The Letter

"Good Morning, Mr. Smith!"
"Ehh?  What's that?"
" I said, GOOD MORNING, MR. SMITH!!"
"Good morning to you too.  Always mumbling.  Can't understand it"

Mr. Robert Smith, now going on close to sixty-seven years, was losing his hearing. The previous exchange with Bill, his newspaper boy, had been the same for the last four years. In fact, similar exchanges had been noted for much longer periods of time with his grocer, doctor,  secretary, and most importantly, his lawyer.

Our story begins not with a newspaper delivery, but the morning mail.  As usual, on the first Friday of every month, Mr. Smith received a report from his lawyer detailing how Mr. Smith's business matters were going throughout the world.  This particular Friday, however, he received three letters rather than the typical one letter.  Knowing his lawyer as he did, Mr. Smith knew that something either really good, or something really bad had happened, and considering the fact that one of the three was labeled "Priority," he guessed that it was bad rather than good news.

Looking around the room where he was, he noticed that there was only one chair, and that it was already occupied by his aging secretary.  Being the gentleman that he was, he moved to his personal office where there was a chair, and began reading the first of the three letters.  The first of the three letters was the report that he normally expected to see, and was much as would normally be expected in any given month.

After some deliberation, he decided to request his normal cup be served right then rather then waiting for his normal eleven o'clock cup.  Why this change of routine?  Because he felt that the remaining letters contained bad news rather than good, so he wanted to be well prepared for the tragedy contained within the unexpected missive now laying on his desk.

After slowly consuming and enjoying the tea that one of his businesses manufactured, he opened the second letter that his lawyer had so unexpectedly entrusted to the public mail service for delivery to his office.  This letter informed him that his lawyer wished to take a month off, and would it please Mr. Smith to grant him leave of absence while he took a much needed vacation?

Understandingly, Mr. Smith straight away wrote a somewhat lengthy letter apologizing for his apparent lack of sensitivity to the needs of trusted employee and friend, and also noted that he was giving the poor fellow a raise.

After sending the letter off by means of his secretary, he began looking at the third and last letter now sitting ominously before him, daring Mr. Smith to read the contents valued at two shillings postage. As he reached over to open the letter, he glanced at the clock realizing as he did so that he was nearly ten minutes late for an important meeting.

Thankful for the slight escape from the letter that was sitting there looking smug, he raced to the boring meeting that as the mayor of the city he was required to attend.  By the time the meeting was over, he recognized that it would be best to read the letter the next day rather than going back into the office that evening to read something that probably contained undesired information.   He decided rather to come in early the next morning to read the unpromising letter.

The next morning, early the next morning, he headed into the office to read the letter that had cost him a whole nights sleep and added many a cup of tea to his diet. As a precaution, he decided to reserve a spot at his local hospital in case of a heart attack, and also called his primary doctor to ask that he attend during what was now becoming an opening ceremony for that letter so glaringly stamped " Priority."

It was nearly nine o'clock by the time the doctor arrived.  After the doctor had setup his heart monitoring equipment, and located the bottles that could be necessary in the the development of any sudden health issues, he sat down preparatory to opening the letter.  Before actually breaking the seal however, he decided to jot down a quick Will and Last Testament in the unlikely case that he fail to survive the onslaught of the letter.

Completely ready, he broke the seal, and painstakingly drew the letter out from with the dark confines of the envelope bearing his name in a bold, black scrawl that few could replicate.  Finally free of its bindings, the letter gloried in the fresh light now laying so plentifully across the desk. He would dare to read what the postal system had marked "priority."

Despite dreading have to look at, read, and comprehend the missive now open before him, Mr. Smith did so.  A first glance told him that all was not lost, that in fact all was much as it should be.  Being the responsible person that he was, he told the doctor that he would have no need of his services that day, but would he mind confirming his normal appointment due for later that month?  He also proceeded to cancel his reservation at the hospital, and apologized for being a no-show during such a busy season.

After taking care of his responsibilities in that direction, he proceeded to read the letter, which is much like the following, but of a somewhat lengthier variant.

Mr. Smith,

        As regarding your birthday, may I offer my sincerest congratulations on you newest attainment of your already impressive lists of accomplishments at whatever you turn your hand to.  It has been my pleasure over the last twenty-four years to work under one of the most kind and considerate men that I have ever known, and I wish that every man could be as blessed as I am knowing you.  Thank you so much for all you have done for me and others throughout the years.
Yours Truly,
William Pritchard, Solicitor