Chapter Text
The years following Devon were hard. He enlisted in the army and barely made it out alive. There were so many people he’s had to say goodbye too early and others he never even had the chance.
Once home, his parents expected him to go back to normal and attend school, so he did. He ended up studying mathematics and went onto pursue a doctoral degree.
It’s one cold night, well as cold as it can be in the south, that he arrives in the town’s train station for winter break. It feels good to be done with school for a bit before has to return to research and class. His parents are there, his mother hugs him and his father shakes his hand, then he grabs his luggage to put it in the family car.
His mother is catching him up on everything that’s happened since he last visited in the summer, what the neighbors and extended family are doing. She chides him briefly for not writing or calling more, because she’s embarrassed she doesn’t have more of an update for people when they ask about him.
“Sorry mother, I’ll do better next semester.” He knows he won’t but the words are all that seems to matter, then she jumps back into the story she was just telling him.
They’re finally home and he’s hauling in his luggage up the steps, then his mother asks if he ate on the train. He didn’t, so she offers to cook him some eggs and toast even though it’s late. Otherwise she knows they have cold cuts and could make him a sandwich.
“Thank you, whatever is easiest.” He takes his luggage up another set of stairs to his bedroom and sits on the bed a moment, just happy to sit still for a moment before he knows he has to go back downstairs again.
He notices on the bedside some mail. Sometimes his mother will forward things on, but if she knows he’s coming to visit then she’ll keep it here for him when he arrives. Seems like he’s had some mail recently.
He leafs thought it and sees a couple names he’s seen before, a few friends from the army write to him a couple times each year. He’ll have to remember to write them back during the break. He sees a name he hadn’t expected to see and feels himself flush as he immediately recognizes the lazy way his name is written.
Gene wrote to Finny a couple times after Devon and the war, but never heard more from him. Gene writes less these days, but figures Finny is getting them otherwise they would come back as undelivered. He sets the other letters down and holds the envelope, his thumb gliding over Finny’s name and address, noting it’s not the one he’s been addressing on the envelope. He wants to open it right now, but his parents and siblings are expecting him downstairs. So he sets it back on the side table but this time on top of the other letters.
He heads back downstairs and lets his family know what’s going on with him since he last wrote. Though his parents don’t say it, he knows they’re proud of his educational pursuits. He doesn’t know what he’ll do once he’s done, it is very likely he’ll have to go into research or become a professor.
He has a couple younger siblings, but they’ve all graduated. His sister is married and lives down the street while his brother is working with his father in the family business and lives across town. They stay late, likewise telling him some of the same stories his mother told him in the car ride home but he doesn’t mention it.
Eventually when he’s yawned about a dozen times his family realizes he could be worn out and his siblings leave, promising to visit again soon. It’s Friday and he knows Sunday dinner here is still a tradition, so if he doesn’t see them tomorrow he’ll see them then after church.
He is tired but some of the yawning was for show. He tries not to eagerly step up the stairs but he certainly has a nervous energy about him to read what Finny has written. He’s in his room again, sitting on the bed where he was just two hours ago and finally opens the letter. It’s dated from two weeks ago.
Dear Gene,
I apologize for not writing sooner but I’ve finally forgiven you. It took a long time for me to reflect on what happened years ago. All the same I am happy you wrote to me over the years, despite never receiving an answer until now.
I don’t know if you heard, but our ten year reunion is coming up in June. I thought about not attending but after giving it some thought, it would be best to go. Are you planning on attending?
Please write to this address on the envelope instead. I don’t visit my parents as often and would like to hear from you soon.
Best,
Finny
Gene’s mother told him at Thanksgiving about the reunion, someone from Devon called and asked if this was still an address for him and if so, they would send an RSVP in the spring. He’d been dismissive of it then, thinking he didn’t want to hob nob with a bunch of people he didn’t care for much then today.
He takes a look at the address and Finny is in New York. Gene is studying in Boston and his heart races as he thinks about how close they are, maybe Finny would be free to meet him sometime in New York, sometimes he has to go there for a conference and tries to think if there’s one in the spring before the reunion. It would be nice to see Finny without everyone from Devon observing them.