Dear Sis:

I am so sorry

Please forgive

I can't tell you

It's been a hell of a

Obviously, I'm having trouble getting started here. Bear with me.

First, thanks for the phone call. It meant a lot. Sorry about all the yelling in the background; jail is not a quiet place.

Second, tell Adam I'll pay you guys back for the bail money. Again.

Third, you wanted to know if I got back into my place. The answer is yes, the owner of the apartment building said I have a valid lease and I'm all paid up, so Georgia can't lock me out. He talked to her and she grudgingly let me back in. I spend most of my time in my room.

Fourth, yes, Sam fired me, but re-hired me when Dwight from Dunder-Mifflin conducted an "investigation" into my absence and determined that I'd been abducted. He nagged Sam so much about my "disappearance" that Sam actually re-hired me. He had not wanted to fire me anyway, it was just company policy, and he said the three days I wasn't at work were hell because nobody knows the ins and outs of that building like I do. So for now, I still have a job.

I'll write again soon. Meeting with Rabbi Aaron and the group tonight.

Tell the girls Aunt Sunny still loves them, even if she does screw up from time to time.

Love,

Sunny

Dear Sis:

I think my hands have stopped shaking enough to write now, and anyway you know I prefer letters to phone calls. I think better with a pen in my hand.

Yeah, I was stupid. I'm not making excuses for myself, but I do think Jim and Pam had something to do with my going off the rails. The day before, I had been taking some of the trash out. The dumpsters are behind the building, and usually the camera crew parks their vans there to be out of their own way when filming the front of the building. But like I said in my phone call, the crew is off for the summer. So that part of the lot is deserted now. As I was pushing the trash cart out the back door, I heard someone giggling. I stopped and looked around the corner of the dumpsters and saw them.

There's an oak tree in the back, with branches that bend down close to the ground. Someone put a picnic table back there for employee lunches, though I have never seen anyone eating there. Well that day, Jim and Pam were sitting on the picnic table sharing a soda and laughing together. And while I was watching, Jim took the can out of Pam's hands and put his hands on either side of her face and kissed her a good long smooch. She kissed him back pretty good, too, and their hands were just everywhere. So obviously, so deeply in love. My eyes just filled up with tears because Josh used to do the same thing with me. I stood there sniffling, and then I heard the two of them laughing again, and I was reminded even more of when Josh and I used to laugh.

Yeah, I know I have no excuse, but I was so depressed and unhappy at being reminded of how much I miss Josh. And Benjy, of course, but there aren't any kids around the Slough street building, so I don't get reminded of them as much.

So anyway, when I woke up the next morning and realized what day it was, and that two years ago I'd had a husband and a son, at least until the middle of that afternoon, well, I came unglued. I should have called you, but to tell the truth I was afraid one of the girls would answer the phone and I just could not hear the voice of a child just then. I know that sounds weird. Please don't take it the wrong way, you know I love your girls as much as if they were my own. But losing Josh and Benjy, well it's just too much sometimes. I don't know that it's any better diving into a bottle of booze than a bottle of pills, but at least this time I didn't break any laws. Just my bad luck my parole officer came calling that day and found me passed out on the floor.

Sam says that company policy is to terminate anyone arrested for drug abuse, even if it's not on company time. After Rabbi Aaron (and Dwight, of all people) talked to him, he reinstated me because alcohol is not a controlled substance, and thus narrowly escapes the company's definition. He joked that he was really cutting me some slack because of the cookies. I half believed him.

I don't know what to do. Life goes along so nice and peaceful, and then something as innocent as two lovers kissing under a tree plunges me into despair. I don't know how to get through it. Rabbi Aaron has been (you should pardon the expression) a godsend. Very comforting and helpful, and a regular Lion of Judah when it came to getting me sprung from the pokey.

By the way, one of the women in my group is getting married. She asked if I would bake 100 rose cookies for her wedding reception. What price should I quote her?

Oh, and Georgia and I are friends again. I promised to pay her back for the booze I drank, and she promised not to have any in the apartment.

Love,

Sunny

Dear Sis:

In all the craziness excitement of last week, I forgot to tell you that Creed came to see me while I was in jail. I went out to the visiting room expecting to see a lawyer or Rabbi Aaron or something, but there he was! We sat on opposite sides of the table, not really talking, not really looking at one another. He didn't have much to say. He offered to 'spring' me, but I don't think he meant it. He brought me a box of rubber bands, a book about landscaping, and half a candy bar. The guards took the rubber bands but let me keep the rest.

My first day back at work was all kinds of awkward. Bob and Phyllis Vance were as nice as could be, but Lonny in the Dunder Mifflin warehouse made some nasty crack, and Angela in accounting glared at me all day long. Pam was very sweet and sympathetic, though, and Toby (the HR guy) could not have been nicer. I tried to thank Creed for his visit, but he stared right through me. I truly do not know if the man is mad or putting on a hell of an act. Dwight acted as though he had personally rehabilitated Jack the Ripper, and tried to convince Michael to call a meeting in the conference room so I could talk about how he rescued me from a life of crime. Thank God Jim stepped in and distracted both of them by asking them which one had the higher lifetime sales average. I think they're still arguing over that.

I finished Danielle's sweater. I'm sending it in another package. I've already started the one for Rachel.

I found a half-price coupon for Burger King in the trash. Maybe the girls would like a treat. I know it isn't all that nutritious, but it is filling. Is Adam still shunning me? Tell him that Dwight does that from time to time.

Love,

Sunny

Dear Sis:

Wow. Just when I think I have that madhouse at Dunder-Mifflin figured out, there's a new wrinkle. Last night after I left at 6:00, I realized I'd left my umbrella in the supply closet in Dunder-Mifflin. I let myself back in with my key, and everything was quiet. (Yes, I look carefully for Todd Packer, but I haven't seen him since That Day.) So, again being quiet, I open the door to the supply closet and find Dwight and Angela making out like crazy. Not just making out, mind you, but with her legs around his waist and the two of them against the wall. I'll let you figure the rest out. Anyway, I was so shocked I just stood there staring. Dwight snarled at me and I swear to God Angela actually hissed like a cat. Scary. I shut the door and got out of there.

I'm a little afraid to go back there. Dwight carries weapons.

Good news from Stanley. Remember I told you I was tutoring his daughter Melissa? She got a B+ on her last math test, and Stanley actually smiled at me. Too bad that guy is not in charge of my paycheck.

I'm glad the sweater arrived in good condition. I'll try to finish Rachel's faster. Thanks for the kind words from Adam.

Love,

Sunny

Dear Sis:

I'm exhausted, so this will be quick. Just spent the entire weekend baking cookies. I tried that idea you suggested about using violet essence, and the result was spectacular. One of my neighbor ladies actually knocked on my door asking what that fabulous smell was. Of course I gave her some. I'll take these violet cookies in to work tomorrow and see how they go over.

My parole officer called yesterday; the DA is dropping all charges. I think Rabbi Aaron has been talking to people. I owe that man so much.

Oh, and something happened that I don't know whether to laugh or cry over. I was taking the trash out yesterday, earlier than usual. (No one kissing under the oak tree this time, thank goodness.) Since it was early, the sun was casting the shadow of the building across the back of the parking lot. I noticed something moving—flapping, in fact—and looked up. There was a clothesline with clothes on it on the roof! The wind was blowing harder than usual or the clothes would not have been visible, but there they were! I went back inside and found the roof access and went up, and found a campsite! There's a bedroll and a little hibachi grill and a little tarp set up as shelter from the rain. Several boxes (I didn't look in them) and a mop pail that went missing last month, which someone seems to have been using to wash clothes. I looked at the clothes and they were all men's T-shirts and shirts. I began to suspect whose stuff it was when I found some sheet music under the bedroll.

I went straight downstairs and walked right up to Creed and told him to meet me in the break room. I was quiet about it, but Meredith (the drinker) looked at us pretty strangely as we left. In the break room I asked him if he was living on the roof, and he said, "Sometimes." Turns out he sometimes sleeps under his desk, and some nights he puts up at a local homeless shelter. But I know he has an address, because I've seen it on his paychecks. I don't understand. However, Creed seemed to think it was a big thing, so he bribed me—he gave me tickets to the Labor Day celebration in Nay Aug Park. He says he's playing in one of the venues there, so here's my chance to hear Creed live and in person! Woo.

Can you believe this guy? I know he sounds weirder and weirder all the time, but I sense that underneath he's really a nice guy. Maybe his brains were fried in the Sixties or something, but fundamentally I think he's okay.

Oh, and no I was not hallucinating: that really was Dwight and Angela in the supply closet. I can hardly believe it myself. Weird. You never know about people, do you?

Love,

Sunny

Dear Sis:

A quick note during my break. The violet cookies are such a hit I think Rabbi Aaron is going to propose. Kidding! But seriously, they were gone in five minutes, and I think Pam Beesly is going to offer me her firstborn for the recipe. I think we have a winner, Sis! For contrast, tomorrow I'm going to bring in raisin oatmeal cookies just to bring everyone back down to earth.

Creed called me "Sunny" today. I'm pretty sure it was accidental.

Love,

Sunny