Hello Loved Ones (49 page)

Returning, she’ll ask the three of them
how’s your father?
It’s a glossing over, perhaps. It’s also a question that, stripped of an old and tiresome weight, causes something in each of them to rise. Like a muscle, once clenched, releasing and expanding with vital blood.

Richard will come by often enough. Once or twice, he’ll try too hard, calling
Hello loved ones!
from across the yard. Sally will be reminded of the way Lenny and Nell once said this as a joke. She has always known that they laughed because they wanted it to mean something. Well, why can’t it? It’s more than hello. Easier than
I love you
. It’s something more obscure. Some space in between, found only when you choose to look.

Acknowledgments

I’d like to thank Jerry Cleaver and The Writer’s Loft workshop in Chicago for helping bring these pages to life. Thanks also go to Cyndi Dale’s Write of Passage class for lighting my way. And Dr. Larry Stoler, Katie Oberlin, Barbara Starke, and Cynthia Hutchison have my gratitude for not only calling me a writer, but making me believe.

About the Author

Tammy Letherer was born in Holland, Michigan and now lives in Chicago with her three children. She writes fiction and non-fiction, and can be found at TammyLetherer.com. This is her first novel.