And so as they sat in Connie’s picturesque garden, drinking ice-cold lemonade, Lara’s daughters told Grace what had happened all those years ago. It turned out that Lara had indeed grown up believing that Connie was her older sister, and with only a faded memory of seeing her occasionally during the war in England, so she had no real recollection of her. Although Lara did remember her bat mitzvah party ending abruptly when Connie turned up in the middle of it and a very strained atmosphere ensued. Lara remembered being told to take her beloved dog, Lady, out into the garden and to stay there with Aunt Rachael and all their friends. It stuck in her mind as she had been allowed to eat chocolate cake before tea and that was never normally allowed. Lara didn’t recall ever seeing Connie again after that day, and her instinct, at even such a young age, had told her not to ask about Connie or indeed mention her name ever again … and so through the mists of time her ‘sister’ had faded from her thoughts completely.

‘And so thank you for not giving up the search, Grace,’ Patty said, finishing the last of the lemonade in her glass. ‘It means the world to Mom to be here and to see where her actual mother, Connie, lived. Ellis has been so kind in helping us sort out all the travel arrangements; he even drove us to JFK airport yesterday—’

‘Yesterday?’ Grace smiled, shaking her head. ‘Is that when you got here? I thought he was coming today.’

‘Yes, that’s right. Don’t be hard on him, he wanted to surprise you and we thought it would be nice for Mom to meet you here first before we travel on to London.’

‘Wow. Does this mean you are coming to Cohen’s? That’s the storage place where Connie’s belongings are,’ Grace asked, hopefully, for she wanted so much for Lara to see exactly how Connie had carefully stored all that she owned for her.

‘Yes, that’s right, we need to take care of some legalities around the paintings and pieces of jewellery. And then we are hoping you can take us to where Connie ended her days. We would also like to find out where she is buried, so we can pay our respects … And to Franklin Street in Deptford to see where Mom’s father, Jimmy, lived. Mom really wants to visit Blackheath park too, and the heath where Connie met him at the funfair. Ellis has talked us through the whole love story she wrote about in her diaries. About how Connie and Jimmy met and fell in love, and how she never forgot him. Her first truelove. It’s so incredibly emotional and bittersweet.’

The conversation flowed for a few hours more until Ellis’s mobile rang and he stood up.