Tessie

Long after Eddie had left, I sat still with the letter on my lap like it were the weight of the entire world. I continue to run my fingers along its edge, following the embossed seal as if it might represent a future I could see. But with these scarred eyes, I couldn't.

The apartment was quiet now that Eddie was gone. Outside, Los Angeles moved on, car horns honking, laughter drifting up from somewhere downstairs, and dogs barking at something I didn't care to know.

Then came another knock.

Soft. Slower than Eddie's had been. Three taps, a familiar rhythm.

"Who's there?" I muttered.

The wooden door creaked as it opened. It was the smell of warm bread and something like roasted beef that hit me first. Then I heard her voice.

"Evenin', Lawrence. It was me"

It was Mrs. Lane. She'd been looking out for me ever since the divorce. Her voice had that creaky warmth, like an old rocking chair that never gave out. I'd known her since Tessie and I first moved in together, back when everything still mattered.

"Brought you supper," she said. "Figured you hadn't eaten."

"You figured right." I replied.

I heard her shuffle in. She moved slowly but steadily like someone who had dedicated her life to caring for others. she put the dish down with a gentle clink and then clicked her tongue not quite happy about something.

"Still a mess in here," she said. "You ever gonna open these letters?"

"Maybe when I can see again."

Instead of laughing, she let out a small sigh, half resignation, half worry. Neither of us said a word for a moment.

Then she said, "That friend of yours. He hasn't been around much lately, has he? I saw him stop by this morning."

"Eddie? No. Not much."

"What'd he want?"

I hesitated, then reached for the letter again. My fingers found it instantly. I handed it to her.

"He brought this. From the VA. Said it's some new rehab program in D.C. Experimental stuff. Inheritor tech."

I heard the paper crinkle in her hands as she unfolded the letter. I continued when she remained silent.

"They say it's designed for long-term injuries. Might help me. I don't know."

"Sounds like you're thinking about it."

"I was thinking about throwing it out. Then Eddie mentioned Tessie's there."

That got her attention. Her voice softened. "Tessie?"

"She got transferred to D.C. a while back. Works in administration now, not far from the rehab center."

A beat of silence passed, long and thoughtful.

"Do you want to go, Lawrence?" she asked, and her voice didn't sound like she was asking about a program. She was asking about more than that. Maybe everything.

"I... I don't know," I said. "Part of me wants to. Part of me's afraid."

"Of what?"

"That it won't matter. That even if they fix me... she won't care. That she stopped caring a long time ago."

She reached over and placed her hand on mine. It was wrinkled and warm and real.

"One of the things I've always wished for you," she said gently, "it's to see you two find your way back to each other. You reminded me of me and my Joe, you know."

My throat tightened.

"If you want my advice, Law." she said, patting my hand, "Go. Not just for the treatment. Go for her. For you."

And just like that, something cracked open inside me. Not a big break, but a small shift. Like the first light through a drawn curtain.

I nodded slowly.

"I'll go."

A week passed.

I stood in front of the bathroom mirror I couldn't see, running my fingers along the edge of my black leather coat. Underneath it, a plain shirt and slacks. I slid on my sunglasses, then adjusted the homburg hat low over my brow. All of it a mask to hide the face I didn't want the world to remember.

The knock came again, same old rhythm. Mrs Lane.

"Ready?" she asked.

"As I'll ever be."

She helped me down the steps, her arm through mine like we were headed to a dance.

At the curb, a taxi idled with Eddie in the backseat. He stepped out and tipped his head.

"You lookin' sharp," he said it like he was smiling.

"Feels about right," I said, then turned to Mrs Lane. "Thank you. For everything."

She smiled, and her voice cracked just a little. "Go find her, Law. And don't come back unless it's with her by your side."

I got in.

The cab pulled away, and the city blurred into a memory behind us. In the quiet, Eddie cleared his throat.

"You sure about this?"

"No," I said. "But I'm doing it anyway."

"You hoping to see her?"

I paused, the answer forming before I could lie to myself.

"Yes. I do."

And just like that, I was thinking about her again.

I knew Tessie since we were kids. We grew up across the street from each other, tossing rocks at trains and dreaming about grown-up lives we didn't understand.

After the war, when I came back blind and broken, she was the only thing that still made sense. She married me anyway. Said it didn't matter what I looked like.

For a while, we had something real good. Mornings filled with her humming in the kitchen. Nights wrapped in silence that felt like peace, not absence.

But as time passed, I started wondering. Did she still love me? Or just feel sorry?

Then came the changes.

The light of Celestial Rain found her. She got a job in WIN. Bit by bit, she drifted. I couldn't see it, but I felt it. Her hands colder, her voice farther away. The bed felt empty even when she was in it.

Eventually, she filed for divorce.

I didn't fight it.

I blamed the war. The blindness. My face. My damn decision to think I could love her the same way, even when I didn't love myself.

That was the start of the end. The drinking. The quiet. The years of nothing.

But now... now there was this chance. A sliver of something that might change it all.

And even if it didn't...

Even if nothing came of it...

At the very least, I hoped to see her again.

Or maybe, just maybe...

She'd see me.

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