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cmk418And when I say that, I mean it. This is written for the Oz 10th Anniversary Flashfic challenge.
Title: A Letter From Three Wives
Pairing: B/K (sort of - it's post-series, not AU)
Word Count: 1679
Rating: R for language
Prompt: Anniversary
One year later...
Beecher still couldn’t get quite used to the vision of Poet pushing the mail cart, but here he was, setting up the cart in the EmCity common room. Not a lot of them left here that would remember what today was, but Beecher still felt the need to keep to himself. Hard to do when Poet called out, “Beecher, come get your mail. I ain’t your delivery service.”
Beecher looked from the mail cart to Poet, then shrugged and took the envelope addressed to him. It was from the law firm, so it was probably just another document for him to sign. He sat down at the table closest to the door, his back to the stairwell, and opened up the envelope. A smaller envelope fell out of it, addressed to him care of the law firm. There was nothing else, so he tore it open and started to read.
Dear Mr. Beecher,
My name is Kitty. I was Chris Keller’s first wife. Maybe he told you about me? I’m the beautiful one. Chris had instructions for me in his will.
Here Toby paused and thought, “Keller made a will?” He never should have underestimated the man’s planning skills.
He wanted me to tell you why I fell in love with him. That’s easy – the man was sex on wheels, just outta Lardner and I was just outta high school. Those eyes, Toby, remember those eyes, the ones that would see right into your heart, that knew your deepest secrets? And that smile. Jesus Christ, I wanted to fuck him every time he smiled at me. That’s how he got me, with that smile.
“Me, too,” thought Beecher.
He said not to bother telling you any of the shitty stuff because you already knew plenty of shitty stuff about him. So I won’t, but I just want you to know that I forgave him for all the crap a long time ago. Maybe you should do the same.
Kitty
Fuck Keller, and fuck her. He’d forgive whomever he wanted whenever he wanted. He knew he should have stayed in his pod. But now, fuck it, maybe he could find Ryan O’Reily and see if he had anything on him to take the edge off.
Another year and eighteen days later...
Busmalis was in charge of the mail cart today. He handed Beecher a letter. “You know anybody in Scranton?” he asked.
“Pennsylvania? I don’t think so,” Beecher replied, withdrawing so he could read his mail in peace. He sat on the steps and opened the letter.
Beecher,
I can’t believe I’m addressing another letter to Oswald. Crazy how these things happen. I called the first Beecher in the phone book and your brother said you were back here. Did Chris ever show you the letters I sent him? Or the pictures?
Angelique, of course. He didn’t remember any pictures, but then Keller was never the type to be sentimental. Toby did remember one of her letters – the straight-out-of-Penthouse variety. It had served to make him jealous for weeks, even more so, when he’d found out from Sister Pete and several cons that Angelique had made out with Keller in the visitors' room.
Anyways, Chris had some crazy idea about this reaching you two years after he died. Sorry it’s late, I was always crappy with dates. So I’m supposed to tell you why I fell in love with Chris. It was the pursuit. See, Chris seemed happy with Bonnie. I worked with her so I knew her already. She had his picture out on her desk where anybody could see it. Chris would come in every day or so to visit her. I thought it was sweet. After a while, he started sitting down on my desk and flirting with me. Right in front of his wife! I felt weird about it, but also kinda turned on, you know? So, one day she’s out, got a dentist appointment or something and he comes in. I tell him that Bonnie’s not here, but that doesn’t seem to matter to Chris. He tells me he thinks I’m hot and then asks me if I want to fuck him. I couldn’t turn him down. And now... I still can’t. I know he didn’t want me to tell you any of the bad shit that went down between us, but any way I tell that story, Chris isn’t exactly gonna come out looking like a saint, you know what I mean?
Yours truly,
Angelique
Toby stomped up the stairs in disgust. Keller evidently didn’t take his wives into account when he set this up. Everything Angelique said just pointed out Chris’ manipulative nature. Just when Toby was beginning to think this whole mess was behind him, Angelique’s letter succeeded in reminding him everything that Chris Keller was, and everything that Tobias Beecher would always hate about him.
He folded the letter up into a paper airplane and flew it off the second floor balcony. Somehow it seemed fitting.
Three hundred forty eight days later...
Sean Murphy opened the door to Beecher’s pod. “Beecher, you’ve got a visitor.”
“I don’t have anybody scheduled for today.”
“She was rather insistent, but we can send her away.”
“Nah, I’ll go. Not like I’ve got that much on my calendar.”
Toby couldn’t say he recognized the woman who was waiting for him, but he knew her all the same. He could hear Chris’ voice inside his head, saying, “Bonnie, wife number two and four. The best one.”
She picked up the phone as he took his seat and did the same. “Hi, Bonnie.”
“Hi. I went to the law firm. They told me you were here.”
“Let me guess. You’re fulfilling Keller’s last wishes.”
“Well, no. Not exactly. You see, he wanted me to write you a letter. Tell you all the reasons why I fell in love with him. Chris always thought that there should be reasons. He didn’t think anyone could just love him. There always had to be some kind of process behind it. Like he did this or said that or smiled that certain way and boom, that was it. And maybe by me telling you what it was like for me, you would fall in love with him all over again. You and I are a lot alike, Tobias. We went through the same crap with him.”
Toby smirked, silently noting who was on which side of the glass.
Bonnie continued, “So I’m not going to spell out why or how I fell in love with him. I just fell. That’s all it was. Everything good I saw in Chris, you saw in him too. It’s just the way it happens sometimes. Souls... collide. There’s no rhyme or reason for it. I think though, we were the best things that happened to him.”
Toby gave a half-laugh. “Look, Bonnie, I know you mean well, but Chris is dead. Three years ago today, in fact, but of course, you knew that. Rehashing the past isn’t going to bring Chris back. It’s not going to make me wake up tomorrow and think ‘Oh gee, that Keller was a swell guy. What a shame he’s dead.’”
Beecher hangs up the phone, takes a deep breath, and then picks up the receiver again. “If I was so goddamn good for him, then why the fuck did he pitch himself over that railing?”
Bonnie considered this for a moment. “He didn’t have your strength. That’s the one thing that he always said to me – Tobias Beecher is the strongest man I know. Told me that he could always find his way around a bad situation, but you could always find a way through it, no matter what it took. That’s one of the things he loved about you. He always talked about you, when I’d call or visit. He’d mention your name and he’d smile. Or he’d catch a glimpse of you walking by and he’d stop whatever he was saying and just watch you. In all our years of marriage, he never looked at me the way he looked at you. And you would be wrapped up in whatever you were doing and completely oblivious to the two of us, and he’d say to me, ‘See that, Bonnie, one day he’s going to forget that I exist.’”
“No chance of that-“
“Beecher, time’s up,” interrupted Howell from the sidelines.
“I’ve got to go. You fulfilled whatever promise you made to Chris. Thank you.”
“Wait. Just wait,” said Bonnie. Scrambling as fast as a woman her size could go, she moved over to the guard and handed him an envelope. She glanced back over her shoulder at Toby, gave him a slight wave, and left.
Beecher started on the path back to EmCity when Howell said, “Hold up there, Beecher. Your girlfriend left something for you.”
“Thanks,” he said, taking the envelope. “And she’s not my girlfriend.”
“Like I care,” replied Howell.
Toby didn’t open the letter until long after lockdown. He lay on the top bunk, dropped the envelope on the floor and carefully unfolded the paper. His name in a familiar scrawl seemed to jump out at him.
Toby,
I’m on death row now and you’re out there somewhere in the world, living your life. I don’t fault you for not being able to save me. Even if you did, I’m not sure I could last a day in this place without you. The thing that keeps me going right now is knowing that I don’t have long. What we had was real, even if it was only for a short time. You have been and will always be the love of my life. Never forget that, Toby. If you forget everything else about me, never forget that I love you.
For always,
Chris
Toby read the letter a second time, then a third. All the questions that had plagued him since Keller’s death had drifted away and been replaced by the only answer that he’d ever needed.
Chris Keller loved him.
Title: A Letter From Three Wives
Pairing: B/K (sort of - it's post-series, not AU)
Word Count: 1679
Rating: R for language
Prompt: Anniversary
One year later...
Beecher still couldn’t get quite used to the vision of Poet pushing the mail cart, but here he was, setting up the cart in the EmCity common room. Not a lot of them left here that would remember what today was, but Beecher still felt the need to keep to himself. Hard to do when Poet called out, “Beecher, come get your mail. I ain’t your delivery service.”
Beecher looked from the mail cart to Poet, then shrugged and took the envelope addressed to him. It was from the law firm, so it was probably just another document for him to sign. He sat down at the table closest to the door, his back to the stairwell, and opened up the envelope. A smaller envelope fell out of it, addressed to him care of the law firm. There was nothing else, so he tore it open and started to read.
Dear Mr. Beecher,
My name is Kitty. I was Chris Keller’s first wife. Maybe he told you about me? I’m the beautiful one. Chris had instructions for me in his will.
Here Toby paused and thought, “Keller made a will?” He never should have underestimated the man’s planning skills.
He wanted me to tell you why I fell in love with him. That’s easy – the man was sex on wheels, just outta Lardner and I was just outta high school. Those eyes, Toby, remember those eyes, the ones that would see right into your heart, that knew your deepest secrets? And that smile. Jesus Christ, I wanted to fuck him every time he smiled at me. That’s how he got me, with that smile.
“Me, too,” thought Beecher.
He said not to bother telling you any of the shitty stuff because you already knew plenty of shitty stuff about him. So I won’t, but I just want you to know that I forgave him for all the crap a long time ago. Maybe you should do the same.
Kitty
Fuck Keller, and fuck her. He’d forgive whomever he wanted whenever he wanted. He knew he should have stayed in his pod. But now, fuck it, maybe he could find Ryan O’Reily and see if he had anything on him to take the edge off.
Another year and eighteen days later...
Busmalis was in charge of the mail cart today. He handed Beecher a letter. “You know anybody in Scranton?” he asked.
“Pennsylvania? I don’t think so,” Beecher replied, withdrawing so he could read his mail in peace. He sat on the steps and opened the letter.
Beecher,
I can’t believe I’m addressing another letter to Oswald. Crazy how these things happen. I called the first Beecher in the phone book and your brother said you were back here. Did Chris ever show you the letters I sent him? Or the pictures?
Angelique, of course. He didn’t remember any pictures, but then Keller was never the type to be sentimental. Toby did remember one of her letters – the straight-out-of-Penthouse variety. It had served to make him jealous for weeks, even more so, when he’d found out from Sister Pete and several cons that Angelique had made out with Keller in the visitors' room.
Anyways, Chris had some crazy idea about this reaching you two years after he died. Sorry it’s late, I was always crappy with dates. So I’m supposed to tell you why I fell in love with Chris. It was the pursuit. See, Chris seemed happy with Bonnie. I worked with her so I knew her already. She had his picture out on her desk where anybody could see it. Chris would come in every day or so to visit her. I thought it was sweet. After a while, he started sitting down on my desk and flirting with me. Right in front of his wife! I felt weird about it, but also kinda turned on, you know? So, one day she’s out, got a dentist appointment or something and he comes in. I tell him that Bonnie’s not here, but that doesn’t seem to matter to Chris. He tells me he thinks I’m hot and then asks me if I want to fuck him. I couldn’t turn him down. And now... I still can’t. I know he didn’t want me to tell you any of the bad shit that went down between us, but any way I tell that story, Chris isn’t exactly gonna come out looking like a saint, you know what I mean?
Yours truly,
Angelique
Toby stomped up the stairs in disgust. Keller evidently didn’t take his wives into account when he set this up. Everything Angelique said just pointed out Chris’ manipulative nature. Just when Toby was beginning to think this whole mess was behind him, Angelique’s letter succeeded in reminding him everything that Chris Keller was, and everything that Tobias Beecher would always hate about him.
He folded the letter up into a paper airplane and flew it off the second floor balcony. Somehow it seemed fitting.
Three hundred forty eight days later...
Sean Murphy opened the door to Beecher’s pod. “Beecher, you’ve got a visitor.”
“I don’t have anybody scheduled for today.”
“She was rather insistent, but we can send her away.”
“Nah, I’ll go. Not like I’ve got that much on my calendar.”
Toby couldn’t say he recognized the woman who was waiting for him, but he knew her all the same. He could hear Chris’ voice inside his head, saying, “Bonnie, wife number two and four. The best one.”
She picked up the phone as he took his seat and did the same. “Hi, Bonnie.”
“Hi. I went to the law firm. They told me you were here.”
“Let me guess. You’re fulfilling Keller’s last wishes.”
“Well, no. Not exactly. You see, he wanted me to write you a letter. Tell you all the reasons why I fell in love with him. Chris always thought that there should be reasons. He didn’t think anyone could just love him. There always had to be some kind of process behind it. Like he did this or said that or smiled that certain way and boom, that was it. And maybe by me telling you what it was like for me, you would fall in love with him all over again. You and I are a lot alike, Tobias. We went through the same crap with him.”
Toby smirked, silently noting who was on which side of the glass.
Bonnie continued, “So I’m not going to spell out why or how I fell in love with him. I just fell. That’s all it was. Everything good I saw in Chris, you saw in him too. It’s just the way it happens sometimes. Souls... collide. There’s no rhyme or reason for it. I think though, we were the best things that happened to him.”
Toby gave a half-laugh. “Look, Bonnie, I know you mean well, but Chris is dead. Three years ago today, in fact, but of course, you knew that. Rehashing the past isn’t going to bring Chris back. It’s not going to make me wake up tomorrow and think ‘Oh gee, that Keller was a swell guy. What a shame he’s dead.’”
Beecher hangs up the phone, takes a deep breath, and then picks up the receiver again. “If I was so goddamn good for him, then why the fuck did he pitch himself over that railing?”
Bonnie considered this for a moment. “He didn’t have your strength. That’s the one thing that he always said to me – Tobias Beecher is the strongest man I know. Told me that he could always find his way around a bad situation, but you could always find a way through it, no matter what it took. That’s one of the things he loved about you. He always talked about you, when I’d call or visit. He’d mention your name and he’d smile. Or he’d catch a glimpse of you walking by and he’d stop whatever he was saying and just watch you. In all our years of marriage, he never looked at me the way he looked at you. And you would be wrapped up in whatever you were doing and completely oblivious to the two of us, and he’d say to me, ‘See that, Bonnie, one day he’s going to forget that I exist.’”
“No chance of that-“
“Beecher, time’s up,” interrupted Howell from the sidelines.
“I’ve got to go. You fulfilled whatever promise you made to Chris. Thank you.”
“Wait. Just wait,” said Bonnie. Scrambling as fast as a woman her size could go, she moved over to the guard and handed him an envelope. She glanced back over her shoulder at Toby, gave him a slight wave, and left.
Beecher started on the path back to EmCity when Howell said, “Hold up there, Beecher. Your girlfriend left something for you.”
“Thanks,” he said, taking the envelope. “And she’s not my girlfriend.”
“Like I care,” replied Howell.
Toby didn’t open the letter until long after lockdown. He lay on the top bunk, dropped the envelope on the floor and carefully unfolded the paper. His name in a familiar scrawl seemed to jump out at him.
Toby,
I’m on death row now and you’re out there somewhere in the world, living your life. I don’t fault you for not being able to save me. Even if you did, I’m not sure I could last a day in this place without you. The thing that keeps me going right now is knowing that I don’t have long. What we had was real, even if it was only for a short time. You have been and will always be the love of my life. Never forget that, Toby. If you forget everything else about me, never forget that I love you.
For always,
Chris
Toby read the letter a second time, then a third. All the questions that had plagued him since Keller’s death had drifted away and been replaced by the only answer that he’d ever needed.
Chris Keller loved him.
