“You can’t move without telling him,” Jenna berates me.
She’s right. Yet, I can’t talk to him either. He doesn’t deserve what I did to him. He’s been nothing but good to me. So I write him a letter explaining that I’m leaving town. I ask for his forgiveness and for his understanding. I leave with strict instructions to Jenna for her not to tell him where I’ve gone if he should ask. Only fate put us together again.
Present
I take Andy’s hand in mine. “There are a few things I need to show you and do before I can answer you.”
When we get to my place, he sits on the couch when I go to my room to get something. I come back to the room and sit next to him before I hand him the letter. It’s the letter Ben gave to me from Drew those many, many months ago.
I WALK UP TO ANDY, OR Drew, as I should now call him, and hand him the manila envelope I received last week. It was from Ben, which surprised me a little, but the mysterious contents intrigued me even more. Inside were two more envelopes, one addressed to me, and the other said, “The One—Cate—DO NOT OPEN!”
When I read the letter in the one addressed to me, my emotions were all over the place as I was thrown by the handwriting. Of course, I should have known he would’ve thought of everything. And he did.
Cate,
If you’re reading this, then Ben has deemed it was the appropriate time to pass this along, which means you have found THE ONE. Ben’s instructions were to send you this when he knew you had either fallen in love again, or were getting married. I hope, for your sake, that you are the happiest woman in the world. It is my most fervent wish that you live life to its fullest with the man of your dreams.
The other envelope is for him. Don’t you dare open it. If he chooses to share it with you, that is his business.
Be happy. You deserve nothing less than the best.
Yours,
Drew
Tears clouded my vision when I read it.
Now I stand before my other Drew, or Andy, and hand him his letter. His eyes ping back and forth between it and me. “What is this?”
“It’s from Drew. Ben sent it.”
A V forms between his brows and he turns it over a few times in his hands as he stares at it. He sits on the couch with his forearms resting on his thighs. I can’t even imagine what he must be thinking as he holds a letter from his girlfriend’s deceased husband.
“This is pretty weird, Cate.”
“Yeah, I know. If you don’t want to read it …”
“No, I do.” He fills his lungs with air and very gently opens the thick paper. Inside, I see the familiar handwriting, but I don’t dare peek. I walk to the other side of the room as he reads. He stops for a moment, wipes his face, and continues. When he’s finished, there isn’t a dry part of his face. Tears freely run and he does nothing to stop them. His arm extends out to me with the letter in his hand.
“You should read this.”
I take it from him and exchange it for a handful of tissues. Then I begin.
To THE ONE,
Since you’re reading this, Cate has either consented to marry you or has told you she’s fallen in love with you. If you haven’t yet asked her to marry you, you’d better do so. Love—those words don’t come easy for her, nor does she say them frivolously to just anyone. So you are one lucky bastard, let me tell you. And with that being said, I would ask that you treat her like the most precious bird alive. Most people think their loved ones need to be treated like gems. But gems are hard, and don’t need special care. Cate does. Don’t let her fly away. I’m sure she wanted to run from you. She probably felt guilty about loving you. Tell her I said to forget about that damn guilt. It’s a useless emotion that will bring her nothing but more pain. If she’s chosen you, you’d better do everything in your power to deserve her, because she’s special.
Cate changed my life. She has a way of putting her handprint on things and when she does, they are never the same again. She did that to me. She put the extra beat in my heart, made the blood flow faster through my veins, made my soul burn brighter and my sprit grow deeper. Once she entered my life, I knew there was no going back. I hope she does that to you, too. I once said that getting cancer made me more empathetic. That wasn’t true. It was Cate who did that to me.
I wanted her to move on and to find someone else after me, and I’m glad she did. My friend, Ben, has my permission to kick your ass if you’re not good to her. And he will. He’s that kind of guy. But I’m hoping he doesn’t have to because I truly want you to make her the happiest woman on Earth. For everything I put her through, she deserves it.
Now go and do her right. Treat her well and love her with everything you’ve got. You won’t be disappointed.
Drew McKnight