‘Are you going to read it?’ asked Tom.

‘Sorry?’ asked Maggie.

‘The letter you got out of the box. It’s another one about your son. Isn’t it?’ He leaned against the chair back and munched his biscuit.

Maggie pulled the crumpled brown envelope from her pocket and put it on the table. It looked so dull and uninteresting. But the sight of it filled her with trepidation. ‘Why would they be writing to me again?’ She spoke to the envelope. ‘Surely everything has been said.’ She looked up at Tom, tears welling in her eyes.

‘Might be admin stuff.’ He bent forward. ‘You want me to read it?’

She thought for a moment. She was already afraid of what it might say. Although she couldn’t think how things could get any worse. ‘Please,’ said Maggie, grateful she was sitting down, as her legs were feeling weak and her heart heavy.

Tom ripped the envelope open, and pulled out a typed page, which was wrapped around another envelope. The latter was made from thick cream paper and had already been opened, it had “Maggie” handwritten on the front in slanting writing. Tom laid out the typed sheet. ‘Dear Mrs Mann, Enclosed is correspondence sent to us from Lisa,’ read Tom. He looked at Maggie. ‘Who’s she?’

Maggie’s head snapped up. ‘I don’t know.’ She searched her mind but the name meant nothing to her.

Tom took out and unfolded the second letter. ‘Dear Maggie, Thank you for sending the package of cherished baby items. It was very thoughtful of you and I felt they deserved a reply. You know my husband as River but his name was changed to Richard when he was adopted.’ Tom paused. ‘You can’t blame them for that,’ he said with a wonky smile.

Maggie wiped away a tear. ‘Is there any more?’

‘Yes. Sorry.’ He returned to the letter. ‘I feel I need to be honest so I’m afraid to say I don’t know if Richard will reach a point where he will want to communicate with you. He knows I am writing to you and has reviewed this letter. Richard had a happy upbringing with adoptive parents who love and support him in everything he does. His father was a dentist, now retired, and his mother was a…’ Tom stopped and studied Maggie. ‘Are you okay with this?’

Maggie nodded and waved for him to continue while she blew her nose.