“Gavin lost it then! He went around to Emily’s place and forbid her to see this other guy. When anyone tried talking sense into him, he’d fly off the handle like a madman. Poor Emily didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t in love with the young man, but she knew the only way she’d ever find someone was if she moved and she couldn’t bring herself to move away from Gavin.”
“At the end of it all Gavin succeeded in running him off and things quieted down for a long while. Gavin went on with his life and Emily lived hers pretty much like a hermit, going to work and then home everyday.”
“I don’t know when the affair started and I didn’t ask. I do know it was long after your mother was in high school just getting ready to leave for college. Somehow Delia found out that Gavin had never stopped loving Emily, that even though they’d stayed away from each other for years something had sparked that fire in them again.”
“She had a fit loud enough for the whole town to hear. Next thing you know Emily, who was living here alone by then after the death of her parents, came home one day to find her roof painted red. Then the stories started floating around town about the harlot with the red roof.”
“Gavin threatened to leave her. A lot was said that I’m not going to repeat at this time, let’s just say they had a miserable marriage. Your mom was old enough to know what was going on but she was too busy preparing to be away from home for the first time in her life.”
“Public opinion was on your grandmother’s side there for a while, until some not so pleasant things about your grandmother started leaking out. Then some of the locals had had enough and started spreading the story about how it was Gavin and Emily who’d suffered because of Delia in the first place.”
“No one expected what happened next. Your grandparents had driven your mother to her new college and came back home. That night Delia went into the separate room where she slept and took an overdose of sleeping pills. I’m sure it was because of public disdain, but your mother didn’t see it that way.”
“She blamed your grandfather and Emily and vowed never to come back here again.”
“But I remember being here as a kid. It’s not a very clear memory but I’m sure…” She was nodding her head before I was through.
“That was your father. It had been a good seven years since the incident and she held to her word. But I think something happened and your dad brought you here to spend some time with your grandfather. It was the happiest anyone had seen him in years.”
“How come? Not to seem harsh, but with his wife out of the picture why wasn’t he happy with the woman he loved?” Again she shook her head and gazed off into space.
“After that happened, the guilt kept the two of them apart. Now we come to the here and now.”
“This all happened a very long time ago, and for the next thirty years or so those two lived in this town and hardly saw each other. It was the saddest thing to see. Now I’ll leave you to your letter.”
“Wait, you haven’t explained the strange things…” Jessica spoke up for the first time.
“It’s all in there.” Mrs. Horton once again pointed to the letter that was now laying on the table.
I walked her to the door and watched as she got into her car and drove away before going back to the table to grab the letter. I almost didn’t want to open it, not after the story she’d just told us, but I forced myself to. Jessica moved her chair around so we could read it together.
‘If you’re reading this then the experiment worked and old Val has filled you in on some if not all of what has been going on. It was the only way Emily and I could be together, to fulfill the great love we’ve always held for each other.’
‘I never meant to hurt your grandmother but our marriage was a mistake from the start. I hated her for a very long time for making me lose the woman of my heart, but then I came to realize she was just a spoilt little girl who didn’t know any better.’
‘I respected my vows for the first twenty years of my marriage, until I learned that your grandmother was having an affair. Her reasoning was that I’d never given her my heart that another woman had always been between us. There was a whole lot of truth in her words, but I didn’t care.’
‘I know now that it was just the excuse I needed to seek Emily out again after all those years and I took it. I’d come to her almost every night, and sometimes I’d visit her at the library around closing time. We kept things as quiet as possible, not daring to even speak to one another in public. But at night as soon as the town went to sleep I’d seek her out; it’s the happiest I’ve ever been, except for that one time we met.’