The Moment of Letting Go - J. A. Redmerski Page 0,145

of the letter up from the floor. I take them over to my desk and open them all, laying them out so I can put them back together like a puzzle. When I have all the pieces in place, I pat the paper down with the palm of my hand to smooth it out so that it’s readable.

And then I read it out loud.

Hey Sienna,

I know you probably never expected to hear from me. And it was a bitch tracking you down, just so you know. I sent an email through the website where you work, but it bounced back. I tried calling once, but I got the voice mail and, shit, I can’t stand voice mail. Talkin’ to myself and all. And no telling who’s listening to it. I hate that. Anyway. Look, Luke is a pretty aewsome awesome guy, and as you know, I’m kind of protective of him. OK, I’m a little batshit-crazy protective of him, but I am of all of my good friends because we’re like a family. And I know this might be weird because we didn’t know each other real well, but I think of you as family too and I think you and Luke belong together. Like, no joke. You’re kinda perfect for him (even if you’re afraid of heights) and I guess this is me trying to do right by you both and tell you that he’s so fucking in love with you it makes me nauseous. Seriously. He talks about you all the time. It might be sweet and all, but it’s weird. I think he needs to get laid. Maybe that’ll help. But with you, of course. I don’t want any bitches breakin’ his heart, y’know?

So anyway, just give it some thought. He quit BASE jumping. Kinda sucks, but we all totally understand. Give him a call or somethning, something (I think I’m dyslexic!). And really, I kinda miss you too. I’ve never really got along with bitches before, but you’re all right.

Yeah, so umm, if anyone other than Sienna (dark reddish-brown hair, short bangs, and with like a million freckles) is reading this letter, do me a favor and get the hell out of my business. Thanks.

Sincerely,

Kendra Morganton

Luke laughs out loud and his hand goes up toward his face, where he rubs his fingers against his jaw—it needs another shave, which I’d be happy to give him.

“Wow,” he says with disbelief. “I, uh, well, I had no idea she did that. And I’m really kind of shocked that she’d do it at all. That’s not like her.”

I look back down at that letter sitting atop my desk in uneven pieces under the lamplight, and I think about how stupid it was that I never opened it before. I could’ve put my mind at ease weeks ago.

“To tell you the truth, she’s talked about you almost as much as I have.” He laughs. “She’ll never admit it, but she has. She really likes you. So do Seth and Alicia—everybody does, honestly. Even Melinda; she asks me about you all the time.”

Luke steps up to me and his fingertips touch the sides of my face as he peers into my eyes.

“Move to Hawaii, Sienna,” he says. My heart skips several beats. “I mean it. I want you to come live with me. I mean, if you want me to move to California, then I’ll do it because I can’t spend another day without you. But if you come to Hawaii, we don’t have to worry about buying a new house or anything like that. Mine’s not much, but it’s paid for. I-I mean, I can have some repairs done, get the ceiling fixed so you don’t have to look up at the water stains every time we go to bed; I can put some new cabinets and counters in the kitchen—you probably like that granite stuff. I don’t care. I’ll do it—”

I kiss his lips to shut him up.

“Yes,” I tell him. “I’ll move to Hawaii with you.”

His close-lipped smile brightens slowly, the look in his eyes overwhelmed with happiness.

“And I don’t care about the ceiling or the cabinets,” I say. “I don’t care if we have to sleep outside in the rain—everything will work out. I just know it. Luke, I want to be with you. Because I’m madly in love with you too.” I kiss him again—I can’t believe I’m saying these things, so willing to move forward without any real plan, but it feels so right. “Yes,