A.J. ran his fingers through his hair with an exasperated sigh. "I wish I could tell you, D. I don’t know who she is or why she wrote it. I know as much you do. The letter was sent from Boston."
"So…"
A.J. held his hand up to stop the thought abruptly. "So nothing. Forget you read anything." He’d said it with such finality that Howie could do nothing but comply.
"Come on, Bone. Breakfast awaits." Howie exited the room acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. He didn’t see A.J. withdraw one letter from his backpack, carefully fold it and slide it into his pocket.
* ~ * ~ *
That evening after the soundcheck, A.J. pulled out his cellphone and dialed a familiar 407 number. "Hello?" A friendly feminine voice answered. No matter how much he aged or the range of distance between them, she was the one person in which he could always depend. Not that he couldn’t count on Howie, Kevin, Nick or Brian. But, this was different. There was something to be said for a relationship based upon the concept of unconditional love.
"Hi, Mom."
"Alex? Sweetie, how are you?"
"Fine, and you?"
"Great. Are you sure you’re fine? You sound like you have something on your mind."
There it was. That maternal sense of ESP. That sixth sense every woman embodied once she conceived and bore a child. "How is it that you can do that?"
"What? Read your mind? Alex, you have been a part of me long after you were born even if we are no longer physically connected. Just because you’re 22 years old and thousands of miles away, it doesn’t mean anything has changed." A.J. could feel her smile through the phone. "In other words, Alexander James McLean, I’m your mother and I know these things."
He laughed. She never failed to find a way to lighten his mood. "Mom, I received a letter in the mail yesterday…Well, not just a letter, but two letters."
"Yes?"
"Um, maybe I should just go ahead a read it to you." He read J’s letter for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day. Still he felt each word in his heart as much as he had the first time he’d seen them.
A couple of minutes passed in silence once A.J. finished a he wasn’t certain is mother had heard. "Mom? You still there?"
"Sorry, Alex, just thinking. That’s some letter."
"I know. And I received it twice. Once as fan mail. The second at my house."
"Do you know who might have sent it?"
"Not a clue." A.J. paused for a moment of contemplation. Should he tell her what was really on his mind? "Mom…I…I want to find her." There. He had admitted his intentions to another human being. If anyone would understand, she would.
"I would expect as much from you. Go for it. And if you need any help from me – moral or otherwise, let me know."
"But I don’t how to begin. All I have is a letter of the alphabet and a Boston postmark."
"It’s not much to go on. But you have resources at your fingertips and your own talents to rely on. And I’m not just saying that because I’m your mother either."
A.J. chuckled. "Funny. Thanks, Mom. You know I miss you, right?"
"I miss you, too, Sweetie. Good luck tonight!"
"Thanks. Oh, and Mom? I love you.
Denise McLean felt her heart swell with pride. "I
love you, too, Alex."
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