A LETTER FROM LATE SUMMER

Genre: Romance – Tragedy – Love – Slice of Life – A mix of Happy and Sad Endings

Main Characters
Ethan Carter – a young man of humble origins who makes a living repairing boats; quiet, yet capable of deep love.
Clara Bennett – a gentle, intelligent young woman from a wealthy family, whose future is constantly dictated by her relatives.
Henry Bennett – Clara’s father, a man who believes love cannot replace status or a secure future.
Margaret – the woman Clara’s family has arranged for her to marry.
Thomas – an elderly man who frequently visits a woman in a nursing home to recount a story of past love.
PART 1 – SUMMER 1998

The coastal town of Bellhaven never changed.

Every afternoon, the sea breeze swept through streets lined with bougainvillea. Fishing boats returned to the harbor as the sun began to paint the horizon crimson.

Ethan Carter was twenty-two years old at the time.

He owned nothing but an old car, the small house his mother had left him, and a pair of hands perpetually stained with engine oil.

But that summer, Ethan met Clara.

She appeared at the entrance of the boat repair shop, wearing a white dress.

Ethan looked up.

“What do you need?”

Clara smiled.

“My family’s boat has broken down.”

Ethan wiped his hands on an old rag.

“Let me take a look.”

It was supposed to be nothing more than an ordinary encounter.

But after that day, Clara kept showing up.

Sometimes she brought water.

Sometimes she brought pastries.

On some days, there was no reason at all.

She would simply stand by the workshop door and watch Ethan work. One afternoon, Ethan asked:

“Don’t you have anything else to do?”

Clara laughed.

“I do.”

“What is it?”

“Looking at you.”

Ethan paused.

That was the moment he realized he had fallen in love with her.

PART 2 – US BACK THEN

They began meeting in secret.

Clara took Ethan to places her family had never allowed her to visit.

Ethan, in turn, took Clara up the northern hill, where they could see all of Bellhaven.

One night, lying on the grass, Clara asked:

“If you had a lot of money, what would you do?”

Ethan thought for a moment.

“Buy a house by the sea.”

“Just that?”

“Yeah.”

“Not buy a luxury car?”

“No.”

“Not travel around the world?”

Ethan looked at her.

“I would.”

“Where to?”

“Wherever you wanted to go.”

Clara fell silent.

A moment later, she asked:

“And what if I wanted to stay here?”

Ethan smiled.

“Then I’d stay, too.”

Clara turned her face away.

But Ethan saw her smile.