Like a Sword: A Short Story About a Letter

She had not been expecting a letter. Which was a good thing. Mail probably wouldn't be coming tomorrow.

"Erin?"

She shoved the envelope back into the pages of the novel. "What?"

"I'se just saying I can't believe the whole town's without power," Owen said.

Electric likely wouldn't come back on tonight. Maybe not tomorrow, either. Wind'd blown down a number of lines. Erin sighed. "Yup, it's a real mess out there."

"I don't suppose we'll get electric back tonight."

"Me, neither." Erin tried to forget about the envelope. Who cared if the mail didn't run for the entire week? She was pretty sure it was the last letter, anyway.

"The sun's going down." Owen grinned. "Maybe we should light a few candles. We can play cards by candlelight."

Erin shook her head but couldn't keep the answering grin from her lips. "Ain't a single man who's not really a boy inside."

"That's why-" His cell phone jingled. He whipped it out and flipped it open like he was imitating a gunslinger in one of those old Westerns. "Hello."

Erin cracked the novel. It fell open where the envelope divided its pages. No return address. But she didn't need one to know who'd sent it.

Erin hadn't exactly tried to keep the peace when she stole her sister's boyfriend. Sis was so mad she skipped Erin and Owen's wedding. Since then, Sis never bothered to pick up the phone. Just sent letters, which Erin never answered.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks. Bye." Owen snapped the phone shut and returned it to his pocket. "I gotta work in the morning."

"Oh." Erin met her husband's gaze through the cutout in the kitchen wall. She let the book fall shut and joined him on the couch before he could discover her fiddling with the envelope. "Well, that's real good."

"We could use the money."

She nodded. "What time you need to be there in the morning?"

"Five. I'll have to get up at three thirty to make it outta the house by four."

"That's early." She couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Yeah, I'm wondering if maybe I should just leave tonight." The gathering darkness nearly hid his face now. "There might be tree limbs in the road. It might take me longer to get there. If I go tonight, I'll make sure I'm there on time. I can just sleep in the office."

She pictured the few dollars left in her purse.

"I can't afford to be late, babe."

As if he'd heard her thoughts. "I know. I just never spent a night alone in my life." At least she'd have the privacy to read the last letter and mourn by herself. In peace.

He nodded. "I doubt you'll have any trouble, but people do get kinda crazy sometimes when the power goes out." He grabbed her hand, pulled her up, and led her into the bedroom. Opened the drawer that held his socks and underwear. Pulled out the black plastic case with raised block letters, G-L-O-C-K. "You remember how I showed you to shoot it, right?"

Erin snorted. "If you want to call what I done shooting."

Owen spared her the task of loading it. When he finished, he handed her the Glock. "You'll be fine. Keep it beside the bed tonight." Owen threw a pair of socks, underwear, and a clean T-shirt into a stained canvas backpack, then kissed Erin. "Lock the door behind me."

Erin nodded. As he pulled out of the drive, she waved, even though she couldn't see him beyond the glare of the headlights. She then lit every candle she could find. She ripped open the envelope she'd been hiding for four days.

I done a lot of thinking, she began to read in the dim flickers of the candles. But she couldn't bear to think this was the last letter, so she skipped to the end. After everything that has happened, I'm not sure if this will make a difference. But I wanted you to know that I'm sorry for what I've said to you, especially in my last letter. Even if you never speak to me again, I also need to tell you I've decided to forgive you. I hope you know I still love you.

She returned the gun to its case and tucked the case in the drawer. She slept that night with the letter beside her bed.

"Reckless words pierce like a sword, / but the tongue of the wise brings healing" (Proverbs 12:18).

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.