Almost 2 months later
*Tess*
"What are you doing here with all the fires going on ?" Harold looks at me, as I enter his room in the retirement home.
I smile at him. I had driven here as soon as I heard they were evacuating, to see if I could give a hand with packing. Yup I have Zac's car at my disposal. Tom had delivered it with the keys, telling me to shut up and accept it. "I am here to give you a hand packing Harold".
"Still, you shouldn't. You should be protecting your own home my dear". He says softly. Sending me a smile telling me he is grateful.
I go open his closet. "Well neither my store or my home is in any immediate danger. So more important to be here helping".
"You are a speciel kind of girl. I do wish I was young enough to marry you". He says winking at me. "Talking about marriage, how is that handsome man of yours doing in Canada ?"
"He is doing really good and he is enjoying himself a lot". I say, feeling that small stab of pain I always get thinking about him.
I get Harold's suitcase down. And starts putting clothes in it. He looks at me. "And you feel jealous of the fact that he is enjoying himself. You want him to sit and be miserable, to moan over being away from you".
"No I just..". I bite my lip, putting some more things in the suitcase. "It's just I am so scared he will find someone better, someone more beautiful. And then when he seems happy even though we are not together. Well the demons plays tricks on me".
Harold points to a box inside the closet. "Don't forget that. That is my box with my pictures and the love letters Mary wrote while I was in the war. And you need to trust in yourself and in your man. Him being happy isn't because he is away from you. It is about the filming going well".
"I know.. it's just.. you know what he is doing ? Sending me loveletters, real ones written by his own hand. Just short ones, but several every week. And they are so beautiful and romantic". I smiled as I thought of lines like. 'Your dear heart trob often in my own'. 'My blind eyes are desperately waiting for the sight of you'.
My favorite is the one I carried in my pocket. 'How did I love before I knew you — before I possessed your affection! I reckon upon your love as something that is to endure when everything that can perish has perished — though my trust is sometimes mingled with fear, because I feel myself unworthy of your love. But if I am worthy of it you will always love me; and if there be anything good and pure in me, it will be proved by me always loving you'.
"Women always loved getting real letters. A real letter written with care, filled with genuine emotions. It just means much more than a call or one of those modern texts". Harold says with a small knowing smile.
He is right of course and something dawns on me. "You made him do it didn't you ? You were the one who told Zac to write me love letters".
"Well the poor lad came asking me how he best showed you his love and sincerity while away and I told him that you never go wrong with love letters". He says winking at me.
I go and hug him. "Thank you Harold. By the way were are you staying ? I don't want you in some schools auditorium. If it is I got a spare room you can stay in".
"It is so sweet of you to offer my dear, but I require way to much care for you to take on". He says padding my hand. "We are lucky, we will be re-housed in a brand new state of the art nursing home that no one had moved into yet".
Smiling at him I say. "Sounds like you are lucky then. I will come by to say hallo when you are settled in nicely".
Thank you my dear and thanks for helping me pack". He says warmly. "You better get going while you can still get home. Maybe you should drive around the forest and not through it".
"I'll look at how bad it is. I promise". I tell him and lean down to kiss his forehead. Just as a nurse comes to see if he is ready. So I take his suitcase to the bus before going.
I get in the car and drive for home. Thinking about what Harold had said. Should I go around the forest ? But it is almost an hour longer. And the road through the forest is still open. So I choose the short way through the forest.
About halfway through the forest the air starts to get a bit hazy with the smoke. It seems like the wind has turned. I better get through here fast. So I step on the gas, going a bit faster than I should.
Everything runs smoothly, until my phone rings and I can't help gazing down. It is Zac calling, but I can't take it now. As I look up again a flock of dear fleeing the fire jumps out in front of me and I try to break.
I can feel how I loose control of the car, trying to get it back under control. But it just isn't possible. I am thinking of Zac, just wanting to tell him one last time that I love him, to feel his lips one more time. I am thinking about my little nieces, and how I want to see them grow up. And of my sister, I want to tell her to hold on to Tom. He is such a great guy. And I want to tell Tom to take care of my sister.
Luckily I manage to get the car slowed down a lot before I go of the road and ram into a tree. But still everything goes black.