The Gift of an Unexpected Letter

He had not been expecting a letter. But there it sat on his desk. Clean and crisp. Someone had purposely set it there; it was put in an obvious spot where Steven would find it. But the casual observer would have missed it tucked underneath a pile of papers and folders.

Steven looked around. It looked fairly recently written as the ink on the envelope was still fresh and smudged slightly where Steven held it between his fingers. Steven stretched his back and scratched his head. He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. It was late. Could he wait until tomorrow to read the letter?

He knew who had written the letter. He wasn't looking forward to opening it. It had to be from his wife. Laura had the habit of writing letters to him. He wished they were love letters - with envelopes slightly scented with her favorite perfume and words professing her undying love to him. Laura's letters, although personal and passionate, were more tirades of disappointment, anger, and hurt.

Steven sighed. He knew Laura was going through a lot. Didn't she understand things weren't easy for him either? She was scared; so was he. If he could, Steven would choose to be an ostrich and hide his head until the situation passed. By that time, he smirked, he could be dead. Steven leaned back, crossed his fingers behind his head, and closed his eyes. Just a few months ago everything seemed to be going so right for Steven and Laura. Now look at them. Only his wedding band reminded him that he and Laura were still together.

They shared many dreams as a young married couple and many of those dreams had become reality. They bought a four-bedroom home in a fairly decent neighborhood within a top-notch school district. They had two young boys and were expecting their third baby. Laura was pursuing her career in nursing and Steven was following his dream by starting his own business. Their mountain of debt was shrinking. Life was good.

Then a storm cloud of sickness settled in. Steven had always been a nervous person and had developed several nervous habits, tics, and twitches. When his hand started to tremble ever so slightly, he just assumed he was in the middle of a panic attack. In fact, he had been going to his doctor on a regular basis to be treated for anxiety and stress-related symptoms. However, the trembling grew in intensity and soon he could feel nervous tremors in his foot. Finally, his doctor recommended Steven see a specialist. A battery of tests were ordered. The conclusion - Young Onset Parkinson's disease.

Laura took the news hard. Steven's worry about her and the baby didn't help matters. In fact, it just seemed to incur Laura's wrath. This past week had been no different. Laura wanted Steven to go to another specialist and see if the doctor could find the right combination of medicine for him. She wanted Steven to take a more proactive role in his health care. All Steven thought about was being able to just hold his newborn baby girl without shaking her. Steven's refusal to go see a specialist made Laura more than furious. She refused to speak to Steven. She ignored his touch. She scoffed at his offers for reconciliation.

And now the letter. Steven opened his eyes and put on his glasses. He opened and grimaced as he took out a stack of folded sheets, written on both sides. Thankfully, Laura wrote in a large, sprawling hand, particularly when she was upset. Steven sat reading the pages of Laura's heartfelt concern and stark fear. She pleaded with him to talk to her, to tell her things that were on his mind. She needed to know his fears and his hopes.

Steven put the letter down. His eyes wondered upward, thinking about Laura who undoubtedly cried herself to sleep in their bed. He had so much to tell Laura in response and yet had few answers to her endless list of questions. Never having been much of a letter writer, Steven had often communicated with Laura through gifts. Recent budgets restricted his ability to treat Laura to the finer things in life. He sighed. A bouquet of roses was not going to pacify Laura. He knew what she wanted. He opened a desk drawer and took out a legal pad. He grabbed a pen and began to write a love letter to his wife.