CHAPTER 3: A GOOD DAY FOR REVELATIONS

Charlie Brown was amazed that he still knew the way to her old house, as it had been years since he'd been there. When he pulled up, it looked the same. Up to the big rosebush near the door. He walked up to the door, nervously. He was about to talk to Peppermint Patty's father, Richard. From what he heard from Marcie and his mother Maureen, she was devastated about his moving away to Alaska. But was his moving the catalyst of her disappearing off the face of the earth? He had to find out for himself.

He rang the doorbell. It had the same 3 tones it had when they were kids. A balding man with salt and pepper hair and a big long nose opened the door. Charlie Brown recognized him as Richard Reichardt.

"Hello, Mr. Reichardt," he greeted.

"Chuck, is that you?" he answered. Like his daughter, Richard referred to him as "Chuck".

"It is me, sir," Charlie Brown replied.

"Well, how've you been, son?" he greeted happily, shaking his hand. "Come in, we'll have some beers. You're beyond old enough now that we can drink together." And they went inside.

Inside the house were sports trophies that Peppermint Patty won for various sporting events. She was always the polar opposite of Charlie Brown when it came to sports. Where he mostly failed at playing them, especially baseball, she excelled at them. He had won a bowling trophy once, but they spelled their name wrong, which tickled Lucy pink when she pointed it out. And they never corrected the spelling. The two men sat at the kitchen table. Richard pulled out two bottles of beer. He opened both and handed one to Charlie Brown.

"So, Chuck, how are things in the Great North?" Richard asked.

"Pretty good, sir," said Charlie Brown. "I work as a lumberjack in a lumberyard. While we cut down trees, we replenish what we cut down by planting more trees. I have my own apartment and Anchorage is like any American city. The summers are pretty mild, and the winters are bitterly cold, as expected, but other than that, it's like any other place in America, aside from the views of the mountains. They are beautiful to look at up there."

"Well, I'm glad you found something good in your life, son." Charlie Brown saw the sadness in Richard's eyes.

"I heard about Patty leaving after I moved away," he said cautiously. "Marcie kind of filled me in on what had happened. Can you tell me what made her move away?"

Richard sat down his beer. He started, "You know my girl was sweet on you?"

"I've heard."

"Her only problem was she could never get the words out. She would say the wrong thing to you, or get flabbergasted, or…"

"…Or say things like, 'You kinda like me, doncha, Chuck?', right?"

Richard nodded. "Well, the day you moved away, she felt like she missed her chance to tell you how she felt."

"I can identify with that. When this girl that I liked moved, I was devastated. I always got sad when I thought about her. Was my moving away the cause of her leaving?"

"Indirectly, yes, Chuck. I heard about the incident at that party with you and that one boy, Bill? Bob?"

"Blake."

"Oh yes, Blake. And that awful Violet Gray was the one that instigated it. I get why you needed to leave here, but my Patty couldn't understand why you couldn't stay, at least for her."

"Well, there were too many bad memories for me, and I didn't divulge to everyone about my leaving, except for Linus, Schroeder, and Franklin, my closest friends besides your daughter, and my family. Snoopy had long passed by then, and your daughter never really told me how she felt about me, so I figured aside from my parents, I had nothing holding me here, so I split. Maybe I could have told her that I was leaving, but I didn't even tell Marcie. I just needed to leave here as soon as I could."

"Chuck, you don't have to explain anything to me, son. I do, however, need to explain her leaving. About a few weeks after you left, Patty had changed. She wasn't talking as much, the baseball season had just started, and she wasn't even excited about it like she usually would be. And we both know how much she loves baseball! She walked around like a zombie most days, and others, she would cry in her room. Then one day, I got home from work and she was gone. She left a note for me. I kept it." He went to one of the kitchen drawers and pulled out a folded up piece of paper. He handed it to Charlie Brown. Charlie unfolded it and read it.

Dear dad,

With the one exception of you, and maybe Marcie, I have no reason to stay here. Chuck has moved away and I really don't hang out with the other kids, besides Marcie and Franklin. So, I have left town to find myself. Please don't write or call. My cell phone is still here, and I will not be leaving a forwarding address. If something serious happens, I will call you, but otherwise, I'm staying away for how long? I couldn't tell you. Just know I will forever love you.

Love,

Your rare gem,

Patricia

Charlie Brown looked up from the letter and saw Richard with tears in his eyes. He felt for the man. He decided to do something for him.

"Mr. Reichardt," he began.

"Chuck, you're a grown man now, you can call me 'Rick'," said Richard.

"Okay, Rick," Charlie Brown continued. "I came back because my father's ill with cancer. While I am here, I can promise you I will try to find your daughter with Marcie. It may take a while, but I promise you I will do all I can to find her."

"Thank you, son." The two men shared a hug.

"I better go now. I need to get back to my father and see how he's doing. It was good talking to you again, Rick."

"And it was good seeing you, Chuck. Take care now."

"You too."

NEXT CHAPTER: CUTTING THE TENSION