“Fifty-sixminutes, roundtrip,”Drewfigured.“Ifwedon’tneedgas.”“Butyouforgotstanding-in-linetime.”saidSarah.
“Okay,”Drewsaid.“Weneedtoaddabout15minutesformailing.”
“So, what’sthetotaltimewe’dspendtogivesomeoneapresent?”
Drewdidthearithmetic.“Twohoursand34minutes.”
Ilaidapieceofstationery, anenvelopeandapenbesideeachchild’scocoacup.“’llhaveusingit.”
Silencereignedasthechildrengatheredtheirthoughts;softpenscrathesfollowed.“Done.”saidEleanor, pressingherenvelopeclosed.
“Metoo.”echoedSarah.
“Thattookusthreeminutes.”Drewsaid, sealinghisletter.
“Isthreeminutestoomuchtoasktothanksomeoneforathoughtfulgiftthatmayhavetakentwoandahalfhourstochooseandsendtoyou?”Iasked.
Thechildrenlookeddownatthetableandshooktheirheads.
“It’’llwanttowritethank-younotesformanythings.”
Drewgroaned.“Likewhat?”
“’shomeorthetimesomeonetakestogiveyouadviceoncollegeapplicationsorcareers.”
“Didyouhavetowritethank-youswhenyouwereakid?”Drewasked.
“Absolutely.”
“Whatdidyousay?”-younotes.
“Itwasalongtimeago.”Isaid.
ThenIrememberedUncleArthur, mygreat-grandfather’syoungestbrother.I’dnevermethim, , , wholivednextdoor, satdownwithhimandwroteout$, tellinghimwhatI’dspenthischeckon.
WhenIwenttoschoolinMassachusetts, , hetoldmehe’dalwaysenjoyedmynotes.
“Yourememberthem?”Iasked.
“Yes,”hereplied.“I’vesavedsomeofmyfavorites.”Hewavedtowardahighboybythewindow.“Wouldyougetthepacketoflettersoutofthetopdrawer?”heasked.“It’swrappedinribbon.”
Ifoundanoldletterwithmyhandwritingandreadaloud:“DearUncleArthur, ’llhaveawonderfultime, , Faith.”
