Page 15 of To the Moon and Back
After having watched the guy return to the exact spot along the fence, Ashley knew right where to go. The rolled-up scroll with the blue ribbon was next to a big red heart. Ashley stopped right in front of it and stared, breathless. There were two words written across the front in blue ink. The writing was too faint to see from far away. But from here Ashley could make out the message clearly.
For Jenna
That was all. Just “For Jenna.” As if whoever Jenna was, if she came here today she would know the note was for her and she would take it from the fence without hesitation. Ashley blinked a few times. Or maybe not. Maybe Jenna was the guy’s family member. Someone he had lost in the bombing. The note might just be his form of therapy. Maybe he did this every year. Wrote a letter to the person he’d lost so that somehow this Jenna would know from heaven how much the mysterious, hurting guy still missed her.
Ashley tapped her foot.
What if the guy came back? He might be watching her now, wondering why she’d been stalking him, waiting to prevent Ashley from touching the note. She looked to the right for a long while and then to the left. The man wasn’t anywhere near the fence.
She must be losing her mind.
Of course the man wasn’t here. Ashley had seen him leave. She spun around and searched the grounds. No, he definitely wasn’t here. But what about Jenna? If she was alive, then there was still a chance she’d come by today. A chance she could be walking by this very spot even now, looking for her letter.
Be discreet, Ashley, she told herself. Don’t look like a crazy person . She studied the people on either side of her. There were no single women of any age. No one moving along the fence searching for a letter. At least it didn’t look that way.
No one seemed to notice Ashley.
She really should leave. The letter was for Jenna. That’s all she needed to know. It was the reason she’d come back to the fence. Just so she’d know. Ashley stared at the scroll again. Wrong. Be honest with yourself, Ash. You came back to read it.
Fine. Ashley took a deep breath. Her heartbeat picked up speed. If she was going to do this she needed to get it over with. Fast. Before someone accused her of stealing notes from the memorial fence.
Which would almost certainly be a crime of some sort.
With shaking fingers she removed the letter from the fence and untied the ribbon that held the scroll in place. Then she unrolled it and there, inside, was a full-on letter. Ashley held her breath. She had gone too far to stop herself. She let her eyes race to the top of the page and she began to read.
Dear Jenna,
Like I do every year, I wrote you a letter. In case you come to the memorial today. In case you want to find me as much as I want to find you. Every year I—
“Excuse me.” A woman tapped her on the shoulder.
Ashley gasped. She dropped the letter and the ribbon and then immediately bent to pick them up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t . . .” This was it. They were going to arrest her right here and then Kari and the kids would come out in time to see her handcuffed and hauled away and—
“Oh, my.” The woman took a step back. “Sorry. I . . . didn’t mean to startle you.” She looked around. “I was hoping you might know where the restrooms are.”
Only then did Ashley realize that the person talking to her wasn’t alone. There were others in her group and all of them seemed to be waiting for Ashley’s reply.
“Oh. Right.” Ashley grabbed a breath. “They’re . . . back at the building. Where the museum is.”
The woman nodded. “Sorry again.” She pointed to the note. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“It’s fine.” Ashley forced a light laugh. “I just . . . I didn’t see you walk up.” She was rambling now. Already the group was turning away, toward the museum. Ashley waved and then looked back at the paper. Her breathing was fast and jagged. She had no idea if it was a crime to take a letter off the fence and read it. But she needed to get back to Kari and the others.
No way could she stand here and read the whole thing. She skimmed over it and then an idea hit her. Holding the paper in one hand, she pulled out her phone and tapped her camera app. Carefully she opened the note enough so she could see all the words.
Then she took a picture.
If reading other people’s letters was a crime, surely taking photos of them must be, too. Ashley didn’t know. But she had to get out of here. She rolled up the paper, tied it with the blue ribbon and slipped it into the fence again.
She positioned it so the words were clear once more. For Jenna.
Then she took another picture.
Without hesitating she returned to the museum as fast as she could. Kari and the kids were only a few exhibits down from where they’d been when she left. Cole spotted her as she walked up.
“Mom, where were you?” He didn’t look worried. But clearly he wanted an answer.
“Hi.” Ashley smiled. Her heart was still racing, shooting adrenaline through her veins. “I . . . uh, I wanted to see something at the fence. I didn’t get a good look before.”
