‘Come swimming, Mum. Aaaggggh it’s soooo cold!’ he screamed. I jumped up, rolled my trousers tightly around my knees and raced down to meet him. As we took tentative small steps into the freezing ocean, hand in hand, we laughed till we cried.

Mitch is our perfect boy.

95

Arthur

My dear Rebecca

This is my last letter to you and although I suspect this might come as a shock, I have some very important news to impart and hope you won’t take it the wrong way.

Patience has always been my virtue and I’ve spent many silent hours in solitary confinement meticulously planning our future together. I genuinely meant to wait forever. However, something very significant has happened and I need you to understand.

About six months ago a lady called Whitney wrote to me requesting my friendship. She has taken an avid interest in my situation and came a few weeks ago for a first visit. She is petite, unlike you, with soft brown curls. She is only twenty-five and very beautiful. At first I pinned the small photograph she gave me on the incident board in my cell, below yours initially, until I knew where its rightful place should be.

Long restless nights followed until I realised that I needed to move her to the top of the board, next to my picture. I have, somewhat reluctantly, moved you slightly farther down.

Perhaps if you had visited me in my new home, things might have worked out differently but my therapist tells me constantly that I need to be more honest with myself. You see, Rebecca, I prefer younger women. I know you will always be beautiful but the freshness of Whitney’s skin and unblemished youthful looks have taken me somewhat by surprise. We are to be married, you see, very soon.

I will have to be patient a while longer, however. There is an old boyfriend in the background. His name is Justin. He is twenty-eight and won’t quite move aside. He is placed at the bottom of my crime scene board. I have made a cardboard cut-out of Friar Tuck to represent this ‘no mark’ as Whitney has told me he likes to eat and is grossly overweight. I am coming up with a few ideas to help Whitney get rid of him and am again enjoying such gainful occupation in this regard.

Thank you for all the years we have shared together. I’ll miss you but time is of the essence and I must now be moving on.

Yours as always

Arthur

Acknowledgements

Writing is frequently a solitary, lonely task but it is the people along the way who keep you going with their unwavering encouragement and belief.