Chapters (50)
- Cover
- About the Book
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- Thirty-six
- Thirty-seven
- Thirty-eight
- Thirty-nine
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
- Also by Sandie Docker
- Book Club Questions
- Welcome to the Kookaburra Creek Café
- Prologue
- One
- Sign up to Read More and discover new favourites
She opened the next piece of her hobby.
28th December, 1961
My Dearest Tom,
Father is gone. Thankfully I was with him when he passed. Mother had insisted after Christmas that I return home to the cove. But, I could see Father was far more ill than she wished me to believe, so I stayed.
Father’s passing was quiet, his breathing slowing as I held his hand. Mother was inconsolable. You know, I have never paused to consider the possibility that deep down she did love him.
The funeral was elegant and sombre. The university choir sang ‘Amazing Grace’, which was lovely. Father’s contemporaries and his students made a point of speaking to me afterward, all of them praising his work and dedication. I felt most proud.
Mother and I parted after the funeral, the coldness between us still. Perhaps she has never forgiven me for marrying you. Perhaps she has never forgiven me for having to share Father with me. Perhaps I will never know.
I have Father’s copy of David Copperfield with me now. I took it without Mother knowing, but her approval is something I no longer need. There is freedom in that thought. I figured she would only sell it anyway. It must be worth a small fortune now. And I could not let that happen. It was his favourite and it needs to stay where it is loved.
I cry each night knowing I have lost him. I hope the two of you find each other in heaven and become the friends I always knew you could have been if not for Mother’s censure. Take care of him for me, darling. As Father Anthony said, ‘A good soul has left our Earthly world.’
Lucy and Fabricio have now only two months till they marry. He has been waiting until his family were able to travel here for the celebration. They will arrive next month. I must say he has made the boatshed comfortable for himself since arriving. He is quite the handyman and he now has basic wash facilities in there. Father Anthony has ensured some of the church donations were filtered his way – a chair and a bookcase and a few smaller items, like a teapot and cups. I think the bookcase may have been Joan Wetherby’s. Father Anthony always insists on anonymity when it comes to such charity. Joan would have palpitations if she knew what has become of it. Perhaps I should tell her.
Fabricio has given the entire boatshed a fresh coat of paint, inside and out. It certainly needed it and it looks quite inviting.