The Letter - Chapter 10

I hit the speed dial number on my phone to call Liz.

“Jen?  Hi.  Where the heck have you been?” Liz asked.

“We were excused from classes for rehearsal week.  Did you come to the play?”

“Of course!  I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!  You were amazing as Miss Barrett! That was a huge part.  I’ve never seen Up the Down Staircase before.  You’re a natural.  I would have congratulated you, but you were absolutely inundated with fans.”

“Thanks,” I said.  Yeah, even my mom was there, along with her jerk husband.  Anyway, I guess my part was a good fit, since I want to be an English teacher.  And I haven’t ruled out teaching in an inner city school like the one in the play.  Those kids need good teachers too.”

“I agree.  Anyway, the play was over a week ago.  I was afraid your dad might have grounded you after the whole letter disaster, since I hadn’t heard from you.”

“Well, I did follow your advice and confess I’d taken the letter.  My dad rushed to the basketball game in the middle of that snowstorm, but he and the mystery lady never connected.  I’m not sure what happened.”

“So what did he do to you?” asked Liz.

“Actually, nothing.  I mean I gave him the letter and was literally bawling as I tried to tell him how sorry I was.  I waited for the other shoe to drop after he returned from the game, but he didn’t do anything.”

“Well, who can understand parents, right?  So where have you been?  I mean, I’ve seen you around in school since the play, but you seemed like you were in a haze.”

“Yeah, well, Dad’s been super depressed since getting stood up at the game.  I found the letter in his wastebasket.  I’ve been trying to figure out if there’s anything I can do to help.  I’d like to give that woman a piece of my mind.”

“Maybe, it wasn’t her fault.  Shit happens as they say.  Maybe something kept her from the game.  Maybe she got into an accident or something.”

“I guess anything is possible.  She was coming from out of town.”

“Yeah, where is she from?”

“I don’t know.  You remember.  No signature, no return address.”

“Yeah, a true mystery. . . . Hey, Jen.  You know what?  We should try to solve this mystery – you and me.  I always wanted to be like Nancy Drew.”

   

“But there are no clues.  A detective needs clues to solve a mystery.”

“I never said it would be easy.  Come on.  This can be fun, and you can redeem yourself from disappointing your father.”

“Maybe you’re right.  It might be worth a try anyhow.”

“That’s right.  Tell your dad you’re coming to my house to study after school tomorrow.  I’ll tell my mom to plan on you having dinner with us.  That will give us a few hours to get started.  Bring the letter and any other clues you can think of.   In the meantime, I’ll brush up on my Nancy Drew.  I have a bunch of them here on my bookshelf.”

“Yes, Liz.  We can be guided by Nancy.”

“Hey, Jennifer!  I‘d forgotten about this.  There’s one on my shelf called Nancy’s Mysterious Letter!  What do you think of that?”

“It will no doubt lead us directly to the mystery woman,” I responded with a chuckle.  Talking to Liz always makes me feel better.  I guess that’s what friends are for.