like Applebee’s would be great for a first date.
There were three within driving distance of his house.
Yet the words of warning not to contact her came back to him and he didn’t want to risk her being fired.
They would both need her income to live the kind of lifestyle they wanted.
He would have to wait, and trust that she would reach out to him again.
He just knew she would now that the floodgates were open.
And since she did remember him, he also felt maybe he could be a little more brazen about in-person contact with her, away from the prying eyes of management, of course.