How he once tried to cook fish over a campfire and dropped it in the dirt.
For the first time in years, I was talking about Robert and laughing too.
Until then, I had always felt that being happy without him somehow betrayed his memory.
That letter changed everything.
I realized he had never wanted me to stop where his life ended.
He wanted me to continue.
I stayed in Australia three weeks longer than planned.
Arthur showed me the places where he and Robert had spent time when they were young.
One day, he took me to the lake Robert had painted.
The cottage was gone.
But the water was still there.
I looked at the lake for a long time.
“I thought coming here would make me very sad,” I said.
Arthur asked,
“Are you sad?”
I smiled.
“Yes. But not only sad.”
I finished the rest of my trip.
And during that time, my children slowly began calling again.
Karen apologized first.
Melissa admitted that only after I left did she realize how much she had relied on me.
Eric said,
“I guess I always thought that as long as the house was there, you would always be there too.”
I answered,
“I’m still your mother. I’m just not your furniture.”
He laughed.
So did I.
Arthur and I kept talking every day.
Six months later, I went back to Australia.
This time, not because of Robert.
Not because I was running away from my children.
Simply because I wanted to.
When I walked out of the airport, Arthur was waiting for me.
He was holding a small sign.
It said:
“ABIGAIL — I STILL OWE YOU COFFEE.”
I laughed so hard that my eyes filled with tears.
I still travel today.
Sometimes alone.
Sometimes with Arthur.
And Robert’s painting now hangs in our little apartment.
Underneath it are two things.
Robert’s letter.
And the receipt from the first coffee Arthur bought me.
Exactly twelve dollars.
At 69, I thought selling my house meant walking away from the life I had built.
But in reality, I was finally beginning to live the life I had postponed for years.
And I finally understood one simple thing.
Sometimes “someday” only comes when you stop waiting and finally go after it.
