The Lost Sister by Kathleen McGurl (i can read book club .TXT) 📕

her, he’d had a hip replacement operation that year. Maybe he’d still been recovering from it when John died.

But now, even Davina was taking small steps to be closer to the family – if you could term a phone call every three weeks being ‘closer’ – and the more Harriet researched her ancestors the more she felt she should get in touch again with living relatives, while she still could. John’s sudden death and Jerome’s illness had brought it home to her how precarious life was and how quickly things could change. She should seize the moment. Maybe Matthew had stories he could share, that ought to be recorded for future generations. Her daughters had grown up largely without their uncle in their lives – he was just a shadowy figure who occasionally and inconsistently sent them each a cheque for a fiver at Christmas, and who’d visited briefly once or twice.

In her early days with John they’d gone north to stay with Matthew for a few days every year. Then the girls had come along, travelling became more difficult especially as Sally had a tendency to be car-sick, and Matthew’s cottage was not big enough to put them all up. She and Matthew had simply drifted apart over the years. He could have come south to visit her more often, she supposed, but then again, had she invited him? If she was honest with herself, she knew that she hadn’t – she’d just assumed if he wanted to come he’d invite himself. Matthew had never married, and although he’d had a long-term partner who’d died a few years back he’d had no children. She’d thought perhaps they no longer had anything much in common.

But they had – their shared childhood. Their memories. It was just that not seeing Matthew had become a habit. Over the years contact between them had dwindled to almost nothing until it was the norm; it was just how things were, and somehow she’d accepted that.

The same thing had happened with Davina. Although it had been a much more dramatic cut-off, over the years Harriet had become gradually and reluctantly used to not seeing her daughter. That wasn’t to say she didn’t wish things could be different. She did, of course she did, with all her heart. She’d do anything to have Davina back in their lives – but it wasn’t up to her. It wasn’t in her power to bring Davina back.

She could, however, do something about her relationship with Matthew. She sighed, took the lid off her pen, and began writing.

Dear Matthew

I thought I’d write to you, even though it’s not Christmas (!) to update you on some family news. Firstly, I should get the bad news out of the way. My grandson, Jerome (that’s my older daughter Sally’s child) is seriously ill with leukaemia. He has had chemotherapy but it is not working, and now the doctors are looking for a bone marrow donor for him. Of course this is all terribly worrying for all of us, especially for Sally and her husband Charlie, but we are hoping and praying for the best.

In other news that might interest you, I have begun researching our family tree. This was sparked by finding a photograph in amongst Gran’s old things, that shows she had two sisters. Did you know that? I always thought she only had one, but you were older and perhaps you might remember more of her stories? The sister I didn’t know about, Ruby, drowned when the Titanic sank. I had no idea we had any family connection to that tragedy. I am adding all the details I find to a family tree on the Ancestry website and if you are interested, when I’m finished, I can send you a link to it.

Last month I went on a cruise with my friend Sheila – just a short one that criss-crossed the Channel, but it was a lot of fun and we are talking of doing it again next year. John never liked the idea of being on a cruise ship so it is something new for me to do.

I am in the process of thinning down my possessions and selling the house. It is far too big for one person and so, despite it holding so many precious memories of my life with John, it is time to move on. As soon as I have a new address I will of course let you know.

Do you use email? It would be far easier to keep you updated via quick emails. It took me ages to find this writing paper!

My email is [email protected]. I would love to hear back from you. We are not getting any younger, and perhaps because of Jerome’s illness and John’s death I’m finding I want to gather my family close while I can.

I hope you’re keeping well.

Love from your sister,

Harriet.

When she’d finished writing, she read it back through a couple of times. Yes, it hit the right, jolly, chatty tone but with the serious underlying message that she’d hoped for. It might spur him into replying, if for nothing else, to wish Jerome well.

She found an envelope, put the letter inside and addressed it. They’d got on so well as children and teenagers. Surely there was still something there that they could build on? It was, she knew, at least as much her fault as his.

There was a postbox almost directly across the street from her house. She padded across, still in her slippers, and posted the letter. There. She’d taken the first step – now it was up to Matthew. A memory surfaced – of a 12-year-old Matthew refusing to go with a friend’s family to see a film unless Harriet could come too. The film was Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, and while she’d guessed that Matthew wasn’t all that keen to go anyway, it not being his kind of film, he’d taken a stand and insisted Harriet be allowed to come too, even though they’d not