Bob closed his eyes as Phil started reading the letter. He was full of questions, but even with his would be assassin in the front seat, all he could think about was whether Phil could find a way to forgive him. He knew throwing out the letter was wrong, but now he wishes he’d hat the guts to throw it rather than leave it to be found by Phil, or by someone who would give it to Phil. Bob had lost one of his best friends on Friday, and now Saturday was looking more and more like a repeat. He pulled his lucky sunglasses from his shirt collar and put them on. He bent forward, resting his forehead on his hands, hoping no one would see him on the verge of breaking down again.
Michelle pulled onto 6th street, but she was adjusting and checking her rear view mirror more often than usual. Her stomach was a knot before she came to the Millstone restaurant, and now it was not only tightening, but new ropes were coming in while old ropes were fighting to free themselves from the tangle she was becoming a part of. Her heart rose when she saw Phil, then sank when he revealed he wasn’t in town for her. Her anger was on the verge of violence when Bob made his confession, and she was ready to take it out on both Bob and Phil. All of that rage was still there, but it was now backing down from the sudden surge of fear from the mysterious woman now sharing her front seat. She glanced over, and saw a gun aimed squarely at her head from the woman’s lap.
Mokoto kept looking around. She was aware that any vehicle higher than the small car they were in would see the firearm. She also was trying to keep an eye on all of the variables in the car. She had a pretty good feeling that if Bob and Phil didn’t have a wedge between them already, they would now. Phil was mesmerized by the letter, and he now had something to lose…Michelle. Michelle was the one Mokoto didn’t know how to read quite yet. She’d been tailing her most of the day, but she still didn’t have a firm grasp on what to expect or how to handle her. She was guessing she also had something to lose, but little to offer. Right now Mokoto was happy to use her as a driver, even if it meant Jebediah would have to bring her motorcycle.
Phil read the letter’s ending, and he went back and started reading it again. It was everything he’d hoped and feared it would be. It pulled no punches in specifying where Phil had gone wrong in their relationship, but it also shouldered Michelle with some of the blame. It touched on everything she realized she missed about him, and about them. Most importantly, the end revealed she wanted to give Phil options. Those options ranged from Michelle never writing again, to flying out to Las Vegas and getting married once he had decided. If he’d gotten this three months ago, he wasn’t sure what he would have picked. If he’d read this after last night, they’d be in Vegas already. Now he was hoping that once this was all over he’d be able to choose, and that Michelle not only still wanted him to, she was still able to.
The car hung in silence until they approached main street. “Turn right” Mokoto said.
