A few days later, a letter from Potato Guy arrived in the mail. It read:

Dearest Lydia,

I wish I could give my mother your hello, but unfortunately, she passed away two months ago. That's why I haven't written you. I'm sorry to say she made one last attempt at life and gave out. It's so weird to have lost both my parents, and now be all alone here in this house. No one to take care of, nor anyone to talk to. Except you.

I read your letters to keep me hopeful and somewhat happy during this grieving period. Your letters were invaluable to helping me sleep. I'd read your letters and my heart would lighten and I could manage a few hours of slumber. Thank you.

I apologize that I don't have much to say, but that has been the case for a while. I sometimes wonder if my voice still works because of how little I use it.

Let me know how you guys are doing. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Sadly,
Potato Guy

Lucia's heart sank as she read his penned words. "Monica, come here!"

Monica rushed over. "Who's hurt? Is Denny in the hospital again?"

"No one's hurt...physically," Lucia sighed. "Potato Guy's mother died."

Monica frowned sadly and came over. "That's awful."

"Yeah," Lucia frowned. "I-I have to write home back...Gosh, just read this. He sounds so lonely."

Monica nodded and handed her some paper.

Lucia immediately began to write:

Dear Potato Guy,

I am SO sorry to hear about your mother. It really makes me so sad for you. I know what it's like and I know that it's really hard.

Look, I know that you're going through a lot right now, but if you don't have any reason to stay in Montana, why don't you come visit me in Seattle? I mean, Monica and I have an extra room, so you'd have a place to stay. I know she'd be totally cool with it.

What do you say? Come visit me?

Love you lots,
Lydia

"There," Lucia sighed. "I invited him to come visit."

Monica smiled. "Somehow, I knew you would. You know, he could even stay with Denny."

"Yeah, but Denny's a total stranger. At least he knows me a bit," Lucia shrugged. "It might be easier for him to be with someone who understands his pain."

"That's also true."

"I really hope he comes," Lucia nodded. "I've been wanting to meet him, and it sounds like he could really use a friend right now."

"Yeah, I agree. Losing anyone is rough."

"Yeah," Lucia sighed. "Yeah, it is."

"I have to go to the store, so I'll mail your letter."

"Okay, thanks," Lucia smiled. "I'm going to go see Denny. He called me fifteen minutes ago and said something about breaking his ankle or a lamp or the couch."

"Those three things are very different, Luci," Monica laughed.

"I was only half paying attention," Lucia chuckled. "I'm going to go over now. See you later."

Monica waved and left.

Lucia quickly got dressed and drove to Denny's. She let herself in and frowned when she saw Denny sitting on the floor in the kitchen. "So, I guess it was the ankle, then," she sighed, rushing over to him. "Honey, what happened?"

Denny shrugged. "I don't know if it's broken or just sprained, but I tripped over myself...and the liquid nitrogen can." He pointed.

"Oh, dear," Lucia sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"

Denny sighed. "Help me?"

Lucia wrapped an arm around and pulled his arm around her shoulders, holding his hand tightly. "Try to stand up on the count of three, okay?"

"Alright." On three, he shifted his weight and stood up, favoring his good leg as he leaned on her for support.

"Do you think you can make it to the car if I help you?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Lucia slowly brought him down to her car and helped him in before getting in her seat and putting the key in the ignition. "Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah. If you could just take me to the clinic, then that'd be great. I don't need the hospital."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep."

Lucia nodded and drove off. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

"Yeah," Denny admitted.

Lucia kissed his cheek. "We're almost there, Hon. Don't worry."

Denny smiled tensely.

After a few moments, Lucia pulled into the clinic's parking lot and easily found a space. She swiftly hopped out of the car and swung around to help Denny out. "Doing okay?"

"Yep. Let's just get me in."

Lucia helped Denny to get out of the car and then helped him inside.

"Just have a seat and we'll call you," the woman at the front desk told them.

Denny sat down and leaned his head back.

"Are you alright, Honey?" Lucia asked softly.

"Yeah."

"Gosh, you get hurt a lot," Lucia chuckled.

"Yes. Yes, I do."

Lucia wrapped her arms around him and gave a small sigh. "I love ya, kid."

"Love you back."

"Mr. Joseph, the doctor will see you now," a nurse said.

Denny got up and went in with Lucia.

"Hello, Mr. Joseph," the doctor nodded. "Have a seat and I'll take a look at that ankle."

Denny nodded and let him examine him.

The doctor carefully applied pressure to his ankle. "Does that hurt?"

"Like crazy."

"Alright." The doctor moved his fingers and pressed down gently in a different spot. "What about there?"

Denny shook his head.

"Okay," the doctor nodded. "I'm just going to slowly roll your ankle. I want you to let me know how it feels, alright?"

Denny nodded and winced as the doctor rolled it, recoiling in pain. "That really hurts."

"Alright. Judging from what I've seen, it's most likely just a sprain. I'm going to have you get an x-ray so that we can know for sure."

"Okay. That's fine."

The doctor left the room for a moment and Lucia wrapped her arms around her friend. "You doing okay, Honey?"

"Yep. I'll be fine."

"You're in a lot of pain, aren't you?" Lucia sighed.

"Yeah."

Lucia rubbed his back gently. "I'm sorry, Hon."

"It's okay, Luci. You didn't do anything. Have you heard from Potato Guy?"

"I did, actually," Lucia sighed. "His mother passed away. That's why he hadn't been writing. I invited him to come up here and stay with Monica and I."

"Oh, very nice. I hope we meet him. Then we can interrogate him."

"Why?" Lucia frowned.

"Because we can see if he's good enough for you."

"Don't be too hard on him. He just lost his mother."

"We won't."

The doctor came back in. "We'll just be a little while," he said to Lucia.

—————

"So, you sprained your ankle," Lucia sighed, walking with Denny back to the car, "by tripping over a can of liquid nitrogen."

"Yep."

"Oh, dear," Lucia chuckled. "But hey, at least your ace bandage is blue."

"My favorite color!" Denny cheered.

Lucia laughed softly. "Do you want to go get ice cream?"

"Sure, but let's not make it."

"I'm with you. It's too much work," Lucia chuckled. "Plus, it's too dangerous for you."

"Yeah, I agree."

—————

Potato Guy wrote a letter back to Lucia, which read:

Dear Lydia,

Thank you for your condolences. I would love to come visit and meet the wonderful woman I've been writing to. Would two weeks be okay? That would give me time to get all my things in order, and I'd be more free to enjoy myself. Thank you for your kindness. Let me know.

Much love,
Potato Guy

Lucia quickly wrote back to tell him that two weeks would be perfect and that she looked forward to meeting him, smiling as she did so.