Love at First Letter
Chapter Three
Brett Tinsley,
I regret to inform you that you wasted one of your questions. Asking me where I live, when you've written my address a few times, probably wasn't the smartest question. But that's alright. I'll tell you anyway. I live in South Carolina. I am twenty three years old. I am an author, I have written one book total so far, but I'm having a little trouble with book number two.
You gave me two questions that I don't want to answer, and then tell me that I can only skip one. Clever Mr. Tinsley. I think I'll skip number five. Sergeant Tate is my uncle, he was my father's brother. That's how we know each other.
So, here are your questions.
How old are you?
How many times have you been deployed?
Where do you live?
If you could have any other job what would pick?
Do you ever wish you would have picked a different career?
I know number four and number five kind of go hand in hand, but oh well. And I know that I repeated a few of your questions, but they're the questions you just want to know. You are welcome for the fifty dollars and make sure to savor the beer.
I have decided that I will write back my uncle, but not because you asked me too. So don't get too big of a head, but my friends have been pestering me about it lately. And I've run out of excuses for them. It's just a coincidence that you would ask me the same thing.
And I have to admit, writing to you wouldn't be the worst thing ever. So I would like to continue this. Have a good day, Brett.
Your pen pal,
Hazel
It was hard to keep the smile off my face when I was writing to Brett. He seemed like a good man, and I could see us becoming good friends. Johanna was currently sitting on my couch flipping through the channels as I stared at the blank paper in front of me. Johanna had told me I wasn't allowed to leave the table until I had written both my uncle and Brett.
But not wanting to open any of my uncle's letters, I was just going to wing it. It seemed like the words just kept flowing onto the paper as soon as the pen hit it, and by the time I was done, I had a couple pages written to my uncle, and the tears were flowing down my face.
I never liked talking about my parents, but it just came out onto the page without me even thinking about it. And I didn't even notice when Johanna got up from the couch and wrapped her arms around my shaking shoulders. I wiped my eyes and blew my nose into a tissue she handed me and muttered, "thanks" before closing the envelope and pushing it away from me.
And just in that moment, Cara come in through the front doors holding take out. Her eyes flickered down towards the tissue and the tear that left my eye. "Are you okay?" She asked, walking into the kitchen and setting the bags down onto the counter top. "What's wrong."
"She just wrote to her uncle-"
"You finally did it," Cara cut off Johanna in the middle of her sentence. "I'm so proud of you Hazel." Cara wrapped me in a hug, but got distracted by the food on the counter, and started to open it all. She was the kind of girl who could eat anything she wanted and not gain a pound. Johanna and I on the other hand, gained ten pounds just looking at the Chinese food she brought back. But we ate it anyway.
I don't know what I would do without these girls in my life.
*
*
*
It had been a couple days since I sent out the letters to both Brett and my uncle. I had been blocked as to what my second book should be about. I had tried going to my favorite coffee shop, where I got the inspiration for the first book, but was not successful. I tried people watching at the mall and then at the park, but nothing. Nothing was coming to me, and my deadline was coming up. I had to have an idea in a couple weeks, otherwise my editor and agent will both be furious. And I hated disappointing them.
But still nothing was coming to me. It didn't matter what I wrote about, it just seemed awful. From the characters, to the actual plot, to just the setting. It was awful, and nothing that I seemed to write about sounded good. The words fumbled together, they didn't flow like they were supposed to.
I slammed my computer shut, but then instantly regretting it, I rubbed the palm of my hand on the top of the computer. This computer had gotten me through college years and my first book. I owed my life to this computer.
Cara was sitting next to me, a book in her hands, but I could tell that she kept glancing at me.
"What?" I asked her, finally fed up with her glancing at me.
"You are overthinking this." She told me.
"I'm overthinking? I would like to see you write a best-selling book. If this book isn't as good as the first one, my fans are going to be disappointed and I couldn't do that to them."
"Think about it Hazel, you have a soldier writing letters to you, from where ever he is deployed." She trailed off as if I was supposed to pick up on the hint she was giving me.
"So? What about it?"
"Write about it. Gosh, for such a talented person you sure are clueless sometimes. What could be more romantic than falling in love with a soldier through little love notes."
"They are not love notes." I told her. "And that would be weird. What if I wrote it without his permission and when he's on leave he reads it? That would be seriously embarrassing, especially if he doesn't even write me back, and all of this just goes down the drain."
"He's going to write you back." She told me.
"You don't know that."
"I do know, and when he writes you back, just ask if you could use him in one of your stories. Say you're incorporating the military life into your story. I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
"I'm not writing about the military, I refuse, and that's not what my fans are looking for. They're looking for a sweet, contemporary read that they could read on the beach. And wouldn't that be ripping off Dear John? I mean that's practically the same thing."
Cara huffed and groaned, "I guess it would. I hate when you're right."
"I'll just come up with something."
At least I hoped I would. Because with only six weeks until my deadline, I needed a plot and a decent amount of chapter written before then. Otherwise, I'm in some big trouble.
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UNEDITED!
So here is chapter three.
I just reached 1K followers, so that is why I am uploading right now. I wasn't planning on it. But I'm so excited I just fel the need to update for y'all! It's my gift to you.
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You'll find out what Hazel put in her letter to her uncle in the next chapter!
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