“Even before I opened the letter, I knew what it was going to say…”
THE BAD LETTER
© 2003 by Mae Ondracek
“Even before I opened the letter, I
knew what it was going to say. I had
expected this letter for quite awhile,” David thought. “Mary is in
David hung his
head and wept, then reread the letter, “Dear David, “I am sorry to write you
this type of letter but I do not think we can make a go of it any longer. You remember Gus, from the missionary group
that I went with. Well, we have just hit
it off splendly and I think we both are so much in love. Do what you have to do to get the divorce and
I will sign the papers. I want
everything to be easy for you, although I know it isn’t going to be. I am so sorry. Mary”
David threw
the letter across the room and wept some more.
“Why? Why did you have to leave
me, Mary? I don’t know what to do.”
He was glad it
was Friday and two days off work should give him time to think about this. He had to think about it, but not now, he was
too upset. David picked up the letter
and put it under the telephone leg as he ran his hand over the edge. “Why?
Why?” he cried over and over as
he looked out the window. He thought,
“She has been gone only six months. How
can she be so in love with that guy? It
took us almost a year before we got serious.
She can’t do this to me,” he cried as he hit the table over and over
again.
He jumped as
the phone rang and he looked at the caller ID and seen it was Mark. He blew his nose and picked up the
phone. “Hey, David. What’s wrong?
I was almost ready to hang up,” Mark asked.
“What are you
up to, Mark?” David asked.
“Come on,
David, what’s wrong? You sound,
different.”
“Oh, Mark,”
David was crying again. “II just got a
letter from Mary and she wants a divorce.
A divorce, can you believe that?”
“David,” Mark
said, “I’ll be right over,” and he hung up the phone. Within fifteen minutes there was a knock at
David’s door and there stood Mark. Everyready Mark. David had cleaned his face, but when he saw
Mark, he started to cry again as he sat down on the sofa. “Why, Mark?
Why?”
“Did Mary call
you, David?”
“No. The letters under the telephone leg.”
Mark went to
the phone and picked up the letter, unfolded it and read it. He refolded it and put it back under the
phone. “Well David, that is a hard one,
that’s for sure. Are you going to get
the divorce?” Mark asked.
“I don’t know,
Mark,” David answered, “I just haven’t
been able to think about it.”
“Well, you
listen to me. Remember how Mary was
acting before she went with the missionaries?
I think she and that Gus were seeing each other for quite awhile over
here. Think about it, David.”
David again
blew his nose and wiped his eyes, “Yes, I know, Mark. That is what hurts. I had a feeling she was seeing someone but
she was always so nice to me. It is hard
to comprehend her doing this. I can’t
see myself getting used to anyone else.
How could she?”
“Life is
terrible, David, but you’ll get that divorce and find someone just great. You’ll see,” Mark cried out.
David looked
at Mark in surprise, as he continued, “Remember Floe, that woman at our house
the last time Mary couldn’t come with you?
Well, she is real big on asking how you are doing all the time. Marie is tired of telling her she doesn’t
know how you are,” Mark said. “You know
I’m the best lawyer in this town and I’ll have that divorce agreement here next
week.”
“I know,
Mark,” David said, “But Floe? She was a
little too loud for my liking. Sorry.”
“Well, we’ll
find someone for you, you wait and see,” Mark said.
David had to
laugh at how serious Mark really was and he said, “O.K. Mark. O.K.”
“Can I leave
you alone now? Do you think you’ll be
all right if I go home? Marie is sort of
worried about you, too.”
“Of course you
can go home now, Mark. I’ll be fine
until I get the divorce papers next week.
I’ll see you then and thanks a million for coming over. It has been great talking to you.”
After Mark
left, David went into the kitchen and made some coffee. He sat at the table thinking back about how
Mary had been doing things. She had been
a little out of sorts for the last three months. Acting like the missionaries were all
it. She hadn’t gone out with David for
two months and he had been sure something was wrong but she always claimed it was “nerves” about
going over to Sir Lanka. Suddenly David
got up and went to the desk drawer.
“Yep! Here’s the missionaries
phone number in Sir Lanka.”
He didn’t care what time it was over there, he
dialed the number and when someone said, “Hello, Sir Lanka Missionaries.”
David cried,
“I want to speak with Mary Primer, my wife.”
“But you
can’t, sir. She went back to the states
yesterday.”
“She what?’
David cried.
“I’m sorry,
sir. Mary Primer went back to the states
yesterday. Something about going into a
hospital there. We prayed she would be
all right.”
“Do you know
what is wrong with her?” David asked.
“No sir, I
don’t. We are never given that
information.”
“Thank you,
sir, good bye,” David hung up the phone.
He grabbed the phone book and looked up the phone number for National
Airways and dialed them. “Hello,
National Airways. Bell speaking. How may I help you?”
“Hello, could
you please tell me when the plane from
“Just hold on,
sir, I’ll look it up,”
“Hello, sir,
this is
“Yes,
Ma’am. All I need is twenty
minutes. Thank you,” as he hung up the
phone and rushed to the bedroom. David
hurried to clean his face and change his shirt and was out the door, running,
within five minutes. He carefully drove
to the airport, parked and hurried inside. He asked the girl behind the desk
which gate the plane from
David said,
“Thank you, Ma’am,” and went to Gate six waiting area and sat down. After half an hour, David was up pacing the
walkway and saying, “Come on, come on plane,” and looking at the sky.
Finally he
heard the woman at the register saying that everyone should stay back away from
the door for awhile. The plane from
David stood
where he could see who the sick woman was and he was shaking, afraid it was
Mary. Then he saw Mary enter the
doorway, alone, and she didn’t look sick.
He turned and pushed his way towards Mary, almost loosing sight of her
until he cried out, “Please, that’s my wife.
Let me through.”
Mary heard him
and stopped, then she was running towards the outside door. David ran and caught up to her, catching her
arm, so she had to stop. “What is wrong,
Mary?” he asked.
“Please, let
go of me. I told the ambulance guys I’d
meet them at the hospital,” Mary cried.
“But you don’t
look sick,” David said.
“It’s not me,
it’s the Mother Superior of the outfit,” Mary said. “Well, come on. My car is
just outside. I’ll drive you there,”
David said.
Mary couldn’t
stop David from pulling her along to his car and as he opened the car door for
her, he seen how small she really was.
“Mary, what has happened to you?
You look so…so…thin?” He asked, once he was seated in the drivers seat
and backing out.
Mary turned
her head away from him and he could tell she was crying. He put his hand on hers and said, “Mary, what
is wrong? Will you please tell me?”
She didn’t
pull her hands away and said, “Why didn’t you believe my letter and leave me
alone?”
“Because when
I called
“Please, don’t
ask me what is wrong. I won’t know until
I get to the hospital and they take tests and blood work.”
“We’re almost
there, Mary. But are you all right?”
David said.
“Yes, I think
I’m all right. They’ll have to do the
blood work to make sure. Oh, Dave,
everyone is gone. They all died so
quickly,” and she cried harder.
He parked the
car and helped Mary out. She fairly flew
into the hospital and after telling them who she was, they took her into an
adjoining room. David tried to enter too
but they told him, no, he’d have to wait in the lounge area. David said, “Mary’s my wife and I want to be
with her. O.K.?’
“Sorry, but you have to wait out
here. They are just doing blood work
right now,” the intern said.
“Well, I’m
waiting right here for her to come out,” David said as he leaned against the
wall by the door Mary went into.
That door soon
opened and an intern walked out with Mary and told David, “We’ll put her in a
room and you can see her afterwards.”
But David
followed them to the room and said, “I’ll wait right here until she gets into
bed. That is my wife, you know?”
“Sorry, sir. She’ll be in bed in a jiffy, then I’ll let
you know,” the intern said.
“Thank you,” David said.
Within five
minutes the intern came out and said, “Mary is in bed now but will probably go
to sleep soon. You can talk with her for
a little while.”
David quickly walked to the bed and
took Mary’s hand. “Now can you tell me
more? I’ve been so upset after getting
your last letter. I need to know what is
going on.”
“Tomorrow,” Mary said. “Maybe tomorrow we’ll know if everything is
O.K. or not. You shouldn’t be in here.”
Just then a doctor rushed in and
said, “Who are you, sir? No one should
be in here until we know if this lady is ill, too.”
“I’m her husband, David, and want to
know what is wrong with Mary.”
“We won’t know until the blood work
is finished…,” the doctor stopped talking at the knock on the door. “Enter,” he said.
“The blood report, Dr. Brown,” the
intern said.
“Thank you and
please tell Nurse Nell to come in here,” the doctor said.
The intern nodded and left the room
and soon Nurse Nell entered with paper work in her hand.
Mary said, “Please doctor, how is
Mother Superior doing?’
“She has a fighting chance, now that
she is here. Just the same as you
do. Please, just rest now,” Dr. Brown
said.
“But the blood work, doctor. What does it say,” Mary asked.
“It says your white count is low, but
not too bad. We will get you built up
again in no time,” said the doctor and motioned for David to come out into the
hall with him.
Once in the hall, the doctor said,
“Do you know anything about what has
been going on with those two women?”
“No.
She just got back from
“She doesn’t need to know, but the
other woman died while we were doing her blood work,” Dr. Brown said. “I just don’t know what is wrong, yet. But I believe it is something they all ate.”
“Mary has been a strong woman all her
life and maybe that is why she is still hanging on,” David said. “Please save her, if you can, doctor.”
“I’ll do my best.”
The nurse came out of the room just
as David was going to open the door. She
said, “Mary is resting now. Please do
not awaken her.”
“I won’t, nurse,” David said as he
entered Mary’s room and sat in the chair by her bed, holding her hand.
David sat beside Mary’s bed all night
and when the nurse awoke Mary at
“Yes, I’m still here and I will be
until I know what is wrong with you, Mary,” he answered as the x-ray technician
wheeled Mary away.
Within two days all the reports came
back clear or negative. Mary was so
happy that she jumped up and grabbed David, yelling, “I’ll be all right! I’ll be all right! Thank God, I’ll be all right.”
David enveloped Mary in his arms as
both began to cry. Then David asked,
“Mary, why that letter asking for a divorce?”
“Oh, Dave, I couldn’t have you seeing
me so small and maybe even dying. I had
to think of something and that was all I could think of . I’m sorry about it, really I am.”
Neither one of them heard the soft
knock on the door, nor the doctor coming into the room until he said, “Well,
well. Maybe I should go out and knock
louder.”
“Hi, Dr. Brown. Isn’t it wonderful,” Mary cried. “I’m all right. Can I go home now?”
“A few more tests today, more blood
work, and if all those come back all right, you can go home tomorrow morning.”
“That’s great Dr. Brown,” David
said. “Sure hope these tests come back
great, too.”
The doctor left the room to set up
the tests and David looked at Mary and said, “Come sit here on the bed and tell
me what you know happened over there.”
Mary gave David the full account of
what she could remember and then said, “I’m just so sad that everyone is gone,
now, even Mother Superior. She was a
great lady. But I don’t see why I didn’t
get any sicker.”
“Mary, you always were a great one
for staying well. I’m glad you got here
when you did because your white blood cells were going down, remember? God, I could have lost you,” he said as he
gathered Mary into his arms and just held her.
Mary asked, “Dave, when did you get
that letter?”
“On Friday as I got home from
work. I wanted to die. Do you know that?”
“Yes, Dave. I can imagine that now and I am sorry for
putting you through that mess. I was so
scared that I had to think up something and even though Gus was gone, that was
all I could think of. I’m sorry.”
There was another knock on the door
and David let Mary go as a nurse entered, pushing a wheelchair. Together, they both said, “Good afternoon,
nurse,” they looked at one another and started to laugh.
“Good afternoon, you two. I came to take Mary for another test. Hope this one turns out great, too,” the
nurse said.
Mary had three different tests and
blood work done that afternoon and they waited for the doctor and the
results. At seven, Dr. Brown knocked on
Mary’s door and opened it, they knew something was wrong because Dr. Brown looked
very downcast.
David asked, “What is wrong,
doctor? Tell us, we can handle it.”
“Well we have done all the tests I
can think of and this last blood work is…is…is great,” he gave a big smile and
continued, “You can go home tomorrow morning about
“Thanks, Dr. Brown. You can be sure I’ll take good care of him
from now on.”