The Man Inside the Iron Fence (The Boy in the Woods Pt. 2)

Chapter 38 - I Love You For Sentimental Reasons

Mrs. Gibson slumped. He'd guessed correctly.

"There are three more."

"So I can expect one of these to appear every month for the next three months?"

"No, sir. He asked me to wait two months before giving you the next one."

Jonathon leaned back in his chair with a sigh. That was his brother in a nutshell.  Thinking that if he drew out the timing of the letters, Jonathon would be more likely to read one of them.

"Very well, thank you, Mrs. Gibson."

Her eyes went round, and then she retreated from his office. Jonathon knew she was surprised he hadn't demanded the letters be turned over so he could destroy them. He considered it, but something had stopped him.

He was still angry with Billy for abandoning him, but his emotions had receded over the last month to a dull ache.  Exactly what Billy was counting on, he mused grimly. His brother knew him too well.

Looking at his name written in Billy's handwriting on the envelope, he tried to decide what to do. He still didn't want to read it, but if he could make Mrs. Gibson think he had, that would be the end of it. No more letters.

He'd take it home and get rid of it instead of leaving it in the trash. But she was too smart for that.  She'd assume he'd destroyed it away from the office. No, he thought, picking up the letter again. She'd have to see the evidence he'd read it with her own eyes, an open letter lying on his desk.

He used his letter opener to slice the flap and pulled out the folded paper. As he smoothed open the cream Blackwell Iron and Mining stationary, his eyes caught the words, 'Dear Johnny,' and he couldn't help continuing.

.

.

I know you're probably still sore at me, so thanks for reading this.

The last thing I wanted was to leave you to run the mine alone, but I knew if I stayed, I'd be hurting you the same as if I left. You didn't deserve to have me to worry about on top of the business.  I couldn't stand being a burden to you.

Even though my decision to enlist in the army caused you a lot of grief – and caused me a lot of grief too – I would do it again. If I hadn't gone and done my part to end the war, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself. And none of the men at the mine would have respected me, especially the vets.

I believe it was as necessary for me to enlist as it was for you to stay at home and make sure America had as much steel as she could get.  Even after everything that's happened, I'm proud of what I did. I hope one day you'll be able to be proud of me too.

But moving on from what's happened in the past, the reason I've written this letter is to give you a list of fellows I think would be the most help to you. I'm sure none of the names will be a surprise, but I know for a fact these are your most loyal men. Give them a chance, Johnny.

Jonathon scanned the list of names, noticing Billy had chosen at least one person from every area of the operation. Another example of how thorough his little brother was.

If only things had turned out differently, he thought, setting down the letter so he could rub his temples. Without the burden of his memories of the war, Billy would have been able deal with working at a job he didn't enjoy. Jonathon was certain of it, and he rejected Billy's assertion that the men wouldn't have respected him if he hadn't served. Two brothers working for the war effort was no different than one brother doing it alone, especially when it had been almost more than he could handle.