Alex plodded away at the work on his computer, until his attention was pulled away by a gentle tapping at the door. There he saw Lorrie, leaning into the doorway, still half hidden by the wall. He gave her an expectant look, raising his eyebrows.

        “You have mail." She said with a soft, oddly reverent tone.

        His eyebrows dropped into a confused and concerned expression as he titled his head. They didn't normally announce mail like this. He let the look linger, waiting for an explanation.

        “It's from home." She added in that same tone. Alex's expression softened. He looked away, lost in his head for a moment.

        “Mom or dad?" He asked. “Eh." He added quickly, waving his hand to dismiss the idea altogether. Lorrie stepped into the room, leaning against the wall with her hands behind her, waiting patiently as Alex thought a bit more. She could almost see the energy leaving him.

        “It's late." She broke the silence, exaggerating the time. “Come upstairs, and we'll tackle it. The cookies are already in the oven." She motioned for him to come along. He sighed, shut down his office, and stood up to stretch. There was still a bunch of loose material strewn about his worktables, but he figured leaving it would be fine. Lorrie gingerly slid her hand across his shoulders when he finally made his way over, guiding him along.

        Shortly after, Alex sat at the kitchen table as Lorrie poured everyone some fresh coffee. Wynne had joined them, drawn in by the scent of baking cookies, but staying for support once caught up. The letter lie in the center of the table, unopened.

        “Is this really that bad?" Wynne asked.

        “On the occasion we do talk, it's normally by phone, not letter. And they always tell me ahead of time to expect stuff in the mail." Alex explained, arms crossed and slouched in his seat. “This?" He nodded at the letter. “This feels like something bad happened."

        “Well," Lorrie chimed in, removing the tray from the oven and setting a timer, “all the more reason we shouldn't ignore it. It may be fine."

        Alex thought for a moment, grabbing the envelope. It was somewhat padded out by the folded pages within, but there didn't seem to be anything else. He paused a moment as Lorrie took her seat, then offered her the envelope.

        “Would you… check it for me?" He asked sheepishly. “In case it's, y'know…" the thought trailed off as he searched for words.

        “Of course sweetie." Lorrie cut-in with a gentle tone, placing one hand on his arm and taking the letter with the other. She produced a small pocket knife and carefully slit across the top of the envelope. Alex watched as she pulled out a couple folded pages, as he'd guessed, and opened them up. He watched her face for hints as she looked over them with a quick glance. Wynne's eyes were instead on the cooling timer of the oven as she sipped her coffee.

        “Hmm." Lorrie held one page separately, looking between them with a suspicious squint. “Right away this one is different; messier handwriting." She frowned at the paper. “And neither of these names are your parents'."

        “Oo! Oo! I love messy! It's like a puzzle!" Wynne bounced in her seat excitedly, hands clasped together and looking to Alex with a big pleading smile. He gave a nod and Lorrie passed her the single page. She raised her arms up triumphantly. “Yay!"

        The two women quietly read over each letter while Alex carefully nibbled on a few still-too-hot cookies, trying to keep his thoughts from running away in the silence. He pulled his knees up to his chest, anchoring his heels on the edge of the chair. He looked between the two as they served as psychological poison testers, reading their faces as before.

        Lorrie's was inscrutable, fixed in a slightly furrowed brow of concentration. Alex quickly gave up in favor of Wynne's far more animated expressions. To his frustration, he found this equally unhelpful, as none of them gave even the slightest indication as to the letter's content.

        Wynne finished first, smiling politely and folding the paper along its creases, setting it in front of her at the edge of the table. She interlocked her fingers, resting her hands atop the letter, and joined Alex in waiting for Lorrie. The otter looked from her to the letter and back again without moving his head. She simply smiled at him. This made him even more anxious.

        “Well," Lorrie spoke up a few moments later, giving the pages a thoughtful look, “it's not from your parents." she confirmed, hesitating. “It's an apology," she took note of Alex's body language as she continued, “from an old schoolmate." He pursed his lips to one side and looked down at the table. “That in mind, there are few things in here I think you need to know, whether or not we go further." He gave her a skeptical look. “Trust me."

        Alex took a deep, calming breath. “Okay."

        “Simply put," She began, “they asked your parents to mail it for them, to avoid knowing where you live; they promise not to contact you again regardless; and they're not asking for anything because, in their words, 'you don't owe me that'." She quoted directly from the letter. “Not forgiveness, not even a reply." Lorrie explained. “And… that's a good chunk of the letter, actually."

        “Hmmm." Alex considered the information, chewing another cookie.

        “Personally," Lorrie began, giving him a direct look, “I don't think it'll be a problem, since we're asking me." She said, placing a hand on her chest. “But," she added, “I can't really anticipate what it'll conjure. Only you can decide if you're ready to deal with this. So take my judgement with a grain of salt."

        “Hey." Alex smiled, holding half a cookie up to his mouth as the panda looked at him. “You think too much." He reveled in the opportunity to throw the phrase at her for once. Lorrie gave him a sort of 'you win this time' squint with a smile. “But, thank you." He added.

        She refolded the letter and held it out vertically for him to consider. He made no immediate motion to take it, but after a moment he dropped his feet from the chair and relaxed. He lazily reached out, grabbing it with just a finger and thumb. When he tugged, Lorrie held firm, and he hesitated. She gave him a look, and when he insisted, she let it slip.

        Alex threaded his fingers into the folds of the paper, took another calming breath, and began to open the flaps. Resting his arms on the edge of the table, it was his turn to be intently watched. Wynne lifted her elbows onto the table, cradling her chin with her still-interlocked fingers. Lorrie held her coffee with both hands, their size completely obscuring the mug as she took the occasional sip.

        Alex began scanning the letter, brow furrowed in concentration. After only a moment, he frowned, eyes narrowing as they slipped off the paper. Lorrie knew the point he'd reached, as that look could only be from attempting to put a face to a name. When his expression relaxed and he slouched in his seat, she knew he'd found it. He resumed reading, the subtle glint of tears growing more and more noticeable as the minutes went on. He reread it two or three times, they could tell. Whether to ensure he understood, or to hunt for an ulterior motive, however, they could only guess.

        It became clear to them that at some point he had stopped reading, and was now just staring at the page. Wynne, without moving, gave Lorrie a concerned look as if to ask 'what do we do?'. The panda gave a reassuring gesture; she would handle it.

        “Allie." She asked gently. “Are you alright?"

        “Yeah." He said, sniffling as he refolded the letter and set it aside. “I'm fine. Could you..." He gestured at the napkins in the middle of the table. Lorrie passed him a few, and he dried his eyes. As he finished, he took a deep breath and let out a short, heavy sigh.

        “You sure?" Wynne asked, letting her arms drop to the table. “Your eyes were awfully wet."

        “Just… memories." Alex replied with a shrug. “I am fine." His tone was reassuring, and he gave her a little smile. Wynne scooted her chair to the corner near Alex and wrapped her long tail around him, the end resting across his chest. He did the same, giving her more reach, and bringing the end up to his shoulder. She gave him an encouraging smile, and he wrapped his arms around it like a giant teddy bear.

        “You mind if I…?" Wynne pointed at the letter.

        “Yeah, sure." Alex replied, calmly petting the lemur's tail. She took only a moment to get up to speed with the other two, nodding as she set the paper down.

        “Well, I know how I feel about this." Wynne said. “But what about you?"

        “I dunno." Alex shrugged. “I mean, good for him and his regardless, I guess, but… I'll need more time to think about it."

        “Hey, Allie." Lorrie reached out for his attention. “I'm really proud of you."

        “Eh?" Alex gave her a confused look.

        “How far you've come since we met." She said. “Teary eyes are a far cry from what this would have done to you a few years ago."

        “Oh. I mean, I kinda had time to prepare myself." Alex said, laying his head on Wynne's tail like a pillow. “I'm not sure it says all that much."

        “It says enough." Lorrie encouraged. “I refuse to let you sell yourself short." She said as she pointed at him. He stuck out his tongue in playful defiance, receiving an unexpected mouthful of tail.

        “Aww, eugh!" Alex made a host of other disgusted noises and faces as he scraped fur off his tongue, though much of it was intentionally exaggerated to play into the women's giggling.

        “Oh!" Wynne said excitedly, thunking the table with both hands. “We should go out! We could catch a movie or something." She looked between her friends hopefully.

        “Not to pressure," Lorrie added, looking at Alex, “but I think that'll be up to you. Whether or not you feel up to it, I mean."

        “Hmm." Alex thought a moment, then sat up straight. “Hey wait, no no. We're not done; what about that?" He pointed at the other letter, now sitting just to Wynne's right.

        “Oh!" With a kind expression, she looked Alex right in the face, took the paper in both hands and tore it in half. She tossed the pieces behind her, then folded her arms. Both Alex and Lorrie raised their eyebrows in surprise, though for different reasons. The otter, by the implication of the contents; the panda, by the bluntness of the delivery. Lorrie turned to Alex, brow still raised, and gave him a look that said she agreed with the assessment.

        Alex blinked a few times. “Well." He said, sitting upright and patting Wynne's tail, then pushing it away. She frowned, ears drooping as she pulled her tail back, wrapping it around the legs of her own chair. Alex leant toward her with a gentle smile and, much to her joy, said, “Let's go see a movie."