The Closing

Arthur,

Did you know, today is our 7th month anniversary of being pen pals? Isn't that cute? Maybe I should've left you a present, but naaah. Knowing you, you probably would've put it back in the grocery store's gift shop. How rude, you're such a mean pen pal.

Just kidding, you're pretty cool. Would it be embarrassing to admit that I look forward to Wednesdays now? Because I totally do. ;)

Anyways… hey! I just thought of something! If you're such a great detective, Mr. Sherlock, why didn't you just find me and scold me in person? Bet you never thought of that one before! Alfred: 1 Arthur: 0

Peace out, homie,

Alfred

Dear Alfred,

I really wish you would stop with the ridiculous closings. A simple sincerely, or even a goodbye, would suffice. I also really wish you would cease being annoying, but I suppose you probably think that is a part of your charm.

Hint: it's not.

Happy 7 month anniversary, you utter imbecile. Yes, to answer your question, that is completely embarrassing but I doubt you have any qualms at all with that. I can just see you, going around spewing embarrassing things without a second thought. But I guess if you didn't, then you wouldn't be Alfred. You truly are one of a kind, though I'm not sure if that is entirely a good thing.

I am quite the detective, rest assured, Alfred. I did think about finding you in person but eventually decided against it, for several reasons. It would make you a real person that I could actually talk to. It was much easier to think of you as some jerk that I'll never meet, as opposed to someone I could actually see and fight with.

Plus… I didn't exactly want to yell at someone in the middle of a grocery store.

But now…? I don't know. I guess I do think of you as some sort of pen pal. (Don't get too excited, though. You're still obnoxious.) It would ruin the point of being pen pals if I tried to find out who you really were.

As usual,

Arthur

Why don't we just become regular pals? - Alfred

The next week, Alfred walked slowly into the grocery store with mixed feelings. He was excited at the prospect of a reply to his daring note. Though he had written the note without the proper etiquette for letters, he thought it would be easier for Arthur to have something to rant about, rather than just focusing on what the actual request was for.

Yes, he was excited, but he was also somewhat nervous. What if Arthur didn't want to be friends with him? What if the entire correspondence was some stupid joke? Alfred felt like he was meeting someone from the internet for the first time, worrying about being catfished.

Alfred took his time doing his grocery shopping, dragging his feet and even passing the breakfast aisle up to finish his shopping before he dared look at their not-so-secret spot. He finally gathered the courage to enter the cereal aisle and grabbed a box of cereal and pop tarts before he eventually stood in front of their shelf.

There was no letter.

There wasn't a response from Arthur. Even though Alfred's previous note had been taken, it was hard to ignore the pang of sadness that shot through his body. He had really believed he had made a new friend, but maybe not.

Who knows? Maybe Arthur had something that came up, like a death in the family or something equally serious. Maybe he had forgotten. There could have been a number of any other explanations. After all, Alfred was known for his non stop optimism.

Despite the other explanations, he was scared he frightened Arthur away with his request. Digging through his pockets, he brought out the packet of sticky notes and the pen he kept for emergencies. This was as good as any other emergency, he supposed. On the top sticky note, he drew a frowny face and stuck it to the shelf. He hoped that Arthur would at least leave some sort of a response. The only thing he could really do at that moment was hope, and at least he was good at that.

The week after that, Alfred was even less enthusiastic about going grocery shopping. He had even thought about skipping the weekly journey, but eventually decided against it. Routine was a big part of his life, and he desperately needed a gallon of milk as well.

Like the previous week, he did all his shopping before he even dared to go into the breakfast aisle. He was too nervous to see what was there, or the lack thereof. For the first time in a long time, his unwavering optimism came through for him.

On the shelf, there wasn't a letter, nor a note. There was, however, another sticky note covering his frowny face sticky note. It was a neon green one, compared to his ordinary yellow sticky notes. On the front, there was a smiley face in a direct polar opposite. 'Okay' was written in shaky handwriting underneath the smiley face. Underneath the single word was a postscript.

P.S.

Your note didn't have proper letter etiquette. I'm disappointed, Alfred.

Alfred struggled not to dance around and yell in happiness, considering it would be just a tad weird to do that at a grocery store. It almost surprised him how invested he had become in this weird friendship, but at that point, he was too happy to care. It had been eight months since they had started writing to each other, and they were finally about to meet face to face.

Even though he had went grocery shopping, prepared to be let down and shut out, Alfred had brought his own notepad and pen. Just in case Arthur had decided to reply to him. He took out his notebook and pen, flipping to the next available page and wrote a letter using exact etiquette. Including the header, just to be obnoxious one last time.

"World News Grocery Store

September 5th

Dear Arthur,

Sorry if I made any mistakes or left something out in my header. It's been several years since I've had an English class. Even then, I never really paid attention.

Anyway. Today is the 5th. You will get this letter on the 12th. Have lunch with me on Wednesday the 19th, and I will not take no for an answer. Meet me at that small cafe on the corner of Seventh Street and Forsythia Lane at noon.

Hopefully I won't disappoint.

Till then,

Alfred"

"Alfred,

Oh, I'm sure you will disappoint, but do not despair, I will have lunch with you. I suppose the next time we talk, it will be in person.

See you then,

Arthur"

Alfred smiled down at the small note in his hands. Arthur had forgotten the header, but Alfred had a sneaking suspicion that it was on purpose. He folded the letter gently and put it in his pocket for safekeeping. Only one week until they finally met face to face.

He wasn't sure if the first thing he wanted to do was hug Arthur, or punch him. Arthur probably wouldn't appreciate either option. Either way, Alfred would probably end up saying something completely stupid instead.