Pearl

Dearest Owen,

I know you must be incredibly busy. How is Paris? I would like to hear from you. It has been a while since your last letter. But like I said before, I know you’re occupied and all.

Your big fight is coming up! Jake, Olive and I are going to hear it over the radio and we are so excited! To think you’re going to be brawling with Andre Levaugh! I am certain by the time you get this letter, however, you will be relishing in your win and moving on to the next one.

I am fine here at home. The girls are out of school soon, which means more hands around to help. Anyway, write back please. I love you.

Pearl

_____

Owen’s letters began to dwindle. I knew why. He was training and moving from fight to fight. He must have been exhausted. So when I saw Olive that Saturday at the gym, I was very happy. She was an extension of Owen. Jake was there too. I could feel his excitement too. “Owen’s gonna do great, Pearl,” he reassured me when he saw me tense up as they introduced the fighters in accented English.

Olive had brought over a big bottle of wine, stating, “Drink up. We all know he’ll take this one down.”

“I’m sure he will, but it’s almost as certain that he will get hit too. And gosh, I hate that,” I muttered as we sat on the couches in Father’s (temporarily Jake’s) office.

We all leaned forward in anticipation and when the bell rang, signaling the first round, I started biting my nails. Sure enough, it was an even fight. Owen had the uncanny knack of sticking toe-to-toe until the very end. He wore Andre out until he could take the final punch and finally knock him out.

When the final ding of the bell rang, the announcer shouted, “And Owen Weaver wins against Andre Levaugh!” There is a massive cheer from Jake, Olive, and I, and also from the crowd on the radio.

I jumped up and hugged Olive, then reached out for Jake. As we pulled away, the voice announced, “Owen Weaver is rejoicing now! On his arm, actress Eve Lowell! They sure do look happy, don’t they? And there’s that celebratory kiss!”

My arms dropped. Olive and Jake froze. I stood in the middle of the room in one of the blue dresses from Owen, it suddenly felt like acid on my skin. Olive cursed under her breath and I could feel Jake staring at me in my peripheral vision.

“Oh dear,” I murmured and walked out of the office. My two companions followed me. Olive spoke first, “That dodo Owen probably doesn’t know what’s going on! She’s probably latched onto him like the snake she is!”

I shook my head. Heavy tears fell out of my eyes. “I’m sure that there was some kind of… confusion, you know?” I found myself saying.

Jake nodded. “I’m certain that’s what happened, Pearly. Sometimes people make things up so it’ll be a good story!”

I began to nod with him, but the tears trickled down faster and I ended up crying. He sighed and reached out for me. “He is a fucking dodo,” he whispered in my ear.

Olive suddenly grabbed my elbow and pulled me out of the embrace. “Pearl! I bet that this is a misunderstanding. In fact, I am certain of it! I will send Owen a telegram and prove it to you. You just wait!”

I jerkily wagged my head at her and wiped my face with the back of my hand.

“Could ya please take me home now, Jake?”