18
Elizabeth had the satisfaction of receiving an answer to her letter as soon as she possibly could. —Pride she’s April Rain’s little sister. My week has been totally bonkers. I flew in early to help April with the bachelorette party and other wedding festivities. Whenever I’m at my cousin’s house, I feel like I’m on another planet. Part of that is my Uncle Dean Elliot. He’s so vain; he has himself painted on the ceiling. For the record, April is awesome. And September, well, she improves with each visit.
I promised hot gossip, so here you go. But first, remember that I’m trusting you to keep this secret for a few days, maybe a week.
You may have heard that April and Freddy West are now an item. But did you know that they dated before? In fact, they were engaged! This was during the peak of April’s career. At the time, Freddy wasn’t famous. He was just a law student, working part-time as a lifeguard. April’s dad and her manager pressured her to dump him. Freddy started writing songs about his broken heart and the rest is history. You’ve probably connected the dots by now, but if not, let me spell it out for you—April Rain is Freddy West’s mysterious muse!
I’ve known this for years and keeping this secret has been slowly killing me. I couldn’t even tell my sisters or my parents or anyone. But now you know. And soon, the whole world will know, but remember, you heard it first from me.
April has been regretting Freddy for years. When she was my roommate, Freddy West played on repeat at our apartment. So, this is huge! I’m so happy for her and Freddy. He’s pretty cool. I’m so glad they got a second chance.
I’m flying home today. I’m at LAX as I type. I saw a flight to Sacramento, and I really wished I was on it.
Yours with her own regrets,
Lettie
P.S. Tell Fitz I’m sorry I didn’t visit.
How’s that for vulnerable? In my mind, this email screams: “Give me another chance!”
From: [email protected]
Subject: Reply to: Celebrity Wedding Hot Gossip
Lettie,
And you accuse me of not being normal? Your uncle is a former TV star, your cousin is a pop star, and her new boyfriend is Freddy West! And yes! I might be fangirling here because I am a huge Freddy West fan. I also like April Rain. Both of them have songs on my erg* playlist.
I can imagine how hard it must have been for you to keep this secret. I am dying to call Georgie right now. But I won’t. Your secret is safe with me.
I can’t say how disappointed Fitz and I are that you didn’t catch a flight to Sacramento. I suppose it’s good to know that you wanted to visit us.
We’re in the middle of the harvest. It’s another bumper crop this year, which is good and bad. Good for Pemberley’s manufacturing businesses. Not so good for the almond distribution branch.
I should probably delete that last paragraph. I tend to run on when I’m talking about Pemberley Almonds. I’ve poured my heart and soul into this company. It’s so much more than work for me.
How’s your work doing? Any new books for me to read? How many times does a guy have to ask? How are your sisters? What sort of costumes is your mom sewing? Do you guys watch GBBO ? I normally watch it with my mom and sister. But they’re in England. So, Fitz and I must watch it on our own.
Yours,
Liam
*The erg is what rowers call a rowing machine. Now, you can be a cool kid and call it by its proper name.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Reply to: Celebrity Wedding Hot Gossip
Liam,
Go ahead, tell Georgie! I trust her.
Also, I am so much more normal than you. I’m not the weirdo who uses cloth handkerchiefs. I drive a Bug instead of a Jag. By the way, does your car have a name?
Feel free to tell me more about rowing and work. You haven’t bored me yet.
My mom is making costumes for The Grinch . There are so many snips of green fur around the house it looks like we have a green dog that sheds.
We are also huge GBBO fans. Tilly is doing her best to become a star baker. We usually have a few baking competitions during Christmas. My parents are the judges and I always lose. Gretta is busy with college apps. I’ve been helping her with her essays and have almost convinced her to apply to a few California schools. My dad has been fishing a lot.
Yours with green fuzz on her black sweats,
Lettie
From: [email protected]
Subject: Reply to: Celebrity Wedding Hot Gossip
Lettie,
Did you hear Georgie’s squee of excitement all the way in Iowa? She’s so excited and grateful to you for letting her in on this secret. She told me to tell you that in exchange, she will tell you all my secrets. I refused to give her your number.
Yours with no secrets,
Liam
P.S. My car’s name is the Batmobile. I blame Georgie for that name.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Reply to: Celebrity Wedding Hot Gossip
Dear Liam,
You forget. You already gave me her email address!
Yours with maniacal laughter,
Lettie
P.S. I’m only kidding.
P.P.S. I won’t email your sister.
P.P.P.S But it is tempting.
P.P.P.P.S To think I’ve ridden in the Batmobile!
From: [email protected]
Subject: Fall in Iowa
Liam,
Iowa has the best fall! Everyone talks about fall in New England, and admittedly, I’ve never been there in October, but I can’t imagine it could be any more glorious than what is happening here. The colors on the trees are so vivid they almost hurt your eyes— yellow, orange, and red leaves so bright they seem to glow against the bluest October sky. The nights are much colder. I find myself wearing my red beanie wherever I go.
Another plus about October is the doughnut cat. Imagine a cat’s shadow cut out of plywood and painted black. The tail sticks almost straight up, so you can put doughnuts on it. For the entire month of October, the cat’s tail is stocked with them. It’s the only month we have doughnuts in the Benson house. Come to think of it. I want one. I’m going downstairs to get one.
Mmm . . . this one is apple cider.
But fall is more than leaves and doughnuts; it also marks the return of college football. We live close enough to Iowa State that on game day we can hear the cheers from the stadium in my backyard.
What is fall like there? I also want to know so many other things? Did you really grow up on a farm? I’ve been to your house, and it’s not very farm-like. Do you have a favorite Halloween costume? What have you been baking?
With a mouth full of doughnut yumminess,
Lettie
P.S. Tell Fitz I miss him.