Dear Jeannette

Seventy-two year old Leo Sterling was Ohio’s oldest postal worker. Just as unique, was his marital status: single. He had never married. He lost interest after Jeannette O’Foster had turned him down for the high school prom. He had told the story more than a hundred times--how he had mailed her the prom invitation, and she had never responded.

Old Man Leo ran the sorting machine. In his lifetime, he had witnessed quite a few upgrades in technology. He hated the automated systems. They were boring and impersonal.

“In my day...” Leo often recited, then would boast how he had once hand-sorted 10,000 letters in one day. Inevitably, his stories would drift back to Jeannette O’Foster.

He had worked as a paperboy, then as a clerk for a few years, to save up to buy a car for his senior prom night. That was 54 years ago. He still had the car, but not the girl.

Leo pushed a broom past a metal sorting box. His broom caught on a slip of paper under the box. He stopped and used a knife to claw at an aged envelope. Leo pulled it out, but left it laying facedown on the floor. He frowned at his find. The only thing sadder than being turned down for prom by Jeannette was finding lost mail behind, inside, or under the cold-hearted machines. He wondered how old the letter was. He had installed the machine himself, bolting it to the floor during his first year as a sorter. That had been a half-century ago.

Leo glanced around the warehouse. Everyone else was gone, but he would certainly add this to his long list of postal stories. He picked up the letter and squinted at the handwriting. It was faded and worn. Leo pushed glasses onto his nose.

“Jeannette...O’Foster,” he sounded out. He read the sender’s name. “Leonard Sterling.”

The envelope was unstamped. Jeannette had not rejected his prom invitation--she had never received it!

Leo whipped his glasses off and reached for his car keys. Jeannette was still single and living on Harris Street. He would deliver this letter himself.

THE END