Love,
Devon
I takea shaky breath as I fold the letter back up and reach for the next.I open the second letter and start to read.
Suri,
Today I foundanother picture of you online.
You were standingwith your friend Rowan at some festival.
I staredat that picture for an hour.
You’re beautiful.The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
My throat tightens.
I open another.
Suri,
Fuck,I miss you, baby.
I love you.I’ve loved you for years.I loved you before I knew your name.I loved you before I knew what you looked like.
I loveyou because you’re kind and brave and you see good in people.And I love you because you never stopped showing up for me.
You becamemy home long before I ever had the chance to hold you.
A sob escapes me,and I cover my mouth.
Across from me, Devon shifts forward immediately.“Suri?”
I shake my head.“I-I’m okay.”
But I’m not okay.I’m overwhelmed.Every fear I’ve carried for years is unraveling right in front of me.All this time, I thought I loved him more, I thought I cared more, I thought I needed him more, I thought I was the one chasing him.
And all along… he was chasing me too.
I read letter after letter.Every single one says the same thing in a hundred different ways.
I love you.
I miss you.
I need you.
I can’t wait to find you.
I don’t want a life without you in it.
By the time I finish the last one, tears are streaming down my face.
I lower the pages into my lap.My vision blurs.“Devon…”
His chair scrapes against the floor, and a second later, he’s kneeling in front of me.Immediately, his hands cup my cheeks.“Baby.”
“Why didn’t you send these?”
