She was about to donate her late husband’s old coat when she found a key and a piece of paper with an address in the pocket. What she found there…

She approached and opened it. On the first page, a photo of them young, on their graduation day from medical school. On the last page, a recent picture taken on Roger’s 70th birthday, surrounded by their children and grandchildren.

Among the pages, she found a sealed letter with her name in Roger’s handwriting. With trembling hands, she opened it. My dear Martha, we are finally here, in our dream house.

I spent months looking for the perfect place for us to begin the next chapter of our lives. Remember when we used to take car rides on Sundays, and you always sighed as we passed through this neighborhood? One day, you would say. Well, that day has arrived.

I know that working has always been a fundamental part of who you are, just as it was for me. But after decades of taking care of others, perhaps it’s time to allow life to take care of us a little. I imagine the two of us on this porch watching the sunset.

You with a book on your lap, me scribbling those amateur poems you pretend to like. The grandchildren running through the garden during the summers, while Lawrence tries to master the grill and Audrey tells us about her latest art exhibition. Life is too short to postpone happiness, my love.

I know you will agree when you see this place with your own eyes. With all my love today and always, Roger. Martha stayed in the house the entire day, walking through each room, imagining the life they could have shared there.

Upstairs, she found three bedrooms, one that would be theirs, and two prepared to welcome the grandchildren. In the basement, Roger had started setting up a small woodworking studio, his newly discovered hobby. At dusk, she sat on the porch swing, watching the sun set behind the trees at the back of the property…