26
In the end, I opened the letter in the early morning. The Major was in the moving process, so I had a bit of a breathing space.
I rose very early, before dawn, and lit my way with a kerosene lamp, careful not to wake up Jack. He liked his sleep and was grumpy if he didn't get it.
Grandpa also liked early mornings, but we both share a silent understanding: we wouldn't talk to each other if we saw each other. Those early pre-dawn hours were for self-reflection, planning the day, and enjoying the cold with a mug of hot tea in my hands.
I stood on the porch, looking east. The sky was a dark blue rather than black, a sign that dawn would start in an hour. The vapor from the mug of tea I was nursing rose, coloring the air in murky, transparent colors, while the kerosene lamp created an ev
