The next morning was a recovery day before two of us became wage slaves again, but the kids had a few more days of grace before they started their next round of indoctrination. Ish was happy to big-brother LC through the next day, and as Maz and I were travelling together, we arranged to collect them both from ‘our’ beach café, or rather meet them there and pay for unhealthy food. Just as I was finishing breakfast, Ish showed me his laptop.

“Clara sent me a mail last night Dad. Last night for us, I mean. It’s okay to read; nothing…”

“Personal, son?”

“Er, yeah. It’s really a message from her Nana”

It was pretty short and to the point, as was always the way with that woman, even filtered through Clara, but there was one surprise for me.

‘Nana rang that boat hire place in York. Said it was something she should have done years ago. Wouldn’t let me listen in. She’s asked for your Dad’s e-mail addy. Woman doesn’t want to speak to Gwen’s family without being sure it’s the right thing’

I nodded to Ish, agreeing to her request, and he rattled off a quick reply.

“Not finished yet, son. May I borrow it? A mail you need to send to Gwen, for her parents”

“Okay…”

“It’s all right; you can read over my shoulder”

‘Hi Gwen, it’s Mike Rhodes here. This is a message for your parents. We sent you some recordings from a friend of ours, as she knew the brother doctors Trudi spoke of. In the programmes you meet Gerald Barker, who was a friend of said doctors and was actually one of the British soldiers who first entered that camp. You’ll see his daughter on screen. Our friend has spoken to her, and there’s a high probability she will want to offer a chat with Trudi. We simply don’t want to risk opening old wounds; Trudi may prefer to let things fade. Please let us know which way would be best’

I let Ish add the address and hit ‘send’, before collecting work briefcase and wife and setting out for another training day in the CBD. More Death By Powerpoint, as I wondered if it would be possible to chuck it all in and simply spend my days on an Espy beach. I gave myself a mental slap, for we only had two months before we would be off again, and I was still working on keeping that one under wraps.

The dynamic duo, plus bear, were waiting at the café just as we had arranged, boogie boards drying in the sun, and we managed to steer the food selection away from lardy burgers and onto more of the superb seafood the place offered. We went home via the LGA, picking up some snacky finger food for the evening, no plans beyond a shower and slump in the back garden. I was just settling into one of our patio chairs, in board shorts and T-shirt, when the lad waved at me from the kitchen door.

“Dad, got a video call request. For an hour’s time. For you”

“Who from?”

“Someone called Barker-Worthington”

Bloody quick!

“Say yes, son. From England?”

“Think so. Must be about ten, eleven in the morning there. Can you set it all up ready, and let your Mum know?”

“No worries. I’ve got other stuff to do, so I’ll shout you when it’s time”

“Ta!”

Maz appeared a moment later, nursing a Pepsi.

“Is this going to be the boat people? I mean, the Yorkshire ones?”

“I think so, love. All a bit quick, this. Not really worked out what we need to say to her”

“Then that is exactly what we do say, darling. Won’t come across as so stalkerish if we haven’t got it all laid out neatly”

“Fair point, Mrs MBR”

“As always, Mr MBR”

She settled into one of the other chairs, head back and eyes closed, lifting the bottle now and then to take a sip.

“I think we need some more staff, darling. So we can hand off those training sessions. I’m getting ruts in my brain”

“I know what you mean. Not the same as doing the rounds, is it?”

“Not at all. Shall we enter and adopt the position?”

She suddenly giggled.

“No, darling: not THAT position. That’s for later, I hope”

She tugged me from my chair and into the living room, Ish moving to one side so that we could all see the screen. He logged us into the ‘waiting room’ thing, and after five minutes of thumb twiddling a strong-featured woman appeared on screen.

“Sorry, folks. Had a stroppy customer I had to watch”

Maz grinned.

“Told off with extreme prejudice, as one of our friends says?”

“Aye, but not by me. Got yard manager for that; Darren’s better than me, can keep temper, Anyway, I’m Susie, you must be Mike and Maryam, and…?”

Maz waved a hand at our son.

“Our son, Ish. His sister’s out on her climbing wall”

Susie’s brow wrinkled slightly, then shook her head.

“Your friend Debbie gave me heads-up, but I do believe I ‘d already had a warning, from Mitch. Moor End campsite, aye? Told me you’d been stealing our ideas”

She was smiling as she spoke, so I took that as a joke.

“Yup. It was an idea we used for one of our customers. I saw one of your boats many years ago, down near Tring, on the Grand Union. Heard about how you ran one-way hires, and our man’s business is camper vans across the Nullarbor. Well, whole of Australia, really, West Coast to East Coast. Problem is in getting them back, and so, with all due apologies, we copied your idea. More ‘homage’ than ‘plagiarism’, honest, guv”

“Ah, I’ve got sort of family out on the East Coast. One of… Dad had some good mates, and this is the son of one of them, and his family. I believe you know about my Dad”

“Yes, we do. He’s sort of the reason we wanted to talk to you”

“Aye. Debbie dropped some hints, but she wouldn’t tell all. Hard woman”

Ish was shaking his head.

“No, Miss, she’s not. She’s just very protective, that’s all”

Susie’s smile opened up a little more.

”Aye, I know a couple of women like that. What do you have for me, then?”

I had worked out a way of phrasing things so as not to out Nana Deb, as best I could.

“Debbie’s Mum was a patient of your Mr Hemmings, which is how we ended up in contact with you. Brain tumour. Ahe, Debbie’s Mum, well, not a good result”

“Aye. It happens. Dad was…”

Her face twisted, as she wiped her eyes.

“Think I’d be through this by now, over it, aye? Dad were a stubborn bastard. By the time he listened to what he was told, went for the tests, aye? Were too late. Didn’t tell any of us; just got through our wedding, me and my Andy, and then, well. So bloody quick---er, aye, Darren. I’m fine. Just chatting to someone as knew my doctors, sort of, second hand like”

She was looking off screen as she spoke, and I caught the rumble of a man’s voice, but not the words.

“Thanks, love. That would be lovely. You know how I take it. This lot are in Australia, aye? No, not Wilf’s lot. Other side of country”

She brought her attention back to usafter reaching out with a hand, I assumed for a squeeze of her mate’s own.

“Aye. Heavy stuff, but, well, I’m hearing more there, lurking like”

I gave her the nod this time.

“It was last week. We were on holiday in Esperance, on the coast. Bit of a trip. Our son here met a girl—no, not like that. He has a girl already. She was there with her family, for her grandmother’s eightieth birthday. I was…”

Maz took over.

“Long sleeves, Susie. To cover a tattoo”

“Oh shit. Sorry. Ta, Darren”

She set down a steaming mug, and then turned back to us once again.

“I can see where this is going, I think. If it’s about a place… I went there, you know? With Dad? Young lad that were with us, he ended up being sick, throwing up. I think… I think even if you didn’t know what went on there, it’s got such an atmosphere, aye?”

She paused, took a sip, then simply stated, “You’re talking about Belsen”

All three of us nodded, and Maz looked at me before taking point.

“We are, Susie. The lady’s name is Trudi, and all she knows of her past is that she thinks she’s from Vienna”

“Fuck. Sorry. I… How do I fit into this? And Dad?”

Maz was as gentle as I had ever known her be.

“Trudi was taken back to Britain, then shipped out a few years later to here, with a load of other orphans. Big thing back then. It’s just, well, she spoke of two doctors who looked after her, personally took her back to Britain with them. She says they were brothers”

Susie sat in silence for a few minutes, before wiping her eyes again.

“Julian and Charles Hemmings. Royal Army Medical Corps. My doctors when…. Maz, Mike, I had guessed that Debbie and I shared a bit of history, so don’t worry, not going there”

Ish raised a hand.

“Got to be said. My girl is the same”

Susie’s eyebrows lifted.

“It seems men with hearts aren’t as rare as I thought. Well done, son. You getting any stupidity?”

“Not really. She’s in Wales, anyway”

“Ah. Be ready, though. You’ll need all of your strength. Me and Dad, well… We had each other, in the end. Now, this grandmother, Trudi?”

Three of us nodded as one.

“You’ll be wondering if I should get in touch her. Well, old wounds… Look. Tell her I knew her two doctors, and, well, ask her if she remembers a young soldier, tall, red hair. You never know; she might be able to give me a bit of Dad back”