Mae Tuck opened Mile's package with shaky hands. Jesse had told her and
Angus about Winnie's death and her husband. What could Miles have given
them that he couldn't give his family himself?
There was a letter and a bottle. Mae looked up at Tuck and Jesse in confusion. Tuck took the letter and read it allowed.
Dearest Family,
By the time you read this letter I'll be dead or dying. I have been freed of the Water's curse. As you are reading this, you are no doubt bemused. Let me start at the beginning.
It was after Jesse and I had fought that my boss, Mr. Meyer, told me of a Miss Winifred Foster's pregnancy.
Tuck stopped reading and looked at his son. Jesse stood in an emotional shock, not able to move. Tuck continued:
I immediately went to see to Winnie and indeed she was in her ninth month. I couldn't have left her then. Even if I wasn't in love with her I couldn't have left. To save Jesse's life I claimed that I was the baby's father. No one looked into it. They were just happy that it wasn't a Tuck baby. A week later Jesse had a daughter. Anna Marie. A month after that Winnie and I married.
Mae's hands went to her mouth as she tried to process this. She cautiously looked at Jessie. His brow was fixed with anger. She looked at her husband urging him to go on.
We rebuilt the old house and lived there. When Anna was one year old Winnie gave birth to twin girls, Laura Leigh and Rebecca Lynne. When Anna was four Catharine Mae was born. A year later Angus Beau was brought into the world. I apologize, Mama and Papa, for not telling you about your grandchildren. I apologize to Jesse for not telling him about his daughter and his three nieces and his one nephew. We couldn't.
I felt as if I had to protect Winnie. If we would have contacted you, I knew that Jesse would have jammed Water down Winnie's throat as fast as he could have possibly managed.
Tuck stopped and looked at his wife. It was indeed true. They both knew that. Jesse knew that. He kept reading:
It wasn't until Winnie was twenty-two, pregnant with little Angus Beau, did we find the cure. The kids were over at their Grandparent Fosters' house and Winnie and I had set up a picnic by the Spring. I filled my cup with the Water and set it down by the fire. Winnie, she was a bright woman, wondered what would happen if she were to boil it. She put it over the flames and it instantly turned black. I drank it and it tasted horrible.
Soon after I had emptied the cup, I sneezed. Two days later, I came down with a cold.
The old man Jesse saw, Winnie's husband, was, in fact, me. Jackson, Mama's maiden name, was the first last name that popped into my head.
Enclosed is a bottle of Water. Heat it and drink it. It is the only Water left for Winnie is buried on the Spring, making it impossible for any others to be cursed as we have been.
I love all of you, as did Winnie. Our children will look forward to seeing their Grandparents Tuck/Jackson some day.
Always and Forever,
Miles
As Miles had wished, they boiled the Water and one by one drank it. Tuck was the first to drink it. It tasted like death. Mae was next. Then Jesse and Jesse regretted it 'til the day he died.
*~*~*
Miles Christopher Tuck Jackson
1893? - 2003
Dear Husband. Dear Father. Forever.
There was a letter and a bottle. Mae looked up at Tuck and Jesse in confusion. Tuck took the letter and read it allowed.
Dearest Family,
By the time you read this letter I'll be dead or dying. I have been freed of the Water's curse. As you are reading this, you are no doubt bemused. Let me start at the beginning.
It was after Jesse and I had fought that my boss, Mr. Meyer, told me of a Miss Winifred Foster's pregnancy.
Tuck stopped reading and looked at his son. Jesse stood in an emotional shock, not able to move. Tuck continued:
I immediately went to see to Winnie and indeed she was in her ninth month. I couldn't have left her then. Even if I wasn't in love with her I couldn't have left. To save Jesse's life I claimed that I was the baby's father. No one looked into it. They were just happy that it wasn't a Tuck baby. A week later Jesse had a daughter. Anna Marie. A month after that Winnie and I married.
Mae's hands went to her mouth as she tried to process this. She cautiously looked at Jessie. His brow was fixed with anger. She looked at her husband urging him to go on.
We rebuilt the old house and lived there. When Anna was one year old Winnie gave birth to twin girls, Laura Leigh and Rebecca Lynne. When Anna was four Catharine Mae was born. A year later Angus Beau was brought into the world. I apologize, Mama and Papa, for not telling you about your grandchildren. I apologize to Jesse for not telling him about his daughter and his three nieces and his one nephew. We couldn't.
I felt as if I had to protect Winnie. If we would have contacted you, I knew that Jesse would have jammed Water down Winnie's throat as fast as he could have possibly managed.
Tuck stopped and looked at his wife. It was indeed true. They both knew that. Jesse knew that. He kept reading:
It wasn't until Winnie was twenty-two, pregnant with little Angus Beau, did we find the cure. The kids were over at their Grandparent Fosters' house and Winnie and I had set up a picnic by the Spring. I filled my cup with the Water and set it down by the fire. Winnie, she was a bright woman, wondered what would happen if she were to boil it. She put it over the flames and it instantly turned black. I drank it and it tasted horrible.
Soon after I had emptied the cup, I sneezed. Two days later, I came down with a cold.
The old man Jesse saw, Winnie's husband, was, in fact, me. Jackson, Mama's maiden name, was the first last name that popped into my head.
Enclosed is a bottle of Water. Heat it and drink it. It is the only Water left for Winnie is buried on the Spring, making it impossible for any others to be cursed as we have been.
I love all of you, as did Winnie. Our children will look forward to seeing their Grandparents Tuck/Jackson some day.
Always and Forever,
Miles
As Miles had wished, they boiled the Water and one by one drank it. Tuck was the first to drink it. It tasted like death. Mae was next. Then Jesse and Jesse regretted it 'til the day he died.
*~*~*
Miles Christopher Tuck Jackson
1893? - 2003
Dear Husband. Dear Father. Forever.