you can see Charlie’s previous letter here.

Dearest Charlie,

I’m so happy to hear from you. I know you’re very busy, but everytime I get a letter from you it lifts my spirits. Last time we spoke I’d just started a family with Christopher. A lot has changed since then. But first, I want to congratulate you on your children. They seem so well-rounded and successful. And you were able to send your son to private school! I’m so, so very happy for you. I unfortunately was not able to provide that luxury for my kids, but I dream of the day they start to raise families of their own. I’ve sacrificed so much for them already, things can only improve from here on out. And to see your kids so grown up! It seems like it was just yesterday that I was looking at their baby pictures, or seeing them as kids! And now teenagers. It reminds me of how my own kids have grown, and how much you and I have aged too. I remember when I first sent you that letter– it seems so long ago, almost like another lifetime. I think of you as a sister as well, and an old friend, dear to my heart.

Last time I wrote to you, I had just given birth to Daniel. I had twins after him, Alex and Gina. This is Alex as a toddler:

And here’s his sister Gina:

After that I hit menopause. I have always loved big families—I desperately wished for brothers and sisters when I was younger—but it seems nature intended for me to have no more than five children. As soon as Rory and Quinn were old enough to look after themselves a bit, I came to the decision that it was time for me to get back on the stage. It wasn’t an easy choice to make. It meant I had to spend less and less time with my children, all of whom I love dearly, as well as leave Christopher with all the housework. But it’s the one thing I’ve been dreaming of since as far as I can remember. My manager said it would be tough to break into the market all over again, but that he thought I had the talent and the drive to do it.

I have to be honest, my first concert back was not the greatest. I’m better now though. I have a regular gig down at the park, which brings in a fair amount of money. In the meantime, Daniel grew up as well.

I’m sorry I wasn’t there to watch him grown into the smart, caring kid he is today, but he doesn’t hold it against me. For someone so young, I feel like he really does understand what I’ve had to do for this family. He even takes on some of the household responsibilities. More than once I’ve seen him go around cleaning up after everyone, feeding the fish, and even taking care of his younger siblings.

Another thing I seem to have missed is the growing rivalry between the girls. Rory and Quinn were so close as toddlers, I never gave a second thought to their relationship. As children, they would fight all the time.

I wasn’t around much, but I heard about their fighting whenever I’d crawl into bed. Christopher would spend hours talking about how much stress he was getting, trying to raise one set of twins, Alex and Gina, while trying to keep the other set, Rory and Quinn, calm. But I had to keep focused on my job. Eventually I would just ignore his voice and drift off to sleep. He stopped talking to me a little after that. Still, I could see the fruits of my efforts in the new clothes we were able to afford, and the toys we could gift our kids. When the ice cream truck would come buy, I’d tell them they could pick anything they wanted.

I remembered wanting to indulge in some ice cream back when I first moved in here, but the prices were ridiculous. Now my kids can have it whenever they want, they don’t even have to think about it. It’s such a simple thing, going out to an ice cream truck to get some frozen treats, but it means so much to me to see them happy and worryfree. Another thing we’ve been able to provide for them is a hopscotch court! They love that thing, especially Daniel.

In fact, I brought in enough to expand the house to two floors! It seems ridiculous how happy that makes me, but two floors just seemed like such a crazy idea. Remember when I didn’t even have walls? And now I have a two story house, with a beautiful spiral staircase and everything. But there’s another cost that went into all these new things we have. My youth.

I’m an old woman now, and it shows. Luckily I’ve done so well musically that my fans don’t really think about my age, but I can feel it. I get tired a lot faster than before, and it takes me longer to get things done. It scares me a little, to think of how fast time flies. In fact, I should probably mention that the twins are actually in their teens already.

Rory has decided she wants to focus on becoming an artist and a writer. As a singer myself, I know how hard it can be to seek a career in the arts, but I did it, so who am I to say she can’t? I have high hopes for her.

Quinn’s goals are a little less ambitious. She dreams of being famous, of finding a boyfriend, of being popular… I guess the usual things teenagers worry about. Right now they’re both really giddy about prom, but neither of them have a date, which is fine by me! Haha, I’m glad Gui’s found love so young, but as much as I love them, I don’t look forward to seeing my girls dating just yet. I may be old, but that doesn’t mean I like being reminded of it, hahaha. Daniel will be a teenager soon himself. As for Alex and Gina, they’re in the middle of childhood at the moment. Here’s Alex:

And his sister Gina:

As for the latest between the twins… well, Sake caught a rat. Quinn hates rats. So Rory decided to keep it as a pet and name it Quinn. I’m sure you can imagine the rest.

Anyway. That’s the lates on my end. I hope to continue hearing from you, and I wish all of the luck in love to Gui and the rest of your kids!

-Sean

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Charlie,

My name is Rory Steele. Mom said that if I wanted to get some writing practice, I might as well start by writing letters, the old-fashioned way. So I figured why not. I don’t know much about you, other than Mom’s been writing you since like, forever. So… I guess I’ll just talk about school and stuff. I made the honor roll! So that’s exciting. But my dream is to be an artist and writer, so I guess my grades aren’t all that importent. I’ve started practicing, but I don’t have a lot of time, what with school and helping out at the house. Mom always goes off to do her singing thing, so I help Dad cook up meals and take care of his fish and stuff. He loves those fish, it’s ridiculous! Also, he loves my rat, which pisses Quinn off, which is awesome!

It’s not like I hate her or anything, don’t get me wrong. But to be honest, she’s kind of a diva– she alwys thinks she’s so much better than the rest of us and spends all of Mom’s money on fancy dresses and stuff. And I have to share a room with her, so I don’t get like, a break or anything, ever. She’s on the phone all the time, so I can’t get any sleep either. Ugh! It’s just a little frustrating to live with her, that’s all.

Bye!

-Rory

you can read the response here