(Phone rings)…….

“Hello”

“Hey Mom, this is Sherry, is daddy at home? I need to speak to him if he is.”

“No honey he isn’t, and I don’t expect him anytime soon… what’s the matter?”

“Well, there’s not really anything wrong at this minute, but…”

“But what Sherry?”

“Uh, nothing really except there were some men down at the school looking for him today, they said that they were old friends of dads and that they needed to see him. I told them where he worked and suggested they check there, they said that they already had and that he wasn’t there. They said that it was real important that they speak to him and kept pressuring on his whereabouts. I asked them if they knew where he lived and they said that they had been by your house as well and he wasn’t there either. I told them that I really had to get back to class since I had handed out a test and needed to get the papers graded before going home…daddy isn’t in any trouble is he mom?”

“Sherry, I just don’t know anything anymore, your dad…. (still on the phone with Sherry; looking out the front window) Uh, Sherry, what kind of car was the men driving? Did you get a look at it?”

Yes I did mom, but I couldn’t tell you much about it except it wasn’t a car, but a black van with black tinted windows.”

(Pulling drapes closed)

“Sherry, can you meet me at the Black Cow Coffee shop in an hour?”

Sure mom, I should be finished up in time here to meet you. Can’t you just tell me what’s going on with dad?”

Yes, but in an hour, OK?”

OK mom, one hour it is. I will see you then. I love you!”

I love you to baby…bye bye.

(Pulls a pen from the writing desk and begins to write)

Allen, I will have no way of knowing if this note will reach you or not. If you can get letters to me through your magic portal, then the same rule should apply for me as well. I with a sincere heart tell you this. I did not believe your letters at first, nor is this letter to you a statement of faith that I now believe you. Just let tell you this. Ever since your disappearance, there have been things happening that I can’t explain. One being that you was some type of “White Yankee Spy” or something for the government. Never in all our years of marriage did you bring this up. In fact, you just made up a whole bunch of stuff about serving on a ship at the end of the Vietnam War. You should have been a writer rather than a technician. I wouldn’t have found this out except I reported you missing and a local police detective uncovered the information. Even in that there was not much to go on since most of it had been blacked out by the spooks that you were working for.

I swear to you Allen and hear me well.  If you cause this family any harm, there will not be enough time and space to keep me from ripping you apart.  I mean look at me now trying to sneak out of my own house like a common thief. I wish you could know what I am going through because of you. Parked right now in the front of our house is a black van and standing at the back of the van is a man suited up in black head to toe. I am to meet Sherry in just a few minutes to let her in on what is going on since those same men have already introduced themselves to our daughter as old friends of yours.

Yet before I meet Sherry, I’m going to go back to that bridge of yours and see if I can’t air mail this letter to you into whatever the place is that you are now calling home. I’m also going to take the package of letters you sent to me and let Sherry see for herself. I will admit that there are many things that I do not understand. The detective told me that the package you sent over according to forensics was indeed from the time period you describe. Even the photograph of yourself you included of you down at the river was tested and proved to be a daguerreotype from the early 1890s. I can’t explain it, but if you get this note and can get a reply back to me, you better start explaining what is really going on and quit trying to paint me a picture of Eden. I will say this in closing, I do love you Allen, and if you will just be honest with me on this, we will get through it…just promise me the truth…I love you. Oh, by the way…where did you get that outfit you are wearing? It looks like you just rode in from the range (smiles)….I love you

Leah

© 2007