Chapter 12 - News for Florence

Sunday morning after breakfast, XL and Anna decided to phone Florence Rose. They put their phone into speaker mode so they could both talk; then they selected her name from the address book. After a few rings, she answered. When they saw her on the view screen, they could see right away that she was sick. She was wearing a night gown, holding a handkerchief, and the end of her nose was red.

"Hello kids," she said, in a raspy voice. Apparently she had a sore throat.

XL told her about his trip to Fred's former home at Blarney Island, and he gave her the address so she could write to him. He explained that even though Fred had moved, her letter would be forwarded to his new home, which probably was somewhere in Edmonton.

Florence was very pleased to learn that Fred had a family. "It's good that he has his own family, since our own family broke up," she said. "I hope he is happy."

"Was your own family a happy one," asked Anna, "when Fred and his sister Susan were little?"

"Oh yes," said Florence. "We are a loving family and we did everything together, right until they were adults. Right until their father died."

"How did he die?" asked Anna.

"It was a car accident," said Florence. "It was a Sunday afternoon, early in springtime. Fred and Susan were adults at that time, with their own apartments at the university they attended, but they had come home that weekend for a visit. My husband, Dave, was driving, while I, Fred, and Susan rode in the car. It was during the transition from winter to spring. There was snow on the ground, and freezing rain. We were driving from our home to go to a party in the city."

Florence had tears in her eyes, as she remembered. "He didn't want to go, because of the freezing rain. But I insisted, because we had already promised to go to the party."

"While we were on the way," she continued, "the car hit an icy patch covered in a thin layer of water, and the car spun. Dave couldn't control it. The car swerved left, then right, and finally it spun right off the road. It came to a stop when it slid sideways into a tree. The car hit the tree at the driver side, and the door was smashed in."

"David was badly injured. We called an ambulance, but he lost a lot of blood and they couldn't save him."

"That's very sad," said Anna. "You must have felt awful."

"Yes, we all did," said Florence. "You can't imagine. Fred and Susan took it very hard. They were sad and angry all at the same time. They said it was my fault, because I nagged him to go."

"That's not fair," said XL. "Safety is the driver's responsibility. No amount of nagging should have caused him to make a bad judgement."

"Well, that's not the way Fred and Susan, saw it," Florence replied. "I was feeling awful too. I didn't blame Dave. I blamed myself."

"After the funeral, they were still angry with me. They said they didn't want to come home ever again. I told them, 'Fine then stay away!'"

"As an inheritance, I gave them enough money so they could finish their university studies and live a few years beyond that as well, in case they didn't get a job right away when they finished. I have never seen them since."

"That makes it a double tragedy," said Anna. "One tragedy was your husband's death. But that was made into a bigger tragedy of losing your son and daughter, and all of the good times you could have had together. But it's not too late to fix that latter tragedy, at least for today and the future. You could still have some happy times together."

"Yes," said XL. "We just need to convince them of that too!"

"I think you have done all you can," said Florence, "and I thank you for that. I will write a letter to Fred, to tell him that I made a mistake, to ask his forgiveness, and to tell him that he is always welcome at my home. I will write it today and mail it tomorrow."

"I have a good feeling about this," said Anna. "I think it will turn out well in the end."

"Thanks, dear," said Florence, "I hope you are right."

"Try to put something in the letter to remind Fred of the good times you had together," said XL. "I saw so many of your photos of such times. Does Fred have copies of those pictures too?"

"No, we used a film camera in those days, and it was expensive to get extra copies, although we did order double-prints for some of them. Dave took most of the pictures, and everything was kept in albums and boxes in our house."

"Do you still have extra prints of any of the photos?" asked XL. "Maybe you could pick out a few special ones to send with your letter."

"Yes, there are some special ones I could send," said Florence. "But I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"If the letter comes packaged with special memories," said Anna, "it is less likely that Fred will discard it. He will keep it, and even if he doesn't respond immediately, he will think about it and maybe reply eventually."

"Maybe his kids would like to see the pictures too," said XL. "Maybe they have never seen what their dad looked like as a child."

"That's a good thought," said Florence. "I'll do my best."

"Please let us know if you get any reply," said Anna. "We would really like to know."

"I will," said Florence. "I will call you in a week whether I get a reply or not." she added.

Then they said good bye to each other and ended the call.

"I hope she gets a favorable answer," Anna said to XL.

"I hope so too," said XL.

"You know, your birthday is in just 6 days," said Anna. "It would be like an extra birthday gift if your effort to find Fred proves to be successful."

"True," said XL. "But don't let that stop you from getting me a gift too, Sis!" he added.

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