Looking to each other for encouragement nobody moved for a minute until finally Tina leaned forward.   She pushed down on the card at one end of the box causing it to pop up at the other end and gently slid her fingers under it lifting it free.  Underneath was a collection of packages of different sizes and shapes each beautifully tied with red ribbon.  Lying on the top of it all were two white envelopes stacked on top of each other.  She lifted these out and read the front of the first one.

For the Gang Part 1

(Open this first everything else will make sense later)

Tina glanced at the other envelope in her hand.

For the Gang Part 2

(Put this down unless you’ve read Part 1)

  “She sure could be bossy when she wanted to” Tina grinned trying to lighten the mood.  “Should I open it? Do you want to read it Alice?”

Alice bit her bottom lip and shook her head rapidly from side to side.  Realising there had been two questions and she had only meant to answer one of them Alice tried to speak.  “Go ahead Tina, you read it.  I really couldn’t” she squeaked the emotion evident in her voice.

“Ok here goes”  Taking a deep breath Tina found herself looking across the table into Bette’s soulful eyes searching for the strength to continue.  Bette held her gaze and with the subtlest of movements of her head gave her the reassurance she needed to continue.  Tina carefully opened the envelope and removed the pages within it.  Folding them out she studied the faces around the table ensuring everyone was ready and taking another deep breath in, she began to read.

Hey guys,

Wow, even just getting that opening right took a variety of drafts…this is going to be much harder than I thought.  I toyed with more formal openings but hey you’re all family so it’s ok right? My mom wouldn’t approve of my lack of letter writing etiquette.  God I’m rambling already I hope you are all comfortable – we could be here a while.

Firstly may I say that even as I write this I cling to the hope that the people reading it are not those for whom it is intended.   Instead perhaps it is my grand-children who have pulled this long forgotten box down from some shelf in the back of my musty cupboard following my death as a dorky old woman peacefully in my own bed.  If fortune has favoured me so and you are my grand-kids reading this then don’t go any further.   Your young impressionable minds won’t want to read some of what granny has written in here!