Chapter 52
I casually wrote a reply to Jacob’s letter. It was a simple, straightforward response, without any unnecessary embellishments. Ah, but I did pay a little attention to the handwriting.
As I sat writing the reply while the letter from Jacob lay open beside me, I couldn’t help but notice how sloppy my handwriting was. It really looked quite awful, so I made an effort to write more carefully than usual.
“How does it look?”
I showed the completed letter to Aiden and asked. His expression froze immediately, and it was clear that he couldn’t bring himself to speak. He seemed so flustered that it almost made me feel like I was teasing him. I decided not to wait for his response.
Is it really that bad? I glanced over the letter I had painstakingly written once more.
Hmm... well, the fact that I tried matters, doesn’t it?
Without any further hesitation, I folded the letter and sealed it in the envelope with wax.
Once I finished the letter, I realized it was almost time for dinner.
I opened the restaurant door leisurely and, to my surprise, the family who had already arrived and seated were all waiting for me, greeting me warmly.
How is it that our family always arrives so early for meals? Once again, I had the same thought I always do at meal times, and I took my seat.
For dinner, we had smoked chicken with onions. As I picked at the red onions with my fork, the color of the onions reminded me of red tea.
And then, as I thought of red tea, the greenhouse party from a few days ago came to mind. Thinking of the party made me remember Jacob, and remembering him made me recall the letter.