Page 171 - The Letter By Ann Newhouse

when he was a child. Lucy had become very frail since her husband died a few years ago. Rex was devastated that he didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to him. We offered to take Lucy back to England with us, but she refused. She agreed to think about going into a care home in the near future. She would celebrate her 90th birthday in a couple of months.
When Lilli turned five we went to Ireland to show Lilli where her grandfather was buried. It was my turn to do the touristy thing, although I did not visit anyone. The people I had grown up with had all moved away or we had just drifted apart and the woman who took me under her wing had passed a few years back. I didn’t know where her daughters had moved. Lilli asked a lot of questions since our visits, mostly asking about her grandparents.
Why are they buried in different countries? Why did they live in different houses? Why have I no sisters and brothers?
Why have I no aunties and uncles?
We knew we would have to give her some answers sooner or later.
We decided not to mention Tony it would be too confusing at this stage. We would wait until she started asking further questions to explain that one.
Things have turned out very well for all of us. Sherry is queen of her castle landlady of the bar and B&B. Paul had a good life and seemed very happy with the arrangement concerning his daughter. Penny loved being Shalma’s full time carer although finding it exhausting keeping up with the little girls’ ideas of fashion, computers and how things should be in their own little world. Lilli and Shalma are