Free Letter to Belinda by Tim Tingle

England by then. And I am about to run late for work, so good luck.”
    “Is that the best you can do?”
    He gave her a big hug before he left, because she needed one.

6  
    T ravis was up the next morning at 7 a.m., signing books, and working on his computer. The boys had loaded up their truck and gone camping and fishing for two days, trying desperately to squeeze more fun out of their summer before going back to school in three weeks. Rebecca was gone on a Church Retreat to Mentone for a few days. Jenny was on her own, with her dead-beat husband. It looked like he and Janice were in for a couple days of quiet relaxation, before he and Drew left for England. They were planning to catch up on a little work, and then try to catch a little glimpse of what it was going to be like after all their kids were grown up and gone from the nest. They were planning to later go out for a leisurely lunch, just the two of them, before he went.
    But their plans changed when the phone rang at about 9 AM. Janice answered it in the other room, and talked for a couple of minutes, then came to inform him that she was going to town.
    “Why? Mama needs something from the store?”
    “No, that was actually a strange call. Do you remember Penelope Jones?”
    “The wife of Herbert Jones, who lives down the road?”
    “Well, yeah, Herbert Jones’ ex-wife. They have been divorced for a couple of years now.”
    “I didn’t know that.”
    “Yeah well, you work all the time, and don’t keep up with the gossip. Anyway, that was her on the phone. She is living with a boyfriend over in Arlington for the past two years, since Herbert threw her out. She was addicted to prescription drugs and alcohol. Well, now she wants to go back to Herbert, but she is afraid that her boyfriend will be mad. She doesn’t have a car, so she called me to see if I would come get her and take her back to Herbert, while her boyfriend is still asleep.”
    Travis stopped typing. That didn’t sound quite right. “Why doesn’t she call Herbert to come get her?”
    “Because she hasn’t talked to Herbert lately, and doesn’t know how he will react. And besides, Herbert and her boyfriend don’t get along very well.”
    “I guess not. So she has asked you to do what, exactly?”
    “She just wants me to come to Arlington and pick her up out in front of her boyfriend’s house. She said he usually sleeps until about ten, so there is no danger of trouble from him.”
    “She can’t just call a cab?”
    “I guess she doesn’t have any money. She doesn’t have a job, and she hates her boyfriend.”
    “It sounds like a personal problem. I try not to get involved in our neighbors’ personal lives, Janice. It always leads to trouble.”
    “But she doesn’t know who else to turn to. She needs help, and people don’t ask me for help very often. When they do, I try to help them. I’m just going to pick her up and take her to Herbert’s house. Thirty minutes at most.”
    “But there could be trouble, if her boyfriend wakes up. Want me to go with you, in case there’s trouble?”
    “No Travis, you have plenty to do here. Trust me. I can handle this on my own.”
    “Okay, but take your cell phone, just in case.”
    “I will.”
    She left, and Travis didn’t give much more thought to it, because he got busy with other things. At 10:30 he heard the truck coming back down the driveway, and he wondered why it had taken her so long. He looked out the window and saw that Janice was not alone. There was a woman in the truck with her, a rather good looking lady that he recognized as being Penelope Jones. They both got out and came to the porch. Penelope had a gin bottle in one hand, yet seemed to be somewhat sober, though with a ‘spent’ look. Travis went to the living room to meet them, just as Janice brought Penelope in the front door.
    “Hello, Penelope!”
    “Hello, Travis.”
    “Janice says you are going back to Herbert?”
    “Yes, if he will have me. I don’t