The Letter, Part Two: Reading Between the Lines
Originally posted on August 29, 2009
Continued from “Over Coffee”
Jacie: *sighs* Mr….. I mean Radley…. Sometimes when a person is goin’ through hard times, she might could say or do things that are a bit… well…. out of character.
Radley: I can understand that, but I can’t begin to imagine what you could have done that would cause you to feel so unsettled, around me. You just confirmed that we had not met prior to our introduction at the theater.
Jacie: That’s right; we hadn’t.
Radley: *thinks* Yet you obviously recognized my name. Would I be correct in assuming this has something to do with what I do for a living?
Jacie: In a….. roundabout way, yes……
Radley: So you are aware that I am a writer.
Jacie: Oh, yes. Indeed I am.
Radley: And……?
Jacie: Do you…… get many letters, from people who…. who criticize your work? Your writing, I mean.
Radley: *puzzled* Occasionally. But over the years I’ve grown accustomed to criticism, both constructive and otherwise, and I tend to either ignore or discard the “otherwise.”
Jacie: Oh. Good. That’s real good.
Radley: I take it you wrote such a letter?
Jacie: Yes. But bein’ as you don’t read that kind of letter, I guess I don’t have to worry about it anymore.
Radley: I never said I don’t read them; only that I tend to disregard those that are pointlessly negative. I am careful to skim each and every one, because I never know if there might be a lesson to be taken from hearing a different perspective.
Jacie: I….I see….. I….. oh, dear.
*after long consideration and an awkward silence*
Radley: You’re “Angry in Appalachia.”
Jacie: Oh dear God. You do remember.
Radley: Yes, quite clearly. Right down to your alliterative moniker.
Jacie: I am truly sorry, Radley. I meant no offense…. No, that’s not completely true. At the time I didn’t think about if it might offend you or not. I was so angry, you see, but not at you. I was angry over what life was servin’ up on my plate, and I guess I took it out on a complete stranger.
Radley: And have your circumstances changed for the better now, so that your anger has dissipated?
Jacie: I…… yes. I got through the worst of it without takin’ potshots at anyone else….. I think…. I hope.
Radley: So if you meant no offense, and none was taken, then perhaps your venting did more good than harm. Think about it.
Jacie: I still had no right to take out my problems on you…. or anybody else. Maybe you should call me “Ashamed in Appalachia.”
Radley: Would it help to know how I felt, upon reading your letter?
Jacie: *watches in horror as he unfolds her letter* You… you saved it? You knew who I was all along?
Radley: Yes, I saved it. But no, I had no idea until just now that you were the author.
Jacie: Then how did you………? Why …………?
Radley: How did I guess it was you? It all adds, up, doesn’t it? The envelope bears a local postmark. Since accepting the appointment with the theater, I’ve wondered often about the person who wrote this, and whether I would encounter her while in residence here. In fact, I hoped that I would.
Jacie: But that doesn’t explain……
Radley: Why I am carrying it? Because it has become very important to me. I re-read it frequently as a reminder that I do not live in a vacuum, that words may have the power to hurt or to heal, and that the responsibility that comes with a measure of success is not to be lightly dismissed.
Jacie: But I didn’t say any of those things!
Radley: Perhaps not in so many words…
Jacie: Not in any words.
Radley: …But I can read between the lines.
…to be continued…