My Dearest Love.

The house was far too quiet for her liking. She had pictured so many different things happening here, different milestones in their relationship that they would cross together. They would have christened as many of the rooms as they wanted to. The ring he’d given her would have been moved to her left hand. The pitter-patter of tiny feet might have eventually been heard running across the polished wood floors. None of that was ever going to happen now though.

She was completely alone in the house by the sea with the white picket fence.

Her brothers had kept a close eye on her for a little while, probably to make sure she didn’t do anything drastic, but she had found it all to be a bit suffocating. Her first destination had been the docks and one vessel in particular. There were so many different memories to be had on that ship, so many firsts. Their first argument. The first time they made love. The first time she made him listen to classic rock with her.
The first time he had taken her sailing.

There would no longer be any firsts to be had there.

Her second destination had been the house by the sea with the white picket fence. She’d known, going there, that the only person aware of its existence was her nephew. She had hoped that he wouldn’t tell the others, and so far it seemed as though he hadn’t. No one had come looking for her in the house by the sea with the white picket fence.

Her only companion was Jack Daniels.

She didn’t know why she hadn’t noticed it before. Maybe it was the Jack muffling her senses, or maybe she was far too consumed by the pain in her chest to notice. There on the windowsill was a white envelope. Scrawled out on the front, in an all too familiar handwriting, was her name.

She reached for it with shaky hands.