This is a note from Bassya I found among the letters. It will introduce the letters that come next. The letters she refers to in the following story. Bassya and Philip never reached their 50th anniversary as she died about 2 years earlier in 1980. But perhaps they did get to read these letters to each other, if they counted their anniversary from the time they met and fell in love. I would like to believe that.
It was in the middle of May — a beautiful warm sunny day. The sun was setting the beauty was breathtaking — facing the bay two people sat — and watched the sun slowly disappear — and the sailboats gliding by on the bay.
The woman turned to the man and said, next week will be our 50th anniversary — the children and grandchildren are planning a party for us — he reached for her hand and said — I know — I know — he repeated smiling — my dear Bibi what can I give you that I have not given you already. She squeezed lightly his hand and whispered Dear Dear Paul — then she suddenly turned to him — and with the excitement of a young girl said would you do something for me — of course he answered without any hesitation. — you know the box of letters — I kept there for 50 years the letters we have written to each other the six weeks we were apart.
I will read the ones I wrote to you and you read the ones you wrote to me.
Very well we will do that tomorrow right after breakfast he said we will sit in our garden and read.
It was so long ago my dear — she said — we had a good life — he said — children — grandchildren — you with your paintings she said and you with your poetry he smiled — concerts — plays — traveling — we must have traveled at least 3/4 of the world she said smiling — we were for some unknown reason blessed — yes he said bending towards her and kissing her forehead. She looked up at him — I am so excited about tomorrow reading the letters — I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight he looked at her and laughed —