Dear Eve

All my best wishes for your birthday, my dear Eve!

I hope things have become a little less hectic for the two of you.

Robert sends you his regards too.

He has become good friends with our neighbors, people with relatively small vineyards like ours. Most of them are sixty plus too, and we often sit together and exchange our knowledge and experiences.

Sonoma is simply wonderful at this time of the year. You really should come here and see it, and see how relaxed Robert is now.
You could say that he went soft. His edges seem to have smoothed, and I love him even more this way.

Dear Katherine

Thank you for your birthday wishes!

Ed took the day off and surprised me with a very special gift: a tandem bicycle.

A little letter stuck to the handlebars read, "This bike is a symbol for our marriage. We are a team, but not both of us can put the same amount of time and strength into it. You are the one pedaling for the both of us. On this vehicle it may be the other way round for a change. From now on I will take one day off per week and go for a cycling tour with you as long as you want."

I don't believe for a second that he will manage to put this promise into practice, but I was moved to tears.

Dear Eve

Let me do a little chatting.

I told you about our nice neighbors here in Sonoma.
There are also quite a few originals among them.
For instance there is Benjamin Redstone, a retired stock broker.
It seems as if he bought a piece of land whenever he won some money.
He is really crazy about his vineyard, which is the biggest in this area. It looks as tidy as someone else's living-room.
Yesterday I met him when I took a walk early in the morning. He was in working clothes and had obviously been working already!

Robert and I in contrast take it easy.

I am surprised that Robert can do that and be happy... at least so far...

Dear Katherine

You have become such a good friend for me – may I talk to you about my deepest secrets?

Last night Ed was restless again, for the third night in a row. When I awoke he was staring out the window into the darkness.
I stood up and hugged him from behind.
He apologized for waking me up, which he hadn't done. He is always so quiet.

"Ed, I know that you take the professional secrecy very seriously. But you are so exhausted. Don't deny it, I can see and feel it. Please, let me help you, or at least share your burden."

In the dim moonlight I saw that he closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. Then he turned around.

"It is not professional this time, at least not directly."

I was frightened. "What are you talking about?"

Gently he led me back to bed and sat down on the edge.
"Honey, I can't burden you with this. I will get over it sooner or later, just give me some time. Can you be patient with me again – as you always are?"

It took a load off my mind when I realized that it wasn't a problem between him and me. Still it affected me, since it obviously took a heavy toll on him.

"Darling, please tell me what it is. Don't you remember our tandem? Maybe there is something I can do, or at least I can pray."

He sighed. "I should not... See, there is this boy, Danny. He is about twelve years old and he was arrested together with a group of older youngsters who broke into a shop. We don't know if he broke the law or not.
He doesn't talk, he only screams when he gets scared. It looks like his parents were foreign tourists who died in a car accident nine years ago. Their papers were burnt and unrecognizable, and nobody knew anything about the child. He has a bad scar on his arm from a burn. He was put into the orphanage and called Daniel Swift.
He has never spoken a single word. He goes to school and can read and write, but he only answers factual questions. As soon as something gets personal, he withdraws back into himself."

"It is called 'mutism', isn't it?"

"Yes, but from what I've heard he could be autistic, too. I feel so incredibly bad for him."

My heart flew out to my husband. Among his many duties he let himself be touched by the fate of a single child.

"You would like to help him."

"Yes, I want him to have a chance in life so badly. Everything is fine in the orphanage, the social workers do what they can with the kids. But he has no real chance there, and nobody will ever want to adopt a handicapped, scarred and traumatized child like him."

For a moment we were both quiet.
I was very glad to know what was weighing him down. It was tough to carry the load with him, but to me it was proof that he was the man whom I had married: my compassionate, caring Ed Brown.

Suddenly I knew what question he would never word, so I did it myself:
"You would like to take him with us, wouldn't you?"

"No – yes..." He swallowed hard. "No, Eve. That's something I could never ask from you."

I sat up and hugged him. "No, you could not. But I can ask you: Ed Brown, are you ready to put our tandem to the test and open our home to this boy?"

He lowered his head and his hollow cheek joined mine.
He quickly wiped over his eyes with the sleeve of his pajamas before hugging me back. "Eve, I don't deserve you... don't know what to say..."

"Don't say anything. Try to get a wink of sleep before you have to get up."

As soon as his head touched the pillow he was sound asleep.

Dear Eve

If anybody manages to create a home for such a troubled child I'm sure it will be you and Ed.
I wish you all the wisdom and love you will need for this special boy!

Right now, Robert and I have a special guest too: John Ritter, one of our neighbors, has a broken leg.
He fell down the stairs in front of his house.
It was such a silly accident: he slipped because an oil can, which had been standing on the stairs, had toppled down and the oil had made the stairs slippery.
Maybe a cat strolling around had overthrown the can.

We took him into our house for the time being because he lives alone and can't do his housework.
Robert keeps challenging him for races: John on crutches, Robert in his wheelchair.
You would never believe how funny he can be just to brighten John up!
Tomorrow they intend to go fishing together.