Letters From The Heart
Part 3
By Missy and Old Time Fan
Third Part By: OldTimeFan
After accepting the letter from her little cousin Vito, Laverne laughed out loud. She could smell the Sen-Sen Lenny liked to douse himself with whenever he dressed up. She never had the heart to tell him how stinky she really thought it was. After awhile, the scent had kind of grown on her, much like Lenny himself.
She tore open his letter at the long, wooden kitchen table, still littered with breakfast dishes and food scraps. Aunt Lena liked to sip sherry for a good hour before facing the massive clean-up after her ample family finished dining. And Lord help the poor soul who tried to pitch in and assist...not in her kitchen!
Laverne leaned back in the somewhat uncomfortable chair and read Lenny's letter, relishing each word like drops of rain after a long day in the blazing sun. She could hear his voice in her head and it filled her with both desire and terror. She wanted Lenny...after another week of bumming around the Italian countryside, there was no doubt left in her mind about that. But with that realization had come stark naked fear. How could she want Lenny, of all people? What would Shirley say? Worse, what would her father think? It made her feel guilty to think it, but she didn't want to be the town laughingstock. Lenny wasn't a guy whose arm she'd be proud to be seen on. Yet the sinking feeling in her stomach at the thought of hurting him, the sharp pain deep in her chest at the thought of never being with him again....
No! It was best to let him down easy, before things went any further. She bit her lower lip, then resolutely stood up and strode to the kitchen drawer where her aunt kept paper and pens. She selected one of each, then plunked herself back down at the table and began to write what she had to, before she had time to talk herself out of it.
Lenny,
I was real happy to get your letter. I can't believe it's that cold there while it's so hot here. Weird how that works, huh?
Yeah, it's great spending time with my family. On the other hand, there's an awful lot of them and it is getting to be a little much. Maybe you should be glad that there aren't more Kosnowskis! Oh, wait, that sounds kind of mean, doesn't it? Sorry. I know you miss your mom, and don't have many people in your life. Come to think of that, I'm sort of a jerk for complaining about too much family when you have so little. Ignore me, okay?
How's your back doing? You shouldn't overdo, Len, even to help Squiggy. You're such a good friend, maybe too good, sometimes. You got to take care of yourself, you know!
Oh, and hey, you stay away from that Marie girl! She may look good on the outside, but inside, she's nothing but a user. She'd break your little heart, trust me, I saw what she did to Doug in Shipping. I don't want that to happen to you. No one should break your heart, Len. No one.
I can't believe Shirl's looking twice at Squiggy! You must be wrong about that! She's just all crazy in the head over Carmine, that's all. That's got to be it. I mean, who would believe Shirley with Squiggy! Everyone would crack up when they heard that and I...whoops, I mean Shirl...couldn't handle that.
Well, Len, I guess there's just a little more I should write. I read that stuff you told me to skip. Sorry, couldn't help it, it was right there and anyway, I know we talked about no strings and I'm with you there. Really. I mean I like you a lot, you know that, but. Oh, Len, it's just so complicated! You make me feel...and I like the way it feels...but it's so much! I can't remember feeling so much all at once and I know I came here to try to clear up my head and deal with everything, but the more I think about us the more confused I seem to get!
I think we took things a little too far, a little too fast. I do that sometimes (by the way, say hi to the navy guys for me). I know what I should do, what I meant to do when I finished reading your letter and sat down to write this one. Except now that I should get started on the hard part, I just...I can't. I can't write anything except that I miss you and I don't want you to see anyone else while I'm gone. I've got no right to tell you what to do or who to see, especially when I've been sort of flaky about things, but I can't help it. I can smell your cologne on your letter and it makes me think about you and your beautiful blue eyes looking down at me while we made love. It was sweet and real and I can't believe it was a mistake or that it didn't mean anything.
Wow, where did that all come from? I should stop now, but there's just one last little thing I have to write, not really so much to tell it to you but so I can finally get it through my own, thick skull. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. I don't care if they giggle or point. It's not even important how Shirley or Pop reacts to us. What matters is that I want there to be an "us." Truly, deeply, right down into my bones, I want there to be an "us." I hope that doesn't sound too string-y, but there it is.
I'm coming home in two more weeks. I hope you'll be at the airport waiting for me. Like I said, I've got no right to ask you, but I am, anyway. So write back to me and let me know what you think, okay? I'd hate it if I scared you off with this stupid letter, so please let me know if I have, so I don't get off that plane expecting to see you only to find you're not there.
Missing you,
Laverne
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