(It's been a year now, and Sheldon has all but forgotten that little blonde he saved. She hasn't forgotten him, though.)


February 1998

Dear Father Cooper,

Are you upset with me? Why do you never write? Do you regret helping me? Is this some sort of test? I won't give up. You are my hero and I'm going to keep writing to you.

I am doing good in my courses. I have B's in everything but Lit, which is an A+. Mr. Polk, the instructor, says I have a real voice. He says my short fiction was an excellent paper. I wrote a story about an alien civilization that was divided into two classes. One class thought themselves superior for being intellectuals and the other thought themselves the best because of their strength. I intentionally left the dispute between the two groups unresolved because I wanted to show that sometimes there is no solution. He said I showed a lot of potential. I can't wait until the weekend. Alynn's parents are visiting. They want to take us to a play. I hope you are well.

Your friend,

Penelope Queen


March 1998

Sheldon sorted his mail quickly. He tossed the letter from England into the box with the others and laid the bills to the side. He found the letter he had been waiting on and quickly opened it. He read it quickly and smiled with satisfaction. He was going to France in two months. He had been invited to lecture for 8 weeks at the University of Toulouse, now that his lecture tour in the United States was almost over. Most people would have found three years of the lecture circuit boring, but there were few things in this world that 18 year old Sheldon loved more than telling people about his theories.


May 1998

Dear Father Cooper,

Mom has said I can't enter the summer program this year either. That means I have to go home. I really don't want to. Cassie, that's my sister, is getting married. She's only 17, but she's expecting a baby. I hope that doesn't shock you. I love my sister. She made a mistake, is all. But now she's going to have to marry this idiot she dated. She'll be tied to him forever. I'll never make that mistake. I don't ever want to put myself under someone's control. Not ever. I hope you are well.

Your friend,

Penelope Queen


July 1998

Dear Father Cooper,

It's the last day of school. I cried the whole time I was packing. I will be back in Omaha in 3 days. Father, why is life so rough? My friend Alynn has such a great family. They love her so much. Marisa lives with her aunt when she isn't here. Ms. Lancashire is very funny. She has raise Marisa all alone. Marisa's parents died in a boating accident when she was young. She's so happy, though, because her aunt loves her. Sometimes I'm so jealous I can't stand it. I don't want to go back.

Your friend,

Penelope Queen


September 1998

Father Cooper,

Sometimes I wonder if I imagined you. Maybe I made you up. You are a delusion. Why else is it that you never answer me. Why else would you ignore my pleas? Then again, everyone else does. Maybe it really is me. Maybe there is something bout me that turns people away. I tried to tell my dad about Julie. He said I was stirring up trouble. I realized then he knew. He'd always known. I was up late, the night before I left to come back to school. I was going over my luggage making sure I didn't forget anything, and I heard them fighting. Julie isn't my mom. She was yelling at Dad about being saddled with his bastard and Dad told her it had been her decision to raise me. She could have left me with my real mom. Dad apparently got a waitress pregnant and she had me. My birth mom didn't want me. I know now why Julie (I can't call her mom anymore) hates me so much. I know you won't reply, but I'll mail this anyway.

Penelope Queen


December 1998

Father Cooper,

I turned 16 today. Alynn, Marisa, Carol and I went to a restaurant for lunch. It was fun. These really cute boys asked us to the movies. We watched Meet Joe Black. After that we had ices and walked back to the school. One of the boys, Greg, asked me if I would go to the Christmas program with him. I almost said yes, but then I thought of Cassie.

Penelope Queen


November 1998

Sheldon looked at the shoe box in the closet. He felt a little spurt of guilt. He never seemed to find time to read the letters inside. He hadn't read any since the very first one. There was always something else that needed his attention. He reached for the box. Maybe he should take it with him. His watched beeped, and he looked at it with a frown. Dear lord! He was running late! His Meemaw was expecting him to be at her house at 3:40 pm. Sheldon shut the closet door and hurried off.

By the time he was out of his on-campus apartment and in the taxi, he had once again forgotten all about the little girl from Germany. It wasn't like he didn't care about the girl. He was paying all that money for her education, after all. It's just that she really wasn't a part of his world.