He stared at the pages expecting to see more photographs, so the envelopes
were a surprise. Much more so for Julia though. After a moment he lifted
one of them from the book and handed it to her. "Special delivery." he told
her rolling over on his back and slipping an arm around her shoulders.
Julia lay beside Derek, holding the letter in her hands and feeling his arm
around her shoulders. The one he had picked up had been in her father's
handwriting and she was surprised that, when she finally slipped her finger
under the seal of the envelope and ran it across to open the letter, her
fingers weren't shaking worse than what they were.
'Hello sweetheart. Don't be too upset about the roller picture. Could
have been worse - I could have put a picture of you in the baby bath.'
Julia choked on a laugh and continued to read, holding it so that Derek
could read it too if he wanted.
'And of course if you are reading this it means one of two things but I
know it is the first, because I know my daughter. You've either found 'him'
or you peeked before you said you would. Now get your mother's letter -
that one is for you. This is for the man that has caught my daughter's eye
and heart.'
Julia turned her gaze to Derek and passed him the letter, repeating what he
had said a moment ago with a crooked grin "Special delivery."
She then sat up enough to reach across his abdomen and for the other
envelope, only to remain that way to give Derek a little privacy to read the
letter as she lay with her weight on her elbows across his stomach and
opened to read her mother's envelope.
Just out of curiosity, as she started reading the words, she flipped the
page of the album, smiling at the images there before concentrating on her
mother's letter.
A moment later she closed the letter and laid it back between the page it
had been in and wiped at her eyes before turning to look at Derek, putting
her hands on his chest, palms down and her chin on top of them until he was
done.
Her mother had written everything Julia knew she would and it was almost as
if she had been there in a way to have that talk with her. Her mother had
even hinted at what her husband had written in his letter and Julia was
watching Derek's expression as he read that letter.
_________________________________________________________
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