To Protect My Honor

One Day I

I was so accustomed to the happy world of boyhood that I did not realize it was slipping away. And then, on that balmy day in the summer of 2015, I was reborn as a man, and took my first few wobbly steps.

I was eighteen, almost nineteen. This was a very joyous time in my life, as I was taking my first solo vacation. However, there is an asterisk on the word "solo," which denotes the caveat that I was visiting my dad's longtime friend Ivan and his family, who I had known for my whole life.

Waking up on another day in paradise, paradise being Walloon Lake, Michigan, nothing in the world could trouble me. Ivan was one of the last people whose family spent extended time in an area like this every summer, and it really was a beautiful place, especially when compared with the endless urban sprawl of Los Angeles. As I said, nothing in the world could trouble me. There was no problem that could arise out of today.

Or so I thought as the new day dawned. I was awake before Ivan and his wife Sarah, so I waited in the common room.

I looked out the window every passing few minutes. The sun rose steadily higher in the sky and its light illuminated the scenery more and more as the temperature climbed to uncomfortable levels.

At nine o'clock, the door opened. But it wasn't Ivan and Sarah with breakfast.

It was their eldest child and only daughter Nancy.

"Milton...."

"Yeah?"

"Something terrible has happened. Come see."

My heart was going off like a cannon as I was led to walk into her dad's office. I had no idea how terrible it would be, but I feared the worst.

"I found this letter on my dad's desk this morning," she said. She handed it to me and I read it slowly.

Dear Jonathan,

The news that you will leave town for Texas hits close to home. Your family has been a mainstay of our time here for the past fourteen summers. I remember Nancy and Victoria playing with each other that first year as four-year-olds, and every summer since. I understand that a year-round residence here may leave a lot to be desired, but you have people here who care about you and support you in your life ahead.

I have fond memories of the two of us growing older together (not to mention Sarah and Belinda) as our children grew up together. Your presence here has been a special touch. We are two-thirds of the way through our thirtieth summer here, and while they have all been special, the ones involving your family have been more so.

Of course, there is a chance that we will see you in the foreseeable future, not to mention Belinda and Victoria. But in every summer going forward, you all will be missed here. I wish you only the best moving forward, and your family as well.

Yours sincerely,

Virgil Ivan Mickelson

"Who are they again," I asked. "You never really talked about them."

"You met Victoria in town the other night. We've been really good friends for a long time."

"The redhead?"

"Yes," said Nancy.

I could tell from that that encounter that she and Victoria were very close.

I knew how hard it is to have a friend leave you. They had known each other since the age of four. That explained everything about how close they seemed.

We returned to the living room and silently enjoyed each other's company for a few minutes. Nancy's younger brothers, Lewis and Peter, walked in.

"Do you know when Mom and Dad will be up," asked Lewis.