The Correspondent

Sybil writes to her brother, Felix, in France and thanks him for the gifts he sent for her 73rd birthday. She recounts how she spoke with her children, Fiona and Bruce; how Fiona is getting on in Australia on a work assignment; and the roses she received from Theodore Lüdbeck, her neighbor. She refuses Felix’s invitation to visit him in France, preferring to read about France and see it through a postcard than experience it in person. She gifts him a photograph of when Felix was first adopted and brought home. In her postscript, she tells him she’s had a small, inconvenient accident with her car.

Sybil sends Theodore a note to thank him for the roses and explains she was brought home by taxi because she had a minor car accident the day before.

Sybil writes a letter to author Ann Patchett to discuss her appreciation of her book State of Wonder. She comments on how vividly Patchett wrote the Amazonian landscape and how she could see herself in the character near her age. She extends an offer to host Patchett if she visits Annapolis, as she has an unused second floor to her house.

Sybil writes to Colt and confesses that she wrecked the car in the accident on her way back from the library. She believes her eyesight is failing. She is afraid of the darkness and has nightmares about her loss of vision preventing her from writing letters. She’s only told her friend and former sister-in-law Rosalie and a child named Harry Landy with whom she corresponds.

Sybil contacts her friend Alice from her garden club to let her know she will be absent for their upcoming meeting. She preemptively shares her vote against the possible motion to move their gathering to the basement in the church. She believes the club has grown too large, and she dislikes the basement.

Fiona sends an email to Sybil and checks in with her after speaking with Bruce about Sybil’s car crash. She expresses concern and reiterates Bruce’s offer to have Sybil live with him. She also proposes Sybil consider a retirement home she’s researched for her wellness and safety.

Harry Landy sends Sybil a letter in which he details how he received a puppy named Thor, his family’s upcoming plans to go to Botswana for a safari, how his science project won second place (and his frustration therein), how his psychiatrist moved to Alaska, and how he dislikes his new one. He asks that she send him science fiction books, and in his postscript, he asks why she’s keeping her vision loss a secret.

Felix writes Sybil a letter and details the blissful life he leads with his partner, Stewart. He warns against commenting on and judging Fiona’s marriage. He also thanks her for the photograph and comments on how she looked wise and grave as a child. He asks about the car.

Sybil sends a letter to her best friend and Rosalie. Sybil asks after her son, Paul, who needs a wheelchair, and her husband, Lars, who is experiencing dementia. She tells Rosalie she’s bought a new car because she needed an upgrade and bemoans Fiona’s request that she consider a retirement home. She complains about Fiona’s meddling, as they are not close. She mentions that she’s reading Verghese’s Cutting for Stone and asks what Rosalie is reading.

Sybil writes to James, Harry’s father, and expresses her concerns over his new psychiatrist. She informs him that Guy Donnelly, the judge they both worked with over their law careers, has died. She recalls the last time she visited Guy and an article about him in The Sun that included Sybil. It discusses her 30-year career with Guy; their original law firm, Donnelly and Van Antwerp Legal; Sybil becoming his clerk when he became a judge; and how the legal world saw them as intellectual counterparts. The article ends with Sybil disappearing from public records after her retirement, and the journalist couldn’t reach her for comments.

Sybil writes to the journalist and insists that her letter be off the record. She lambasts the journalist for falsely claiming that she tried to reach her. She also corrects the journalist’s assumption that in her decision to become Guy’s clerk, Sybil relinquished her ambitions. She alludes to the misogyny of the labor market at that time and how lucky she’d been to work with Guy, who respected her.

Sybil receives a threatening note that questions every good thing about her in the article. The sender, signed as DM, describes her house to her to prove that they know where she lives and wishes her the worst.

Sybil writes back to Joan Didion, who asked after her well-being. November 7th was Gilbert’s birthday—Sybil’s second son who died 39 years ago at age 10. Sybil describes how Gilbert has never left her, and she still grieves. She compares difficult times and the cycle of human life to seasons. Sybil thinks life is more like a long road that is lonesome but with stopovers. Her family, prior to Gilbert’s death, was one such stopover. After his death, she feels like she tried to go back to that time with him. She sympathizes with Joan, who is also going through difficulties, and says the winter season is always the hardest for her.

Theodore wishes Sybil a merry Christmas and gifts her caramels.

Sybil sends a thank-you note to Theodore and wishes him a happy new year.

Sybil receives an invitation for Guy’s memorial service on February 16th. Guy’s wife, Liz, asks if Sybil might say a few words.

Sybil expresses her worries about speaking at Guy’s memorial service. The last time she did so was at her mother’s funeral, and she vomited. Her father was not able to speak, and her brother became nonverbal after their mother’s death, so Sybil felt pressured. She resolves to speak at Guy’s service, as she believes it will allow her to address questions about her decision to leave her law practice. She notes that her sight is holding.

Sybil sends James an email. She inquires whether he was invited to the service and whether he would accompany her to it.

James notes that the reason Guy’s service was postponed was because they wanted to avoid any grudge holders disrupting it. He agrees to pick her up, asks about Theodore and his roses, and supports her decision to speak at the service. He expresses his appreciation for her continued correspondence with Harry, as he’s been worried about him ever since his daughters moved out.

Sybil writes James an email to tell him he will never stop worrying about his children. She is astounded he remembers Theodore and his roses.

Sybil writes to Rosalie about Fiona’s pregnancy and the bitter knowledge that she will never really know the baby, as Fiona only visits once a year. She expresses her anxiety over Guy’s service and what she will wear. She feels old and hates her short height. She tells her she is reading Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express and asks what Rosalie is reading and if she’s heard from Daan, Sybil’s ex-husband.

Rosalie encourages Sybil to visit Fiona in London. She supports Sybil’s decision to speak at Guy’s service and comments on how his wife’s invitation to do so shows a lack of animosity between them. She speaks about Paul, her son, and his progress with the new wheelchair. She shares that her husband, Lars, has moments of lucidity, despite the growing silences between them. She admits she never imagined she would be caring for both her husband and son. She confirms Daan remains in touch and asks after Theodore and the state of Sybil’s vision loss.

Mick Watts, a lawyer who once faced off against Guy, sends Sybil a letter to express his appreciation for meeting her after so many years of hearing her name. He pokes fun at her letter-writing habit, mentions his interest in her career path, and asks to have dinner with her on April 29th at the Capitol House restaurant to trade stories. He won’t take no for an answer.

DM sends Sybil another note and details how he waited months for a notice of Guy’s death. He went to Guy’s grave, faked being a mourner, and spat on his grave—a treatment he intends to repeat when Sybil dies.

Sybil writes to Liz, Guy’s wife, to thank her for giving her the opportunity to speak at the service and explain how important her work with Guy was to her. She gifts her a 25% voucher for Applebee’s in case she doesn’t feel like cooking.

Sybil writes to Mick and refuses his invitation. She remembers him from a challenging case, the Evansberg suit. She answers some of his questions about her career and how it felt comfortable for its black-and-white structure. She explains that her letter writing was born from a desire to create a legacy that will preserve her life and survive time, as well as being one of the original forms of civility. She notes that the Evansberg suit was terrific fun.

Alice informs Sybil by email that Debbie Banks, another garden club member, is looking to overthrow Sybil as secretary. Alice has sided with Sybil.

Sybil responds to Alice. She is furious with Debbie, as she is convinced Debbie wants to invite her son to try and persuade the older women in the club to sell their high-priced, waterfront properties to his benefit. She recounts how she witnessed him flirting with 80-year-old Maude O’Reilly, a wealthy widow.

Joan gifts Sybil a book, asking for her thoughts on it, and thanks Sybil for her thoughts on grief and life. She has also lost a child. She comments on how spring is her favorite season.

Sybil writes to Harry and praises him for his writing improvements. She addresses the cruelty he’s facing from other children and offers him support. She tells him of her brother Felix’s similar experience as a child and how she’d impersonated the vice president of the United States and written his bully a letter, which scared him into leaving her brother alone. She tells him of her studies, her career, and how she met his father when he became a clerk for a judge she was acquainted with and took him under her wing. She recounts how she’d been adopted at only 14 months, and she was like him as a child: a quiet, curious, rule follower. She, like Harry, had a hard time understanding the roundabout way in which people spoke and could never conform to gendered expectations for women. She denies being lonely and wonders if Harry is lonely.

Sybil writes about the weather and the flowers blooming. She mentions the letter she wrote to Harry and dismisses his assumption that she is lonely. Recalling her younger years has brought up the memory of her birth mother’s letter. When she was nine, Sybil was tormented by her adoption despite the good relationship she had with her adoptive parents. She used to imagine her mother was Mary Poppins from P. L. Travers’s Mary Poppins book and even wrote a letter to the author. Her adoptive mother shared her birth mother’s letter with her, which she’d received when she adopted Sybil, because of how troubled Sybil had been. The letter is a loving note containing the hope that Sybil’s adoptive mother will take care of her. Sybil believes the letter writing began with her adoptive mother’s first and only letter and wonders what will happen when she can no longer see. She thinks she might die.