Dear Friend,
Patrick called my house this weekend. It wasn't that late but I was already in bed. My mom knocked on my door and said Patrick was on the phone for me. I answered,
"Hello?"
"Charlie?"
"Yeah?"
"You asleep?"
"No." I thought that was kind of a funny question, since I was talking to him.
"Good. Get dressed. I'm on my way over."
It wasn't a school night so I got dressed and went outside so the cold could help wake me. I hadn't seen Patrick in a while and I hoped he was okay, because last time he would call like that was when he and Brad had broken up. But when he pulled up he had this big smile on his face. And not one of those sick smiles, either.
We drove around for awhile. And while we drove we talked about things. How school was for me, how college was for Patrick, how our families were, light stuff like that. Eventually we got to walking around by a golf course not too far from the tunnel, but I think neither of us wanted to go through it without Sam there. So we walked around in the dark for awhile. Neither of us had a flashlight though so we kept falling. Eventually we just sat down where we were and looked up at the stars. Patrick started naming all these constellations, but I don't think any of them were real. I just don't think the Indians would have named any of their stars "The Kissing Faggots" or "The Menopausal History Teacher" is all.
Eventually things got really quiet and Patrick asked me,
"You still write, Charlie?"
"Yeah, sometimes." I told him, because it was true.
"What about?"
"A lot of different things, I guess."
"I think you should be a writer." he told me. I didn't know where any of this was coming from.
"I know. You gave me a suit last year for Secret Santa because you said all great writers used to wear suits all the time."
"And Sam gave you the typewriter."
"Yeah."
"And I hear she gave you something else too." I wasn't looking at him when he said this, but the way he said it I kind of picture him making his eyebrows go up and down a few times. I felt kind of embarrassed since Sam was his sister, even if she was his half-sister, but I said,
"Yeah. She did."
And then we were quiet again for a long time. And I don't know for sure because I didn't ask, but I think we were both thinking about Sam. And last Christmas and Secret Santa. And how we missed everybody.
"Patrick, I hope we can all do Secret Santa again this year." I said. Christmas break wasn't far away, and everyone would be coming home around the same time.
"I don't know, Charlie. It'd be harder now that we aren't all in school together."
"I know. But I think it's worth it."
"Yeah, me too."
We were both quiet again for a few minutes, and then Patrick got up, and as we started back towards his car he said,
"And Charlie."
"Yeah?"
"If you get me again I better get another Magnetic Poetry set. The last one you gave me had three Qs and only two Us."
Love Always,
Charlie.
