Correspondance, November and December 1988

[noteful]

The day after she met Dave Martyniuk, Meg sits staring at the single sheet of pale blue stationary on her desk.

What is she supposed to write? It was nice to meet you? That's not exactly going to ring true, in light of the way the meeting went.

After several more minutes, Meg picks up her pen and writes:

Dave,

I'm glad that we finally had an opportunity to meet. I hope we'll get to talk again soon, and I hope things are going well for you.

Sincerely,
Meg

She hesitates for a moment, and then adds her address under her name.

After another -- and longer -- moment, she writes her phone number, too.

And then folds the paper in thirds without rereading it, seals it in an envelope, and drops it in the mail before she can think herself out of it.

Comments

[oftheaxe]

Dave doesn't expect to get much in the mail most days besides bills, and the occasional letter from Kim.

So it takes him a day or two to get around to checking his mail - and after that, once he reads through the letter, another day or two to come home in the evening after a long day of work with enough mental energy to answer it.

(He doesn't want to write a response while he's tired, and cranky. Simple as the letter is, it would still be far too easy to slip up.)

Meg,

Thanks for your note. I'm also glad we had the chance to meet.

I guess we kind of got off on the wrong foot, back there, and I'm sorry for that.

(It's easier to make a blanket apology in a note than it is in person.)

I really do appreciate you getting in touch, and I hope things are going well for you, too. I'd like to talk to you again, when you have the time - and try a different foot.

Sincerely,
Dave

[noteful]

Meg hasn't been able to figure out if she's been expecting a reply or not expecting a reply.

That question, at least, is now answered.

She writes her response the morning after she gets his letter, while it's still quiet in the apartment.

Dave,

I think there's more enough blame to go around with regard our previous meeting. Fortunately, we both have more than one foot, metaphorically speaking as well as literally.

Things are going as well as I can ask this close to exams.

As for talking again, as I said, I turn up there pretty frequently.

She's not going to say where there is. Not in a letter sent through Canada Post.

She hestiates for a moment, and then adds

And if you're going to be in Montreal for any reason, I hope you'll let me know.

Sincerely,
Meg

She drops it in the mail on her way to class, and waits to see what happens next.

[oftheaxe]

Oh, thank God, Dave thinks, when he reads this letter a few days later, a conversational opening.

Meg,

First of all, best of luck with your exams. To be honest, I used to pretty much go into hibernation during exam time every year, so I appreciate you taking the time to write in the middle of studying.

I am in Montreal occasionally for business, but given that, I won't blame you if you want to postpone any meeting until after yours are over. Do you go home on vacation afterwards? I don't know if your university's schedule is the same as ours was. Anyway, if you let me know, we can figure out a time. It's probably easier than relying on matching up schedules there.

Sincerely,
Dave

[noteful]

"So," Olivia says, standing in the doorway to Meg's room and waving an envelope, "does Alain know you're getting letters from some boy in Toronto?"

"A boy in Toronto?" Meg says, puzzled.

Olivia looks at the envelope again. "Dave Marty-something. In Toronto."

"Martyniuk," Meg says. "Dave Martyniuk." For whom she cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, use the word boy. "He's a family friend."

Or at least that title will work for the purpose of getting the letter from Olivia, so she can read it and answer it.

Dave,

Thank you. I kind of start studying for my exams in September, so I'm in pretty good shape on that front, and excuses for breaks are always welcome. If you're going to be here anyway, I can probably find some time to meet you. (Though I have at least one professor who sort of seems to delight in throwing us new assignments from left field, so I can't make any promises.)

As for my schedule, I'm in Montreal until 19 December, and then we're spending Christmas in England with Kim this year. I'll be back in Ontario just before New Year's, and back in Montreal in early January. If any of that meshes with anything you have planned, please let me know.

Sincerely,
Meg

[oftheaxe]

One good thing about living alone: there's no one to make sarcastic comments about whom you might be receiving mail from.

There's also no one to remind you to take in the mail, but fortunately Dave is relatively conscientious about this on his own - though Meg's letter does sit at the bottom of a pile of the month's bills that have to be dealt with for a day or two before Dave gets around to sorting through the rest of the mail.

Meg,

- "Glad to hear you're in good shape," he is positive, will come off sounding either patronizing or snarky, or both.

You're welcome. A little extra luck never hurts, I guess - though it sounds like you probably won't need it. (There's always one, right?)

I'm going to be meeting a client in Quebec the second week of December, if you're free then. If not, don't worry about it. The thing about clients is that they tend to keep living in the place they're living in, so I'll probably be back soon.

Sincerely,
Dave

[noteful]

Meg's reply goes out the morning after she gets his letter. (Which, all right, is the two days after it reached the apartment and spent forty-eight hours lost in amidst Carrie's notes.)

Dave,

No, a little extra luck never hurts at all.

The second week in December should be fine. When you know what day or days you'll be here, let me know. Maybe we can meet for coffee or something like that.

Low-key. And without obligating them to an entire meal if things go all haywire again.

I look forward to seeing you.

Meg