Ish murmured something, and Susie asked him to speak up a little.

“Sorry. Just, well, lost my Mum for six years, but I got her back. Obviously… Would you mind, if you do get to speak to Gwen’s Nan, that I log in as well? And we’ve already spoken to her, so it gives them a known face”

Susie was nodding before Ish had finished.

“Aye. Always a bit of an awkward thing starting a heavy chat with a stranger. If you can find a time---no, hang on. Just looking up…. Right. I’ll send you some days and times when I’m free, try and match them to the clock difference”

We said our goodbyes, and Ish walked off into the garden with his mobile phone, I assumed to pass the word to that Gwen. I looked across to Maz, and she smiled at me, almost her old self.

“Our boy’s growing up, darling. And you’re reminding me why I married you”

“I don’t do that often enough?”

“You do it every time you breathe, my love. Now, I need to sort out some laundry, and we need a top-up in the larder, so I need you to have a look-see at the boring stuff”

Susie’s mail came in the next evening, with a list of her availability, and we left it to Ish to forward it to his friend.

“What have you told her, son?”

“Just the basics, Dad. No details. Here’s a woman that we think knew your doctors, do you want her details, she can chat on these days. Gwen says her Nan is going for this Thursday. She, Gwen, she says her Nan asked if we could all be there, see some friendly faces, just in case”

I looked over at Maz, and she nodded.

“I think little one needs to be a non-attender, darling. I’m going to give Chad a ring, see what he’s up to. Someone to distract her”

“Good idea”

The plan seemed to work, LC out in the garden playing with some climbing gear that the lad had brought with him, while we logged on to the conference app once again. To my surprise, Debbie was also on line. Trudi and her family logged in on one screen, rather like the Hiatts usually did, and the old woman smiled at what was clearly her own screen rather than the camera.

“G’day, all of you. I know most of you, so here’s me: Trudi Horvath. Orphan immigrant once, proper sandgroper now. I know that lot, hiya Ish, but you two?”

“Debbie Prosser. I live in Wales, guardian of that young man’s girlfriend”

Trudi chuckled.

“Yeah; caused a little stir with my granddaughter, he did”

“I also knew a couple of doctors, brothers”

“Ah. Susie?”

That woman was far more hesitant, possibly because she was hoping for more than Debbie.

“I knew the same doctors. They were really good friends of my Dad… Look, we all know where we’re talking about, so my cards on the table. Dad was with Julian and Charles, the Hemmings brothers, doctors, aye? When that… place…”

She was trembling, and I saw a hand reach out to her from off screen.

“Thanks, love. Got my husband here, support, like. That place, Dad, me, the two doctors, some other, well, comrades, we went back there”

Very, very quietly, Trudi simply said, “We watched the videos, Susie. Thank you”

“Yeah… Trouble is, that wasn’t how Dad used to look. He was still a long streak, aye, but he says he was all red hair as a lad. They called him ‘Ginge’ cause of his hair. He was Gerald; never Jerry, as he said that were people who kept trying to kill him”

Trudi started to weep, her son cuddling her, and then just said, “Dolls”

Susie looked confused, but the old woman smiled.

“Dolls, Susie. We, well, I’ve read about it, and we all had problems with food. If we had just eaten like we wanted to…”

“It’d have killed you. Aye, Julian and Charles told me that, and Dad. Ended up using some Indian thing”

“Bengal famine relief formula, yes. And the soldiers, they were used to handing out sweets to children they liberated, but that was banned. I remember… There were some soldiers, and one of them was very tall, the reddest hair. They, I think they just went into the town, and they collected toys. I don’t think, with hindsight, that they bothered asking permission from the householders. I… Winny? Could you fetch Pookie for me?”

He was back in less than a minute, handing Trudi a very, very worn teddy, one eye missing.

“This was a very, very expensive bear, I am told. It was given to me by a tall soldier with red hair---please don’t cry, my dear”

She turned slightly, but with the peculiar sightlines of the app, it was a few seconds before I realised she was talking to us rather than Deb or Susie.

“We all know the hell your family had, Maz, Mike. I had such a warmth, such delight, when I saw your girl talking to her bear, and now, well, you bring me the woman whose father gave me mine. This is… I am beyond words. Susie, Debbie, perhaps a bit far, but, well, if any of you, any at all, you others included, are free for my granddaughter’s wedding, there will be a place on my side of the aisle for you”

She vanished, all of a sudden, and I looked at Maz, who just dropped her head for a second, before speaking to our English friends.

“I think she was about to break down, ladies”

Susie had a man’s arm round her shoulders, a tissue dabbing at her eyes.

“Not the only one, Maz”

She turned her head, clearly to speak to the man.

“She knew Dad, Darren. Gerald, aye?”

A rumble of words.

“You sure? Could you ring my Mam, let her know there’s nowt up wi’ me? Ta, love. I’ll sort this lot before I go”

She turned back to us, damp in the eyes but smiling.

“You lot, if we’d known, like, when you were at campsite, we could have…”

She braced herself, then smiled once more.

“Got some wrapping up to do here. Can’t leave stuff half-done; then I’m off home. Would you mind if I kept in touch? I mean, you as well, Debbie”

Nobody had a problem with that plan, of course, and after a few verbal equivalents of hugs, she was gone. Debbie let out a long breath she’d obviously forgotten she was holding.

“Bloody coincidences. There’s another one, you know. Susie and me have done some talking, just the two of us. Shared memories, those two doctors. That trip they did, out to that German place, Susie told me how terrified she was. Old passport, big ‘M’ in it. Gets to France, expects thumbscrews and the rack, and I think, from what she says, she met a friend of the Woodruffs”

Ish howled with delighted laughter as Debbie continued, a sly grin now in place.

“I suspect, no, I bloody well know, her frog border guard is also a friend of Annie, Di and all the rest. Now, enough of that. Ish: what are we going to do with Clara?”

Our boy’s face fell, but he bounced back, as always.

“Trudi’s family, yeah, they were talking about a special visa. What they call a working holidaymaker. Good for a year, but can be extended”

We were back to the hard, direct woman I had first met so many years ago.

“Does this allow for any type of work?”

He looked quickly at Maz and myself, then answered us all.

“Yeah, I’ve been digging into it. Felt I should, just in case. Work’s limited to tourism or hospitality stuff. When Alys was here, it was an academic exchange thing. Different rules”

“Right…”

“Deb?”

“Yes, Maz?”

“My son isn’t the only one who can read stuff on the internet. How ell do you know what Mike and I do for a living?”

“Train civil servants, isn’t it?”

“Not just that. Our original remit was on the waste cooking oil business”

“Biofuels?”

“Exactly. Now, what sort of business would that involve, do you think?”

“Fuck yeah! Sorry. You’ll have contacts, then”

“Rather a few. And Trudi’s family have got a couple of restaurants, but they’re over in Albany”

“Riiiiight. I am going to have to think about this, but she has at least another two years for her studies, so not letting her bugger off abroad till after that”

Ish tried, asking if Clara wasn’t already over eighteen and therefore legally an adult, and the flat look Debbie gave him, oh dear. Maz was still chuckling at bedtime.