Page 122 of The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth

“I will look forward to that.” She touched her swollen lip. “But maybe easy kisses?”

He laughed. “Of course.”

The Last Letter

Dear Jill,

I’ve been crying so hard I can barely see. This has been the worst day of my life. Darshan, my friend here, hung himself in his family’s restaurant today, the café I’ve been telling you about. And it’s all my fault.

Oh my God, I can’t believe this. I can’t believe I was so stupid, that I didn’t understand.

We went to Delhi together. It was so romantic, at least I thought it was, and we made love at last, and had the most beautiful two days ever. So in love! On the way back to Bombay, he asked if he needed to talk to my parents, and said his parents would be angry, but he thought he could bring them around, and it turned out he wanted to get married. Married!

I thought he was kidding at first, but he was very upset when I said no, that I would be going back to the US in a few weeks, and we could write letters. He begged me, made his case, and almost convinced me, but Jill, I can’t live here, and I’m too young to get married. How would I completely change who I am to live here as his wife?

He kept trying, but I got upset and said he had to stop talking about it, and he did, but then when wegot back, he made this big plan, and I just said he had to stop calling me, that I wouldn’t marry him.

And Jill, oh my God, I can’t even see, he killed himself. Why would he do that? And how can he do that? I am the worst person in the world. I don’t know what to do. How will I live with this for the rest of my life?

I don’t even know if you’ll get this before I get home, but I wanted you to know.

Rachel

Part Six

Denver

Travel makes one modest: one sees what a tiny place one occupies in the world.

—Gustave Flaubert

Chapter Fifty-Seven

The trip back to Denver was uneventful. They all sat together so Mariah wouldn’t be alone, and she mostly slept all the way. Veronica shared Rachel’s last letter with Henry, but they agreed it wasn’t to be shared with Mariah. At least not yet.

Cutting the trip short meant that Veronica would get back in time to move her things out of the apartment, although it wouldn’t leave her much time to find a new place. She’d just have to hit the ground running when she got back.

It was snowing as they emerged from the airport, adding to the inches already on the ground. “It’s startling, isn’t it?” Veronica said.

Mariah looked up, let the flakes fall on her face, and closed her eyes. “I love snow so much. I’m going to have to figure out a way to be in it even if I can’t do what I have in the past.”

Looking at her upturned face, Veronica felt pierced. “You will,” she said. “You’re such a badass.”

Mariah gave a hoarse laugh. “Look who’s talking!”

“My kids are going to flip out,” Veronica said, touching her cheek gingerly. The bruises had worsened over the last twenty-four hours, as bruises would do, and she looked bad enough that people stared. It didn’t really hurt much after the first day, so it was all surface stuff.

Henry had driven to the airport, so he brought them all to Mariah’s house. “I have to just get back to Boulder,” Veronica said. “I have two days to get out of my apartment.”

“What?” Mariah asked. “What are you talking about?”

Veronica took a breath. “It’s a long story, but I’m getting evicted as of January 1. I was hoping my kids would deal with some of it, but they’ve all had excuses, some better than others.”

“Jeez. What’re you going to do?”

Veronica shrugged. “Find a new place.”

“Nope.” Mariah flung her arm around Veronica’s shoulders. “Nope, nope, nope. We’ll help you.”