Look at this wonderful old sewing machine! Larry and I had a rainy Saturday all to ourselves a few weeks ago... so we decided to go to some flea markets to look for treasure. It was the type of stormy day where even at mid-day it was dark. There was a constant rumble of thunder and it just felt very magical. We found several fabulous items like a very old window with the panes still in one piece, some lattice work in need of mending and this old Singer sewing machine. The cabinets are not hard to find but this cabinet had the sewing machine! I just could not believe how beautiful it was - I had him load it up and take it to the front while we finished looking down each and every isle. When we got up front there was a little crowd gathered around looking at it but like she had promised, the sales clerk had clearly written "SOLD" on a ribbon and tied it on the cabinet. After small talk with the clerks, Larry went to bring the truck down. One of the ladies insisted on wrapping the cabinet in plastic so that it would not get drenched. She opened the last drawer to wrap it and she said "there is an envelope in this one." I reached in and got the envelope and just stuck it down in my purse. When we got in the truck I pulled it out, and my friends, IT WAS A LOVE LETTER!
This rainy dark magical day had produced a very old love letter. It was handwritten, as any self respecting love letter should be, and it was from a man who was thought of as a "friend" by the recipient of this letter. He started by telling her that he hoped his admission of feelings for her would not hurt an otherwise wonderful friendship but that he could not let her "go" without knowing how he felt. (Oh no - where was she going???) He told her that he believed that he knew her better than anyone and that he was sure that he and only he knew how to make her happy. He said that the relationships she had experienced had all left her empty and heartbroken and that he would never hurt her. He said that he knew she could not change her plans and stay but that if she shared his feelings there were many ways that they could be together. He ended by thanking her for letting him get his feelings out in the open and also pleading with her to meet him and let him know what she was thinking before she left. He signed it "always, Stephen" Well, I was all teared up and I wondered how this old tattered letter ended up in a sewing machine drawer. Did he write it and never send it? Did he stick it in that drawer or did his mom find it and hide it there? Or maybe, he did give it to her and that had been her sewing machine and she had kept it there close to her. Had she met him and did she share his feelings? I had no way of knowing her name because the envelope had a single word on the front and it was smudged - perhaps from a tear!!!!Ohhhhh! I would love to know if she "left" or if she made this story have a happy ending. What do you all think?
I think next time I will tell you all about the Lazy Susan I bought in turquoise that inspired one whole room of the cottage. til then...