Dear McCracken

I just stepped on a plane, my bag's on the shelf
I find my seat in the middle and plan to keep to myself
The pilot comes on, says "There's been a delay"
And I sigh, buckle up, and prepare for the wait
There's a middle-aged woman on my right by the window
No ring on her finger, maybe divorced or a widow?
She's drafting an email and from where I am seated
I can side-eye that shit, so of course I'm gon' read it

It said
"Dear McCracken," this is already great
Dude's got a pen pal and a killer last name
She opens with an inside joke and she's hopin'
To set a casual tone, her words carefully chosen
She was sure that her week spent in Houston would drag
But then a face from her past quickly changed all of that
The trip was for business, she's used to the travel
But this time she's not ready to head back to Seattle

Dear McCracken, I'd rather be off this plane
I can't admit the half of it that I want to say
Do I pretend, do I push you away?
I'm jet laggin' McCracken and I'll give you, I'll give you your space

I can tell by the abuse of the backspace key
There's a heart balanced on how her worlds are perceived
She's retyped that fourth paragraph four times
Swinging the tone back and forth until she's so satisfied
That he knows that even though their paths have diverged
There's an air of regret but not enough to reverse
And I am stunned, there I sit, completely convinced
That once you grow old you stop dealin' with this
The uncertain, the hurtin', the feelin like dirt
When things don't work out by the fall of the curtain
She hits send, powers off, and we're ready to go
And I am sad for the passion that McCracken, he might never know

Dear McCracken, I'd rather be off this plane
I can't admit the half of it that I want to say
Do I pretend, do I push you away?
I'm jet laggin' McCracken and I'll give you, I'll give you your

Dear McCracken, I'm keepin' this on my chest
I've said a lot of things but none of them what I meant
Do I pretend, do I try to forget?
I'm jet laggin' McCracken and I wish you, I wish you the best

And I thought, I thought by that age
Our broken hearts had seen their worst
And I thought that kind of heartache was meant for the young
But we're never too old to hurt

And I thought, I thought by that age
Our broken hearts had seen their worst
And I thought that kind of heartache was meant for the young
But we're never too old to hurt

I just stepped off a plane, I've got one regret
I know I'll never get closure or ever see how it ends
No, I won't know his answer, what happens between them
Why she kept her cards so close even she couldn't see them
What gave her such pause when she so clearly wanted
To tell you all the emotions she tried so hard to bottle
And I'll never know why she kept the honest truth from you
But oh, dear McCracken, in the rough draft
Oh, in the rough draft
In the rough draft she loved you