She looks up at me, eyes wide. “Why?”
“Don’t read it in that tone.”
She frowns. “What tone?”
“You know what I’m talking about. You’re making yourself sound all sweet and innocent. Now I’m going to sound like a major asshole when I read mine.”
“Newsflash. You were a major asshole. This is the tone I imagined when I wrote it, so it’s the tone I’m going to use.”
She finishes reading the letter, and then it’s my turn.
“Damn,” I say. “My handwriting was awful.”
“It was,” she agrees. “Imagine how I felt having to decipher that madness only to discover how mean your words were.”
“You must have been so devastated.”
“I was.” She pouts, exaggerating a sad face.
It takes everything in my power to not lean in and kiss her. She smiles, and for a second, it feels like we’re back to where we were before I deceived her. I’m not stupid enough to think she’s forgiven me that easily, though. Her eyes drop to my mouth for a split second, so fast that I think I might have imagined it. She moves a lock of hair, tucking it behind her ear, then smiles again, and turns her attention back to the letters.
“Your turn,” she says.
We take turns reading our letters to each other, laughing at things we wrote that we forgot about, and cringing over others. Time passes quickly while we’re reading, and before I know it, it’s dark outside. We only take a break long enough for me to walk Bruno again. While I’m outside, Naomi helps herself to my kitchen, and I come back to a fresh grilled cheese sandwich. We eat in the kitchen, and then return to the living room.
I sit down on the couch, and she drops herself down next to me, so close that her arm is against mine. She pulls her feet up underneath her, bending her leg so that it rests over my own. I tilt my chin down to look at her, but she’s not paying any attention to me. She has a stack of letters in her hand, ready to keep reading.
Dear Luca,
Do you want to know something weird? Someone left a box full of bananas on my porch today. I’m really confused. I’ve had Christmas cookies left on my porch during the holiday season. We’re nowhere near the holiday season now, so I’m not sure what’s going on. I’m trying to figure out if there’s a banana related holiday I should know about.
Love,
Naomi
Dear Naomi,
Someone mistook you for a monkey, which doesn’t surprise me. That’s why they left you the bananas. Speaking of fruit, I went to an orchard for the first time today. Did you know that people pay a ridiculous amount of money to pick their own apples when they could buy them much cheaper at the store and have someone else do all the work? Anyway, it made me think of you. I bet you eat your apples without removing the sticker that the grocery store puts on them. You probably eat the whole thing, all the way down to the core. Stem, too, if it’s still attached.
Love,
Luca
Dear Luca,
That’s exactly the way I like my apples. I have a really strong digestive system. That’s how I can stomach writing to you all the time.
Love,
Naomi
Dear Naomi,
I have an idea. If we’re still single by the time we’re both twenty-five, let’s get married. What do you think? By the way, what kind of name is Naomi Light? It sounds like a weird superhero made up by a guy who hasn’t had a haircut in 3 years, and uses nail clippers to trim his split ends.
Love,
Luca
