A letter that lands

A sample letter. Invented brief, nobody real. The shape is what I do.

Ruth,

Twelve years today. I think I'm the only one still counting, and I've decided that isn't sad. It means I'm the one who gets to keep doing it.

I drove past the diner. They painted it blue. You would have hated that. You said green was the only thing that building ever got right, and you said it every time we passed, like it was news.

I sat in the lot a while. Didn't cry. For a second that felt like a betrayal, and then I heard you laugh at me for even keeping score. So you were there after all. That's how it works now. You show up in the parts where I'm being ridiculous.

I don't need you to be anywhere. I just wanted one hour where you were the most important thing in the room again.

You still are, some days. Today was one.

Me