~ Bouchard ~
Montreal
December 18, 1918
Dear Son,
It sounds like you have been one busy man, so I am so glad I caught you today by phone. As I said, we will be headed your way by train tomorrow and should arrive on the 21st. Thank you for arranging for someone to pick us up if, for some reason, you are unable to do so. Your mother is going to be so excited once she figures out, hopefully at the last minute, that we are taking a detour to Hope Valley for a Christmas visit! As we discussed, we will be resuming our journey to San Francisco just after Christmas Day.
I hope that you will consider joining us after New Year's for a few days. Yes, this trip is meant as a getaway for your mother and me, but it is about being together, away from work, and enjoying our time together. That doesn't mean it just has to be the two of us. Spending time with you and sharing in your joy means the world to us. This Christmas is going to be like the wonderful Christmases we had together when you were growing up. Hope Valley may not be as exotic as some of the places we visited, but it sounds delightful non the less. And if you are able to travel down to San Francisco after New Year's, we can revisit some of your favorite places. Your room will be ready for you and we will have one for Elizabeth and Jack if you would like to bring them with you. It would be our pleasure to have them join us. I am sure we can find plenty of outings to delight the little guy, a trolley ride for instance. Please consider …
I can hear the love in your voice when you speak of Elizabeth. When you find The One, you just want to shout it out to the world. I know it has been a long time, but I still remember…. I can't tell you how happy I am for you Lucas. The love a man feels for the woman of his dreams and the mother of his child, I can't begin to convey. But you are experiencing this wonderful gift for yourself and I am just so happy for you.
When I left your mother, it was truly like I had left part of me behind. Your soulmate completes you, and I was left with an emptiness that I hadn't felt since I have known her. We did learn a lesson from all this and I hope that you can draw from our experience. Even true love must be nurtured; without that, we can drift apart in the busy lives we lead. Don't let that happen to you my son, every day is a day to make your soulmate happy and thus, yourself happy. I know it is cliché, but you truly do reap what you sow. Now that we are together again, I wake up each day and reflect on the gift I have in her, even if she isn't with me at the time. You have the advantage of having someone who understands that love must be nurtured and it is without question that she will be your partner in tending to your relationship; just as you will. I can see that you not only think of her first, but you also accept her child as yours without question. You will be a remarkable father…. one has no greater calling than to provide love and security to those who depend on you. And Elizabeth is already a wonderful mother and compassionate person. As you know, Elizabeth was key to Helen and me discovering each other again, despite the fact that she jeopardized her relationship with you in keeping your mother's confidence. A fact for which Helen feels extremely regretful.
I won't dwell on it here as I hope to speak about this in person during our visit. But just so you know, I look back with some regret at the time when you were young. I always loved you but I didn't spend the time with you that I should have. When one is consumed by work, we sometimes forget that balance is important. We think that there is always time to "catch up". But the reality is that time passes so quickly and without care, one will find that in the end, we are left with regret for the time that we can't ever recover. You are a smart man, Lucas, you have men working with you that you trust; give them as much responsibility as you think they can handle and ensure that your life will have the balance that your wife and children will benefit from. They are your true assets.
I will close now as it is getting quite late and we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. I will remember your grandmother's ring and will bring it in its special box as I promised. I can't wait to meet my future daughter and grandson and to give you all a big embrace.
Love,
Father
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