The Last Letter

Beckett writes back as “Chaos,” confessing he is not good with people. He introduces himself as best as he can: He is 28 years old and has no connections with anyone in the world except his friends in his unit. He asks Ella what it is like to be the center of someone’s universe.

Ella reads Chaos’s letter as she waits at a doctor’s appointment for Maisie, who has been complaining of pain in her hip. It has been six weeks, and the doctor has run a number of scans but has found nothing. He suggests the pain may be psychosomatic.

Weeks later, Ella steps out to collect her mail, looking forward to a sixth letter from Chaos. She returns to find Hailey, the receptionist at Solitude, and Ada and Larry, a couple who have worked at the B&B since her grandmother’s time, waiting for her. Solitude has been featured in a magazine as one of the best holiday spots to visit. Ella is thrilled as she had taken a mortgage out on the place to renovate and upscale it.

As she is celebrating, Ella gets a phone call from the kids’ school that Maisie has collapsed on the playground with a temperature of 104.5 F.

In the sixth letter Ella writes to Chaos, she answers his question about what it feels like to be the center of someone’s universe. She asserts she is not; she is more like her kids’ gravity, holding them close as they are young and loosening up as they get older. Colt and Maisie are both independent and confident children: Maisie is a good judge of character, while Colt has a warm heart like Ryan. Ella is not as open; she finds it difficult to give second chances. She has still not forgiven her father for leaving her mother and the kids or the commanding officer who sent him to Iraq, where he was eventually killed. Ella asks Chaos the story behind his call sign.

Beckett asks Ryan about Telluride, where Ella lives. Ryan wistfully describes how beautiful the place is and how much he misses it. He promises to take Beckett there once their deployment ends. Beckett agrees, eager to see the place and Ella, though he asserts he is not good for anyone.

In his sixth letter, Chaos promises Ella to tell her about his name one day. He asks about Maisie’s health and whether doctors have been able to figure out what’s wrong.

Not having gotten any answers, Ella takes Maisie to a bigger hospital in Montrose, a couple of hours away. While Colt and Maisie are asleep in the hospital room, the doctors speak to Ella. They explain that they have found an infection in the fluid from Maisie’s hip, and her elevated white blood cell count indicates possible leukemia. After four days of tests and scans, however, the doctors rule leukemia out but are still unable to figure out what’s wrong.

Frustrated, Ella refuses to leave the hospital until Maisie receives a diagnosis. A visiting doctor, Dr. Hughes, who also practices at the Denver Children’s Hospital, suggests one last test for something rare. The test confirms neuroblastoma. Maisie is rushed to the children’s hospital, where everyone is dressed up for Halloween. Ella has forgotten, but Ada remembers and brings the children’s costumes along. Colt and Maisie dress as a soldier and an angel, respectively, but swap the helmet and halo of their costumes with each other. Further scans identify a tumor on Maisie’s kidney. The cancer is advanced enough that she needs to start chemotherapy straight away, and Ella is horrified when she learns Maisie only has a 10% chance of surviving the year. She goes into fight mode and refuses to cry, directing all her energy at Maisie’s treatment.

Ella keeps her emotions in check through Maisie’s struggles with chemo, appearing stoic in her letters to Ryan and Chaos. She finally breaks down when soldiers arrive on New Year’s Eve to inform her of Ryan’s death. When she receives no further letters from Chaos, she believes she has lost him as well.

In Ryan’s last letter to Beckett, he tells his friend not to feel guilty for surviving. Ryan asks Beckett to go to Telluride to help Ella as Ryan can’t anymore.

Four months later, Beckett and Havoc, both on terminal leave, arrive in Telluride. Beckett drives up to Solitude, and Larry ushers him in, impressed that Havoc is a military dog. Hailey, the receptionist, is astonished that Beckett is here for seven months. He has booked a stay until the anniversary of Maisie’s diagnosis.

Beckett and Havoc arrive at their cabin, and Beckett is stunned by the view and how well the place is done up. Ella arrives to check about a stove repair and assures Beckett it is alright for Havoc to stay; however, she is intrigued and troubled when she learns that Havoc worked in special operations.

Beckett confesses that he is here because his best friend died, and Ella immediately shuts down. He shows her Ryan’s letter but doesn’t tell her he is Chaos. He simply affirms that Chaos was present when Ryan died but refuses to elaborate on what happened to either of them as it is classified information. An angry Ella leaves, but Beckett vows to stay on and help her in whatever way he can because he is in love with her.

In his 17th letter, Chaos tells Ella that he wants to settle down in a town where he feels connected to the land and the community. He promises to tell her his full name when he comes to Telluride and asks her to buy Colt the puppy he wants for Christmas.

Ella arrives back at the reception fuming about Beckett. She tells Hailey, Ada, and Larry about how Ryan sent Beckett, and she vows to ignore him until he feels like he has done his duty and leaves. As she rushes out to take Maisie to an appointment, she runs into Beckett again, who has come by to collect a pair of keys. Ella is still annoyed but decides to be polite to him.

Ella picks Maisie up early from school, where the principal, Mr. Halsen, tells her they need to have a conversation about Maisie’s attendance once Ella is back. At the San Juan Cancer Center, Dr. Hughes gives Ella the news that the chemo has shrunk Maisie’s tumor enough for them to now operate on her.

In her 17th letter, Ella writes to Chaos about Maisie’s diagnosis and how she is prepared to do everything she can to get her daughter through her illness.

Colt turns up unannounced at Beckett’s cabin, having heard about Havoc. Beckett invites Colt to meet her, and Colt’s wariness about talking to strangers is won out by his desire to pet Havoc. Beckett tells Colt about how both he and Havoc used to be soldiers.

Ella arrives shortly after, furious that Colt rode over on his quad bike without telling anyone. Colt tells her that Beckett was a soldier like Ryan, and Ella inadvertently lets slip that Beckett and Ryan used to work together. As Ella ushers Colt back home, Beckett asserts he is welcome to return anytime. He asks Ella about Maisie’s treatment, and Ella is furious that Beckett knows so much about her. Beckett invites her to ask him anything that he is allowed to answer. Ella snaps at him initially, then apologizes for her rudeness

Before they leave, Colt claims that Beckett is practically family because he was friends with Ryan. Ella reveals that she and the kids stay in the neighboring cabin, acknowledging that they will see each other again. After Ella and Colt leave, Beckett and Havoc head into town to find a job. They become members of the Telluride Mountain Rescue crew.

In his ninth letter, Chaos reassures Ella that she is enough as a mother for her children and sends something to remind her of this.

Ella confesses to Ada that she is financially strained: Besides all the money she has put into the renovations for Solitude, she also cut corners by putting herself and the kids on a lower insurance premium. Most of Maisie’s treatments are out-of-pocket and expensive. Ada suggests taking up a town collection for Maisie, and Ella promises to think about it as a last resort. After Ada leaves, Ella looks up at the huge, handwritten sign up on her bulletin board that Chaos sent her, with the words “YOU ARE ENOUGH” (88).

Ella spontaneously decides to head down to Beckett’s cabin, wanting to see Ryan’s letter. Beckett immediately hands it over, and Ella reads it, holding back tears. Beckett assures her that Ryan was planning on getting out of service as soon as he heard of Maisie’s diagnosis. Ella reveals that Ryan promised the same thing after the twins were born, but he left for the army again soon after. In her experience, all the men she knows eventually leave. However, she commends Beckett for his loyalty in quitting a job he loves to follow Ryan’s last request. Beckett asks about Maisie’s surgery and makes Ella promise to call him if she needs anything.

In her 11th letter, Ella tells Chaos how terrible she feels for missing Colt’s Thanksgiving Day play. Maisie is not strong enough to go home after her first round of chemo, so they have to stay in Denver for two weeks. Ella feels horrible as she had promised herself that she would never miss any of the twins’ events; the play feels like the first of many things she will miss.

Captain Donahue visits Beckett at Solitude and asks him to reconsider quitting. Beckett refuses, showing him Ryan’s letter. Captain Donahue offers to put him on a temporary disability list, which will give Beckett between one and five years to reconsider; his pay and benefits remain the same, and he can reenter easily. The paperwork has been left at a special operations station outside Denver.

After Captain Donahue leaves, Beckett decides to go out to Denver and sign the papers. When he stops by the reception to tell Hailey that he is leaving, he overhears a phone call from Ella, who has forgotten Maisie’s medical binder at Solitude. Beckett tells Ella he will drive it out to the hospital and leaves Havoc behind with Colt, who promises to take good care of her.