Fox - If the Slipper Fits

Why not just be honest and tell him youre sorry

The staff had been gossiping behind her back all week.

Connor Emory felt the throb of the helicopters engine throughout

Hes a Southerner. Prin Walter threw the lump of dough

Anne Sayer. He forced a smile onto his face, the

Connor had forgotten the peace the sea could give. How

Anne walked back into the house through the front doorunusual

What an idiot! Anne exclaimed, tossing the weekly newspaper down

Anne trotted down the back stairs and out the side

Connor pushed through the kitchen door and nearly ran over

They were probably saying how much theyd love to give

Patsy, my dear! Marcello stretched one hand out toward Connors

Connor knew the moment he went looking for her on

My heart, Connor repeated.

Surely he didnt do it on purpose, Anne said, looking

Connor entered the upper hallway in time to hear his

A bloodcurdling scream rent the night. Connor jerked bolt upright

What check? Anne asked. Could all this be about some

Annes hand shook as she knocked on the sitting room

The words could have been Annes, Connor thought, watching the

Aan apology? she repeated.

Candlewick Island, Maine
January 2003

Why not just be honest and tell him youre sorry the bastard didnt die ten years ago? I know I am. Anne Sayers grandmother stood at the kitchen counter, clattering through the silverware drawer, behind Anne at the table. Though the old woman was tiny and frail, her voice hadnt weakened a decibel since Anne was a child.

Well, Gramma, its a sympathy note, Anne said. I dont think that sounds very sympathetic.

On the sheet of notepaper in front of Anne were two words: Dear Connor. Written in her best script. Those two words had been staring at her for the better part of an hour.

She bit the end of her pen. It was the hardest note shed ever had to write. And her grandmother wasnt helping.

I thought you were fixing my lunch. Her grandmothers walker squeaked as she wheeled it over to the pantry.

Anne glanced at the clock. Its only ten-thirty, Gramma.

Delores Sayer made a grumpy sound.

Anne closed her eyes and pictured Connors face. Would he be surprised to hear from her? Would he see the return address and dread opening the envelope? Was it possible he wouldnt read her letter at all?

It was all possible, she thought. He hadnt heard from her in eleven years. He would probably feel all of those thingssurprise, dread, trepidation.

Anger?

And yet, she had to write to him. She had to. There was no better time.

She put pen to paper.

I want you to know how very sorry I am to hear about the loss of your father.

Sorry for Connor, she thought. Not Bradford Emory, Connors father. As her grandmotherd said, the man couldnt have left this planet soon enough to please Anne.

She dipped her head with the evil thought. No use thinking like that. The man was dead, and hed taken the past with him.

I know how much you struggled to forge a closer bond with him. I hope for your sake that you succeeded. But even if you didnt, Connor, it was obvious to all who knew him that your father loved you very much.

She paused, wondering if it was true, but she decided to let the sentence stay. It was, after all, a sympathy note. She didnt need to be scrupulously truthful.

It was also obvious how very proud of you he was, and rightly so.

Behind her, the walker squeaked back to the kitchen counter, and something heavy thudded onto the Formica. Anne hoped her grandmother could refrain from breaking something, setting something on fire, or injuring herself for the few minutes it would take Anne to finish the note.

She studied the heavy, cream-colored notepaper before her. Shed bought it just for this purpose. Because it looked classy, adult, and she wanted him to think of her that way.

She sighed. As if he would notice what sort of paper she used. Shed be lucky if he even opened her letter.

She rested her head in one hand. How much more should she say? How plainly should she speak? What in the world would he think if she just flat out said Please come back to me ?

She dropped the pen to the paper but didnt write the words. It had been too long, of course. For all she knew he was in a serious relationship or engaged. Surely she would have heard if hed married.

For all she knew, hed forgotten her.

But what did she have to lose? She started writing.

Connor, I hope you will consider returning to Sea Bluff soon. Its been too long, and

And what? She struggled with her thoughts. She wanted to say what she meant, but subtly. She wanted to be clear, with ambiguous undertones. Or overtones. She wanted to tell him she wanted him to come back, without actually telling him she wanted him to come back. She wanted to accomplish the impossible.

She sighed and finished, Youve been terribly missed.

She exhaled slowly. Was it too much? Should she take out the terribly ?

She was overthinking this. She signed the note Love, Anne , folded it, slid it into the gold-lined envelope, and quickly sealed it. She pulled a stamp off the roll in front of her and aligned it carefully in the upper right corner.

Gramma, Ill be back in a minute, she said, standing.

She crossed the kitchen, went down the short hallway, and opened the front door.

Delores groused back something about missing applesauce, knowing full well shed finished it off the night before. Shed badgered Anne at length to be sure to put it on the shopping list.

Anne closed the door behind her. She walked quickly to the corner mailbox, opened the hinged door, and slipped the note in before she could think twice about it.

Then she walked back home, wondering how long it might be before she could reasonably expect a response from Connor.

As she closed the front door behind her and headed back down the hall toward the kitchen, reality closed in on her as tangibly as the gray walls of her grandmothers tiny house.

And she wondered if there was any chance shed hear from Connor Emory at all.

Sea Bluff
Candlewick Island, Maine
Six months later

The staff had been gossiping behind her back all week. And the worst thing was, they didnt think shed noticed.

Mr. Franklin, be careful ! Anne said to the gardener more sharply than shed intended as she rushed to grab the plant hed nearly knocked off the pedestal in the front hall.

She was annoyed with all of them, she thought, glancing up at the bird circling the foyers ceiling over the heads of the rest of Sea Bluffs core staff. The very staff shed found whispering in empty rooms and darkened corners nearly every day since last Thursday. Whispering, that is, until she entered the room.

Im going to call Animal Control, she said, striding toward the hall phone. The new tenants are going to be here within the hour and I dont want the entire staff in the front hall chasing after some crazed bird.

No authorities! the gardener cried, his flinty eyes following the birds flight. I got it. Look out! he roared, heading toward Anne, his craggy face intent. A butterfly netold, bent, and patched with panty hoseflew over his head like a battle flag.

Her pale blonde hair swinging into her face as she spun to follow the gardeners path, Anne jumped aside and ducked as the bird careened around the front hall of the historic mansion.

The gardener stopped abruptly in the center of the hall, his eyes alert. The net drooped above him.