It was well into January before a letter came from Max again. Willy surprised herself by being a little disappointed each day when the mail was delivered and there was nothing from him. She had been putting off the self-examination session she had promised her father she would have. She knew there would be some uncomfortable feelings brought up and some things to face she wasn't ready yet to face. She was trying to deal with her feelings by ignoring them and keeping busy with other things.
The envelope from Max was thick. It was addressed to all of them so Willy decided to wait until Allison got home from school so they could all open it together. She knew how much her children enjoyed getting letters from Max.
Several times during the afternoon, she glanced at the letter sitting on the table and had a strong urge to open it. She would pick it up and hold it close to her heart. She even smelled it to see if it had retained any of his scent. To her disappointment, it just smelled like paper.
Finally Allison got home but she came in the house in tears. A boy had thrown a stick at her on the way home and it had made a little cut on her cheek. Willy cleaned it and offered all the appropriate sympathy and hugs. It was some time later when she was getting supper that she noticed the letter still on the table. She left what she was doing and called the kids in for the grand opening.
Inside the big outer cover were three smaller envelopes each addressed to one of them. "Open mine first!" Jeffy demanded.
"Oh, please, can we open mine first since I got hurt?" Allison begged.
"I know what," said Willy, diplomatically. "We'll put three numbers in a bowl and draw them. Whoever gets number one is first, number two is second, and number three is third. Is that fair enough?"
The plan was agreed on and executed and Jeffy drew number one. He ripped a piece of his letter in his exuberance, but Willy managed to tape it back together so it would be readable.
Dear Jeff,
Today is my birthday and the best birthday present I could think of would be to write to my favorite kids. I think about all the fun we had together last summer and I wish I had taken pictures so I could remember what you looked like when we were together. It was the best summer I've ever had.
For my birthday, my mother gave me a blue western shirt she had made for me. My dad gave me a new bridle for Smoky. The old one broke because he pulls so hard when he is tied up. Lloyd and his family gave me a new cowboy hat with a snakeskin band. It's pretty cool.
Smoky is getting easier to handle. He loves to go for a run in the snow every day. I ride him all around the field where we went for our ride last summer. You should see all the snow we have here. It would be over your head in some places. You should come visit me in the winter and we could build snow men and snow forts together and have a snowball battle. It would be fun.
I hope you are helping your mother and being nice to your sister. Draw some pictures for me when you write back.
Love, Max
Jeffy was in transports and wanted Willy to read it again, but she told him that it was Allison's turn because she got number two. Allison's letter was written in a very interesting way. The paper was cut into a big circle. Max had started writing at the very center of the circle and the letter spiraled around and around until it finished close to the outer edge. She was giggling as Willy turned it and tried to keep the lines in order as she read.
Dear Allison,
I wish you were here to help take care of all these cats. The babies that you saw last August are now almost grown up. The mother cat has had two more litters since then. The first time she had five kittens and the second time she had four. One kitten of the last batch was born with only three legs. He seems to be able to keep up with the others and gets his share of the milk. We'll have to see how he does when he gets bigger. They were born the week after Christmas so they are still quite little.
How is school going for you? Have you learned the sounds that all the letters make yet? I'll bet you are able to read a few words already, aren't you? I wish I could sit down with you and read you some stories. I used to love it when one of my parents would read to me.
I hope that you will write back and tell me what you are doing. I like to see the pictures that you draw and color. It helps me remember all the fun we had last summer. Help your mother and Jeff.
Love, Max
"Now read yours, Mama!" the children cried.
"After that last one I'm feeling kind of dizzy," Willy laughed. "I have never seen a letter written in a circle before. I wonder what he is going to say in my letter." She opened the envelope and drew out the letter it contained. To her relief, it appeared to be written in a normal manner, until she started reading it. It was typed and very official-looking.
Dear Mrs. Milton,
You have been chosen to complete the following survey. It will not take much of your time and it will be very valuable to me in my research into the activities of the average American household. Please complete the questionnaire and return it in the self-addressed, stamped envelope.
As a token of my thanks for the time you spend answering the following questions, you will be awarded a very special secret gift that will be sent when I receive the completed survey. Remember to completely answer every question to the best of your ability. Thank you.
1. Are you presently in good health?
2. Are the other members of your family in good health? If not, please elaborate as to their condition.
3. Is your car in good repair? Explain a negative answer.
4. Is your house warm, comfortable, and cozy?
5. Are the various appliances and machines contained within your home functioning as they should? Please explain any problems.
6. What are your current writing projects?
7. How is your leisure time spent? Please use back of page if necessary.
8. What types of volunteer work are you engaged in?
9. At this very moment, what clothing are you wearing? Include colors.
10. Is your hair the same length as you wore it five months ago?
11. What is your blood type?
12. Do you have any current friends of the male gender?
13. Are your parents in close touch with you?
14. What are the current activities of your siblings? Elaborate on the back of this page.
15. How often do you entertain guests in your home?
16. Do you ever think of Mr. Maxwell Bell? If so, please list some of the most recent thoughts that have occurred to you concerning this gentleman. (Use additional pages if necessary.)
17. Is it a frequent occurrence at your house to go on an outing with your children?
18. Is your female child progressing as expected in her schoolwork?
19. Is your male child keeping his mother busy and active?
20. Are you currently exercising with the aid of a video tape?
21. What is the condition of your emotions regarding male companionship?
22. Do you enjoy receiving letters from male friends?
23. What is your birth date?
24. Do you sing to your children on a regular basis?
This is the final question. Please be completely honest and fair. Only one person will ever view your answer.
25. Part A. Has there been any softening of your heart toward a male friend residing in Wyoming who still feels a great deal of love and concern for you and your family?
Part B. Would it be agreeable to you to receive telephone calls from the above mentioned male friend?
You have now completed this survey. If there are any additional comments you would like to make about any of the questions or any other subject, I would be happy to read them and add them to my research. Thank you very much for your cooperation. Please return the completed survey in the postage paid envelope as soon as possible. Your secret gift will be sent shortly after I receive the questionnaire.
Willy had started reading the whole questionnaire out loud, but the kids soon lost interest and went about their own business so she finished in silence. She chuckled at some of the questions and thought about others. She wondered if she should really answer it and send it back or continue with her previous policy of short letters to accompany the artwork or letters of her children. She decided as she sat there that there would be no harm in playing along and answering. It would be fun. He had gone to a lot of trouble to write it and it shouldn't be wasted.
She got a pen and started filling in the sheet. She was elaborating on number five about her appliances when she was interrupted by a couple of hungry children. It was much later, after she put Allison and Jeffy to bed that she was able to return to it.
It was fun to fill in the answers. She found herself using the back of the page frequently and finally had to resort to using an additional sheet to explain her answers. Her current writing projects took several lines, but the answer to number seven about how she spent her leisure time made her laugh. There really wasn't much leisure time to speak of in her busy life.
Willy was wearing her nightgown and didn't feel comfortable describing it for question number nine so she told about what she had been wearing during the day instead. She was progressing well and enjoyed writing about her family members. Question sixteen gave her a few moments pause. She smiled at his optimistic directions to use additional pages. If only he knew how many thoughts a day she forced herself not to have about Mr. Maxwell Bell!
After a few moments thought, Willy decided to give the man a break and describe a few, very few, of the many thoughts about him that flooded her mind. She wrote about how much she appreciated the help he had given her on her visit, how handsome he had looked in his ranger uniform, and how she enjoyed the happy looks on the faces of her children when he sent a letter. She thought those were pretty safe thoughts to share.
Question twenty-one was hard to answer. She knew that Max was trying to discover whether she was relenting any about dating again and if she was getting over her aversion to having a close friend of the male persuasion. She decided to be honest and say that she did miss having a male friend and would welcome one to talk to and go places with. She thought that would be safe enough, since he was so far away.
The last question caused her to put her chin in her hand and give herself over to a long period of thinking. Part A was fairly easy to answer. She explained that her heart had always been soft toward anyone who had been so kind to her. She knew that was not quite what he meant, but she avoided the issue. Part B was a little harder. It would be very agreeable for her to hear his voice and be able to talk to him. Her only problem was that it would be so hard to hang up and know that they wouldn't be likely to see each other again. What would be the point of getting closer through live conversations?
Willy finally decided to just be honest as he had instructed and to say that it would be agreeable to receive telephone calls as long as they were short and infrequent. She knew her resolve was softening and that it would be most welcome to have him call her. Somehow, it didn't seem so important now to prevent contact from him. She gave in to her yearning a little and added a short note on the bottom of the page to the effect that of all the friends of the male gender that she knew, he was one of the most treasured. She wrote that she hoped he had enjoyed his birthday and that all was well with him and his family.
As she sealed the envelope, Willy decided that now was a good time to have the long-procrastinated self-examination period that she had told herself she must have. She put on some soft music, wrapped herself in a warm blanket, settled down in her favorite chair and started to think.