Yours

January 21st

Dear Sophia,

I love you. I love you. I love you.

I was so excited this morning. Even then I wouldn’t have believed I could feel as good as I do right now. I got up and put on my smart clothes and then remembered I’d worked this all out already. I don’t need to dress myself up for you. It would just look weird and forced.

I deliberately put on the same clothes I was wearing the last time you saw me instead. You’d been away so long I wanted to let you know nothing had changed. I was worried you’d come back looking completely different to how you are in the photo and it would be like you’d come back a completely different person.

When it got near lunch time I kept getting in the queue and then leaving once I got near the front. It was pretty long the whole time so I don’t think anyone noticed. I just wanted to make sure I could stand with you and make sure you were ok once you came in.

I was just ducking out near the front of the queue when I saw you come through the door. You looked more beautiful than ever before. You got a tan on holiday. It wasn’t too much though. Some people come back looking completely different. You just looked healthy.

I joined the queue right behind you. You must have sensed I was there before you’d even seen me. You turned and smiled at me and I knew everything was back to normal. I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I asked how you were and you said you’d only just got back from being away and you’d really needed the holiday. That was exactly what I wanted to hear. Any worries I had completely disappeared. When you laughed about the weather being much better there than it was here I felt really happy you’d had a couple of weeks away from the rain.

You looked so beautiful. I watched the back of your head while you got your drink. You looked so healthy. I was so relieved you were safe.

After you picked up your drink you smiled at me again. I was so excited. I got a cookie and paid for it. Then I rushed to the door to see you leave. I just wanted to look at you one more time. I saw you turning and going down the high street. You looked really calm. I felt really calm. That cookie tasted better than anything I’d eaten in weeks.

Everything’s back on track now. Everything’s how it should be.

I’m looking at your picture now and you’re about to break into that smile. It’s funny because I keep having to wipe the photo because it gets covered in my fingerprints every time I pick it up. It’s difficult because I want to keep it as clean as possible but I just want to pick it up and look at you all the time. It’s so much easier knowing I get to see you tomorrow.

I love you.

Yours,

Andrew