Found Letter, Take Two

I guess I have a knack for finding love letters. I discovered this one tucked away in an old copy of an American Artist magazine at the gallery I worked in last summer. I’ll let it speak for itself.

This is the front…

And this is the back….

I typed up the letter exactly as it was written, leaving blanks where I couldn’t understand the writing or words were missing. After I did this I realized that there was more (it trails off at the end), but the rest remains missing.

And this is what it says:

August 9^th

Dear Joy,

I am sitting in Barb’s dining area looking ___ at the view fog. I left St. Andrews’ around noon yesterday as things were finishing up and also I wanted to find out what was happening with the ___ building. After getting the information and unpacking the car I decided at 3:15 that I would try to get on the 4:15 ferry.

I would like to know whether there is any possibility of our having a better relationship. I do not expect I will have much contact with Betty from now on—an occasional telephone conversation and perhaps a chat over coffee when we go to Moncton. She decided a year ago that she would not leave Roy if he still wanted her to stay but he took nearly a year before telling her that that is what he wants. he has changed and seems determined make their marriage work and Betty is to try to also.

Perhaps I shouldn’t say anymore but it is best to be truthful I think. Betty & I don’t feel any differently about each other and it will be very hard not to be together as we have during the past two years. I have always felt that it should be possible to continue to see Betty and still have a compatible relationship with you, but you can’t seem to accept that and Betty knows that she can’t see me and also try to make her marriage work. So there it is.

Can you accept a situation, and try to start a better, normal relationship with me, without continual recriminations, threats and unpleasantness. I can’t help what happened and have never felt there was anything wrong about it. There must have been reasons for my suddenly becoming interested in another woman after so many years of marriage but there is no point in trying to analyze things.

As I have told you before I still love you and don’t feel any differently towards you than I have during the past 10 years or so. I know you find it difficult or impossible to accept that and also that I love someone else but that is the way I feel & I really cannot see what harm there is in it. There are not many people in this world that I have ever felt close to, or consider close friends and it is a nice feeling to have people like that.

If it is not too late or impossible for you to consider a normal type of married relationship with me—and I intend to live my life or what is left of it the way I want to live it, not according to your rules, approvals etc. and I certainly will not be forbidden or pledge never to have any contact with Betty or other friends—then first tell me and I will understand and we can discuss where we go from here.

Barb told ____ that there would be no point in my ___ to discuss thing with