Lou Grant came out of his office. He had been hiding for quite some time. Today was Mary Richards last day at WJM. They had a falling out after Mary had let it slip to Murray Slaughter that Lou had spent the night with Sue Ann Nivens. She hadn't intended to tell but Murray kept pressuring her. Lou had given her the cold shoulder and told her they were no longer friends. She had tried to explain and apologized, to no avail. She finally gave up and decided to move on. There had been a big going away party which Lou had largely avoided but he had to come out sometime. The only one left was Murray.
"Is Mary still here?" Lou asked anxiously looking around
"No, she's gone, Lou," Murray told him "but she asked me to give you this." He handed him an envelope with his name on it
"She's really gone, isn't she?" Lou asked
"Yeah, Lou, she's really gone." Murray agreed, "I mean what did you expect after the way you treated her?"
"Murray, you don't understand." Lou began
"Yeah, well, maybe I don't, but you don't throw away a friendship, especially with someone as wonderful as Mary because she made one mistake." Murray told him, "Look, I gotta go. I'll see you Monday."
Lou went back into his office and opened the envelope and he saw the familiar handwriting he'd known for so many years. He began to read the letter.
Dear Lou,
It seems strange being so informal with you now, given the reasons why I left WJM. I wrote this knowing we probably wouldn't talk before I left. I do hope you read it but I know there's just as much a chance you'll throw it away. Today was a tough day for me. I said goodbye to so many people I love and care about. My years at WJM were some of the best of my life. I will always be grateful to you for taking a chance on an uncertain young woman who was trying to start over. Aside from my father there isn't a man I admire and respect more than you, or whose respect means more to me. I know I lost that by my own doing and I don't ask you to forgive me. I only hope that in time, your anger will subside and you will remember our friendship for the whole of what it was and not the one terrible mistake I made. I choose to remember the countless hours we spent in your office talking about not just the news but aspects of our lives, of ourselves, we chose to share with each other. I choose to remember all the times you said I was like one of your own daughters. The first time was when your nephew Alan kept coming on to me. I'll carry those memories with me and cherish them. I imagine we'll inevitably run into each other sooner or later, probably at the Tedi Awards. I will understand if you choose not to speak. I hope my replacement is someone you can truly trust and can depend on. That is so very important when working side by side with someone. Even though I will be at WKRM now, I want only the best for all of you. Over the past couple of weeks I've somehow made peace with my decision to leave. I saw no other way. Maybe one day you'll be able to think of me and smile. I know I will whenever I think of you.
Much love,
Mary
Lou wiped his eyes and walked out of his office. He looked around, half expecting Mary to be waiting for him, waiting for him to tell her not to go. But he was met with only silence. He looked at her desk. It still had a fresh flower on it that she always bought. He picked it up and sniffed it, then put it back in its vase. He stood there for a moment with the letter in his hand.
He sighed heavily, "Good bye, Mary." He said to the empty room. He grabbed his coat and walked out the door