I Will Always Write Back

Caitlin has a crush on her classmate, Matt, who eventually asks her out. They date for a short while before Caitlin realizes that they have nothing in common. She eventually breaks up with him. She does not realize that she has not heard from Martin in a while until his letter arrives in the mail. When she opens it, she finds a photograph of him. She notes that he looks young and serious in the photograph. Martin explains in his letter that the photograph was taken several years ago, which is why he looks so young.

Caitlin wants to give Martin a present, so she goes to Spencer’s, a store that sells gag gifts, and gets him a keychain. She sends it to him with her next letter. Eventually, Martin writes back with a longer letter that refers to Caitlin playfully as “the queen” (42). This amuses Caitlin. Martin also expresses gratitude for his gift and promises to send Caitlin “very nice African-type earrings” (44) in his next letter. He further describes his life in Zimbabwe, referring to his country as still politically and economically “developing” (44), which confuses Caitlin. Martin talks about how some people in Zimbabwe sometimes do not earn enough to feed their families and that oftentimes multiple families share a room to make ends meet.