Romantic | Contemporary | series
Love Letters — Straight From the Heart [3]
Danni enjoys a night out with friends but the letters stay on her mind
Previously, as Danni settled into second year at Uni, she discovered a cool cafe and enjoyed the poetic love letters she’s found
Danni’s university library was such a cold place to work, both literally and figuratively, but sometimes it was necessary to crack the books there to collaborate with her fellow students. Having drunk all the coffee from the insulated cup she’d had the foresight to get filled at the Prickly Pear, she pulled her jumper over chilly fingers and huddled deeper into her jacket. Reading and highlighting key sentences, she worked through the last few chapters of the textbook.
“Will I see you tonight?” Maisy asked when Danni stood, putting her books in a bag.
“Who’s coming?”
“The usual faces,” Maisy shrugged.
“What’s the plan?”
“Start at Wetherspoons …”
“Obviously,” Danni grinned.
The cheap booze and spacious venue made ‘Spoons omnipresent in any student night out.
“Then onto The Blonde Bombshell for a boogie.”
“Really? You don’t want to try somewhere new?” Danni asked.
“Always up for something new, what’re you thinking?”
“I heard of this pub called Tin Pan Alley that has live music, mostly soft rock and blues.”
Danni had looked up their calendar on the internet, it seemed a vibrant place where up and coming bands played midweek and regulars at the weekend.
“Well alright!” Maisy celebrated Danni’s suggestion with a high five. “I’ll put it in the WhatsApp group, see what everyone else thinks. But I like the idea.”
“I’m heading home,” Danni waggled her fingers in a wave. “See you tonight.”
Danni pushed at the door to the Prickly Pear, welcoming its warmth and cheer after the austerity of the campus library. Her walk home along the coast had messed up her hair, but had brought back some of the feeling into her arms and legs. Her feet, however, were still numb.
She was excited to visit Tin Pan Alley tonight. In the next letter she’d read, Matt had proposed going there to hear live music, with Saffron. Danni had Googled it right away, and was relieved to find it was still open. Now she pulled out her phone. As promised, Maisy had suggested checking out the venue, and it was getting favourable responses amongst their friends.
Danni pondered whether she was becoming some kind of a stalker to the couple. If she was honest, the stack of letters she’d found gave her a glimpse into a stranger’s life and she was fascinated. Matt had quoted more poetry and Danni wondered if Saffron had been as charmed as she was.
The music at Tin Pan Alley was loud, the bass so heavy it boomed in Danni’s chest, but she was excited to see musicians perform live. Most of her guy friends remained standing near the bar, so they could keep drinking, but Maisy and Danni were keen to see the band, so gently weaved their way close to the front.
The lead singer had shoulder length hair which he tucked behind his ears and wore thick, heavy rings on every finger. The bass player had a neck bandana and a Grateful Dead t-shirt. He smiled at Maisy, and she grinned back. Danni always marveled at how her friend caught male attention.
They swayed to the music, which often seemed familiar. Sometimes Danni recognized the tune, other times the chorus was so catchy, it was easy to sing along. She didn’t care that her bottle of beer was empty, she was in the moment, enjoying the tunes.
Soon the lead singer announced their final song, but the crowd roared, wanting more. Danni was sorry it was over, but her friends were ready to leave.
“Where did you just go?” Danni asked Maisy.
“To give Jude my number,” Maisy gave her most wicked grin.
“Jude — the guitarist?”
“Why not?” Maisy shrugged. “I’m single and ready to mingle.”
“You daft bat!” Danni barged shoulders gently with her friend.
They walked home in a crowd; the four guys courteously saw the girls to their doors before carrying on to their shared house. Danni was the second to be ‘dropped off’ and she trotted up the stairs to her bedsit. When she closed the door, her ears were still ringing from standing close to the speakers.
Clothes off, pajamas on, then into the bathroom to remove her make-up and clean her teeth. Soon Danni was lying in bed, mulling over the latest letter she’d read from Matt.
He had quoted part of a poem: The Fire of Driftwood by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Not far away we saw the port, The strange, old-fashioned, silent town, The lighthouse, the dismantled fort, The wooden houses, quaint and brown.
Matt suggested that he and Saffron take the hike to visit the lighthouse, which was visible from anywhere along the five mile shore, being built on a rocky island. Now Danni was toying with the idea of walking there to see it for herself.
She pulled out her phone to read the poem in its entirety, and a frown began to pinch between her eyes.
Had Matt chosen the verse simply because it mentioned a lighthouse? Or had he and Saffi argued? The poem’s lyrical words quickly took a downward turn, talking as if expressing one’s feelings was not enough; it implied it was inevitable that friends or lovers would veer towards different destinations.
And all that fills the hearts of friends, When first they feel, with secret pain, Their lives thenceforth have separate ends, And never can be one again;
The first slight swerving of the heart, That words are powerless to express, And leave it still unsaid in part, Or say it in too great excess.
The more Danni thought about it, the more she became concerned that the lovers had argued. Perhaps Matt was worried that the alluring, blonde Saffron had caught the eye of someone else. If she’d been flirting with other students, that would have hurt Matt and made him angry, or melancholy. This poem was loaded with the inevitability of lovers going their separate ways, no matter how brightly their love had burned at the outset.
Danni thought about her own group of friends. Their nights spent drinking often ended in one or other of them having an argument over politics or personal beliefs. One person would get stubborn or sensitive because they’d had a skinful. But when they were sober, her friends always reconciled.
How would that work for such a stilted relationship as Matt and Saffi’s, which was conducted by letter and a meeting once a week? Absence and distance would always cause Matt to wonder how Saffron was conducting herself, and vice versa.
It was a puzzle why these two did not communicate via text or email. Danni couldn’t survive without the internet. A thought which reminded her she needed to check-in with her mum, let her know she was safely back from her night on the tiles.
“I’m home. Night Mum,” she typed into her phone.
Three dots appeared in a bubble.
“Night Danni,” Mum replied.
Danni slept late the next morning, and woke up starving. She texted Maisy to invite her to grab a fry up at the Prickly Pear, which they both badly needed.
“This is a bit of a find!”
Maisy admired the jazzy decor of the cafe and sipped her coffee approvingly.
“I know, right?” Danni felt smug that it was on her doorstep.
When plates of eggs, bacon and fried bread arrived, they ate with enthusiasm, discussing the music they’d heard the previous night. And Jude.
“Are you going to see him?” Danni asked.
“Maybe, I’ll see if he’s got the chat,” Maisy answered around a mouthful of food.
Danni rolled her eyes, knowing her friend was drawn to the loud, brash types, who often turned out to be players.
“What about you, anyone on your radar?”
“Not really,” Danni shrugged. She was developing a bit of a crush on Matt, from his letters, and wondered what her friend would think.
“I love ya girl, you know that, but I’d like to see you with a fella. Make sure the old bicycle isn’t getting rusty.”
Maisy gave a bawdy wink, which almost made Danni spit out her coffee from laughing.
“Have you ever been to the lighthouse?” Danni changed the subject.
“No — it’s a bit of a trek. Why?”
“I was thinking of going today, to blow away the cobwebs. Thought you might like to come.”
“It’s not like you to be so interested in exercise, what gives?”
Danni screwed up her courage. “I found some letters. In my flat, when I moved in.”
Maisy put down her knife and fork and picked up her coffee. “Go on.”
“They’d fallen down the back of the drawer, I don’t think the previous tenant meant to leave them behind. They were tied in a bundle, and all were opened, so I read one. They are love letters.”
“So they’re old?”
“No, that’s the odd thing. They’re from last year, to the girl who lived in the flat before me.”
“So send them back to her.” Maisy folded her arms.
“I will — I intend to. I’ve read a couple, they’re so romantic — he quotes poetry …”
“But they are private.” Maisy looked quite stern.
“You know what your trouble is Danni, you’re in love with love. You fall a little in love with everyone you meet, see their bright side, find a sweet story in everything. But the world ‘ain’t like that. You need to throw those letters away. That’s what should’ve happened when they deep cleaned the flat. Or forward them to their owner, the previous tenant.”
“But Maisy, what’s the harm in reading them?”
“Danni I know you, the harm is you will get obsessive over this. I’ll bet they went to the lighthouse, didn’t they?”
Danni looked down, guilty as charged.
“Please Danni, keep things in perspective.” Maisy continued.
“Go to class, do your assignments. Come out and have fun with us, your real, live friends, and forget about the people in the letters. We had a laugh last night didn’t we? Saw a live band, went somewhere new …”
Maisy broke off, looking at Danni, who was chewing a hangnail.
“Tin Pan Alley — where did you hear about that?”
“It was in one of Matt’s letters.”
Her friend looked exasperated, and Danni felt foolish.
Everything Maisy had said was true. She did have a tendency to fixate on things, and reading Matt’s letters had become her latest beacon, what got her through each day.
Maisy’s phone pinged. She looked at the message, then stood.
“I’m showing you tough love Danni. You need to step away from those letters, they won’t be good for you. And don’t go walking to the lighthouse today.”
With that, Maisy put her share of the money for breakfast on the table, and walked out. Leaving Danni alone in the Prickly Pear cafe.
[To be continued …]
Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Read another of my Fiction Shorts here. Subscribe to my e-mail so you don’t miss what Danni does next, or check out my List. Using my referral link to sign up for Medium’s $5 membership helps me earn money, plus giving you access to thousand of other writers’ great stories. A Tantalizing Tales prompt story: Lighthouse
