Dearest One
by Jeff Siamon

(Suggested by Dostoevsky’s short story, “White Nights.”)
It’s the end of the 1800s. Beth has run away from home to a coastal Maritime village. There she hopes to meet her “true love” who has been away at sea for two years in order to make his fortune. That way he can marry her despite her father’s objections. He’s promised to meet her in a letter he has sent her — “two years hence the night of the full moon. Without fail” — which he addresses to “Dearest One.”
xxxMaggie, who owns a restaurant, and George, who works at the cotton mill, are curious when they see her standing at the dock every night, but it isn’t until she is accosted by Roddy that they learn her story. Roddy, the son of the mill owner, meanwhile is trying — in the current vernacular — to get into Ida’s pants. She’s the prettiest girl at the mill. She teases him and rebuffs him, but playfully so. Then there’s Paddy, George’s father. He returns after a long absence because of a great plan of his that will make his fortune. There’s no love lost between father and son.
xxxThe core of the story is about “true love.” Finding or not finding it. George has never known love. Maggie has had many loves. Paddy couldn’t hold on to his love. Ada is determined to marry Roddy without losing her virginity. And Beth is afraid she has lost her true love. It’s Roddy who is the catalyst for the drama. Spurned yet again by Ada, his drunken advances towards Beth go beyond accosting. George comes to her rescue, beats Roddy to a pulp but not before Roddy stabs him. Then the instant attraction that George and Beth have for each other guides the story until the “dearest one” is revealed.