Chapter 2: Dad's Letter
The envelope made the smallest sound when Arthur opened it.
But in that silent church, it sounded like a gunshot.
My mother sat down.
Not gracefully.
Her knees simply seemed to give out.
Chloe stared at her.
"Mom?""
Helen didn't answer.
Arthur removed several folded pages from the envelope.
There were at least five.
Maybe six.
The paper was creased and slightly yellow around the edges.
Dad's handwriting covered every inch.
I recognized the heavy pressure of his pen.
He had always written like that.
As if every word needed to survive him.
Arthur turned toward the congregation.
"Robert asked me to read this aloud if Rachel came.""
Mom stood suddenly.
"Arthur, this is private.""
Arthur didn't even look at her.
"No, Helen.""
His voice was quiet.
"Not anymore.""
The pastor shifted uneasily behind the lectern.
"General Bennett, perhaps we should—"
Arthur raised one hand.
"Pastor, Robert specifically requested this.""
He looked down at the first page.
Then he began.
"My dear Rachel.""
My throat tightened.
Nobody had called me that in years.
Arthur continued.
"If you're reading this, I imagine your mother is angry that you're wearing your uniform.""
A few people exchanged glances.
Arthur almost smiled.
"That sounds like your mother.""
A nervous laugh escaped somewhere in the back.
Mom's face hardened.
Arthur kept reading.
"She will probably tell you that I wanted a quiet memorial. She will probably tell you that I didn't want attention drawn to the military. If she does, she's lying.""
The church became utterly still.
My fingers curled against my palms.
Arthur looked up.
"Helen, he knew.""
Mom stood again.
"That's enough.""
"No.""
Arthur's voice cracked through the room.
"Robert spent the last six weeks of his life trying to make sure his daughter would finally be heard.""
Mom's eyes flashed.
"You don't know what you're talking about.""
Arthur looked at her for a long moment.
"I was with him when he wrote this.""
That stopped her.
Arthur returned to the letter.
"Rachel, I know you missed my funeral.""
His voice softened.
"I also know you did not choose to miss it.""
My eyes filled.
A tear slipped down my cheek.
Someone in the congregation gasped.
Arthur continued.
"I received the hospital report from Germany. I know about the injuries. I know you were unconscious when my funeral took place.""
A woman in the second row covered her mouth.
Mr. Hensley whispered, "Oh my God.""
Mom shook her head.
"Robert was confused.""
Arthur stopped reading.
He looked directly at her.
"Your husband was not confused.""
"He was heavily medicated.""
"He signed every page.""
"You don't understand.""
"I understand perfectly.""
Arthur lifted the papers.
"He left copies with me because he didn't trust you to give them to Rachel.""
The room erupted in whispers.
Chloe stared at Mom as if she'd never seen her before.
"You knew?"" she asked.
Helen turned toward her.
"Chloe—"
"You knew Rachel was in Germany?""
"Of course I knew where she was.""
"You told me she didn't care about Dad.""
"I was angry.""
"You told everyone she refused to come home.""
"I thought she could have come.""
"She was unconscious!""
Mom's eyes filled with tears.
But this time, Chloe didn't move toward her.
Arthur folded the first page.
"There is more.""
He read again.
"Rachel, I need you to understand something. You never abandoned this family.""
My knees almost buckled.
I grabbed the back of a pew.
Dad's voice wasn't actually in the room.
But I could hear him anyway.
The way he used to say my name.
The way he'd say, "Come sit down, sweetheart.""
Arthur continued.
"You left Cedar Creek because I asked you to.""
A collective gasp rolled through the church.
I stared at the letter.
No.
I had never heard that sentence before.
Mom closed her eyes.
Arthur's gaze moved across the room.
"After Rachel joined the Navy, I asked her to stay away for a while.""
Chloe whispered, "Why?""
Arthur read the next paragraph.
"Because I believed distance would give her a chance to build the life she wanted without being punished for it.""
My heart pounded.
Arthur looked at me.
"You were seventeen when you told your parents you wanted to enlist, weren't you?""
"Yes.""
"And your mother opposed it.""
"Yes.""
He nodded.
"Robert wrote that she threatened to cut you off.""
I looked at Mom.
She didn't deny it.
The silence was answer enough.
Arthur continued.
"Rachel was afraid to leave because she didn't want to hurt us. I told her to go. I told her that being my daughter did not mean she owed me her future.""
My vision blurred.
I remembered that night.
My bedroom.
My duffel bag on the floor.
Mom screaming downstairs.
Dad sitting on the edge of my bed after she went to sleep.
I'd expected him to tell me not to go.
Instead, he'd handed me a folded map.
"How far is the base from home?"" I'd asked.
"Far enough.""
I had laughed through tears.
"What if Mom never forgives me?""
Dad had looked at me.
"Then she'll have to learn.""
Now, twelve years later, I understood what he had meant.
Arthur turned the page.
"But Rachel did not abandon us.""
He paused.
"She called.""
Mom's face changed.
Arthur continued.
"She sent money.""
A man near the aisle whispered, "What?""
"She paid the medical bills.""
Chloe looked at Mom.
"You said Dad's insurance covered everything.""
Mom stared at the floor.
Arthur read on.
"She came home when she could.""
My breath caught.
"She stood outside our house one night because she was afraid to disturb the family.""
Chloe's eyes widened.
"You came home?""
I nodded.
"Once.""
"When?""
"Three years after I enlisted.""
My voice shook.
"I came home in uniform. Mom saw me through the window.""
"What happened?"" Chloe asked.
I swallowed.
"She locked the door.""
Chloe covered her mouth.
Mom finally spoke.
"You don't understand.""
I turned toward her.
"Then explain it.""
She looked at me.
For twelve years, I'd dreamed about saying those words.
Explain it.
Just explain why.
Why did you tell them I abandoned you?
Why did you tell Chloe I didn't love her?
Why did you tell Dad's friends I was ashamed of him?
Why did you turn every birthday, every holiday, every phone call into evidence against me?
But Mom said only one thing.
"Your father was sick.""
Arthur's jaw tightened.
"And he knew exactly why.""
He lifted the letter.
"Robert wrote that Helen was trying to control Rachel's relationship with the family.""
Mom stepped forward.
"Arthur!""
He continued anyway.
"She told Robert that if he supported Rachel, she would leave him.""
The room went dead.
I stared at my mother.
She shook her head.
"I never said that.""
Arthur reached into the envelope.
"There is another page.""
Mom froze.
Arthur unfolded it.
"This one contains dates.""
He looked at me.
"Dates of every time you attempted to contact your family.""
My heart sank.
I remembered the calls.
The letters.
The packages.
The Christmas gifts returned unopened.
The birthday cards marked Return to Sender.
I had always assumed Mom had refused them.
Arthur's next words confirmed it.
"Robert kept records.""
Chloe began crying.
"Mom...""
Helen looked at her daughter.
"I was protecting you.""
"From Rachel?""
"From what she was becoming.""
Chloe shook her head.
"You made me hate my sister.""
Helen's voice broke.
"She left.""
"Because Dad told her to!""
"No!""
The shout echoed.
Everyone flinched.
Mom pressed a hand against her chest.
Then she looked at me.
"You don't know what happened after you left.""
I stared at her.
"Then tell me.""
She couldn't.
Arthur stepped closer.
"Robert did.""
He held up the final page.
"And this is why he wanted the letter read publicly.""
I wiped my eyes.
"What does it say?""
Arthur looked at the page for several seconds.
His expression changed.
Not sadness.
Anger.
"Rachel," he said, "your father discovered something about the day you left Cedar Creek.""
Mom whispered, "Arthur, please.""
Arthur looked at her.
"You should have told her years ago.""
Then he turned the page toward me.
At the bottom, beneath Dad's signature, was a handwritten sentence.
*If Helen tells them Rachel left willingly, ask her what she did with the envelope.*
My stomach dropped.
"What envelope?""
Mom closed her eyes.
May you like
Arthur folded the letter.
"That's what we're going to find out.""
