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Back The Other Daughter
Chapters (52)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. OCTOBER 2014 London, UK
  4. PART ONE
  5. FEBRUARY 1976 London, UK
  6. JUNE 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  7. FEBRUARY 1976 London, UK
  8. JUNE 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  9. MARCH 1976 Lausanne, Switzerland
  10. JUNE 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  11. MARCH 1976 Lausanne, Switzerland
  12. JUNE 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  13. MARCH 1976 Lausanne/Bern, Switzerland
  14. JUNE 2016 Lausanne, Switzerland
  15. MARCH 1976 London, UK
  16. JUNE 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  17. MARCH 1976 London, UK
  18. PART TWO
  19. APRIL 1976 London, UK
  20. JUNE 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  21. APRIL 1976 Oxfordshire/London, UK
  22. JULY 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  23. MAY 1976 London, UK
  24. JULY 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  25. MAY 1976 London, UK
  26. JULY 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  27. JUNE 1976 London, UK
  28. JULY 2016 Lausanne/Montreux, Switzerland
  29. JUNE 1976 Lausanne, Switzerland
  30. JULY 2016 Thun/Reichenbach, Switzerland
  31. JULY 1976 London, UK
  32. AUGUST 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  33. PART THREE
  34. AUGUST 1976 London, UK
  35. AUGUST 2016 Lausanne, Switzerland
  36. SEPTEMBER 1976 Lausanne, Switzerland
  37. AUGUST 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  38. SEPTEMBER 1976 Lausanne, Switzerland
  39. AUGUST 2016 Montreux, Switzerland
  40. SEPTEMBER 1976 Lausanne, Switzerland
  41. AUGUST 2016 Montreux/Lutry, Switzerland
  42. SEPTEMBER 1976 Lausanne, Switzerland
  43. AUGUST 2016 Lutry, Switzerland
  44. SEPTEMBER 1976 Lausanne, Switzerland
  45. AUGUST 2016 Lutry, Switzerland
  46. OCTOBER 1976 London, UK
  47. AUGUST 2016 Vevey, Switzerland
  48. SEPTEMBER 2016 London, UK
  49. Author’s Note
  50. Acknowledgements
  51. More from the Author
  52. About the Author

Dear Daniel,

I’m writing to say goodbye. I have decided we shouldn’t meet, for now. I’ve thought long and hard about this, but I think it’s the right thing to do. I met with Anna and she told me everything. So many revelations. I’m glad I finally know the truth. I needed answers. But part of me wishes I had never found out. I’m left wondering what sort of person I would be if Anna hadn’t made that decision. I’m wondering what impact a Swiss upbringing would have made on me, how you and Anna would have shaped me. I’ll never know. But what I do know is that I am who I am, now, and that’s okay. It’s taken me too long to figure that out, but I got there in the end.

I read the letter my mother sent to Anna. She didn’t want us to ever meet, and I think I understand why. Mum died four years ago, but I still have Dad. He didn’t want me to come here to try and find you. I thought he was worried he might love me less, if I found you. But now I know he was just scared of losing me to another father, another family. And so I’ve decided I would rather not meet you, for his sake. We all have to live with the consequences of what happened back then, and make the best of it. And the best of it is that we have love in our lives. I have Dad, the only father I’ve ever known. You have Hedi, and Anna told me how much you love her. Let’s be grateful for that, and move on.

I hope you understand.

Jessica

PS. I really think Linda Keller in the Gasthaus Hirschen would say yes if you wanted to ask her out for a drink.

The train pulls into the station at Geneva Airport and I lug my case off the carriage and up the escalator. At the top, I look up and my stomach jolts. I can’t help a grin spreading across my face as I understand he’s been waiting for me.

‘Time for a coffee?’

I check my watch and nod. Jorge takes my case from me and wheels it towards a cafe clearly designed for tourists, with its red and white motifs and cowprint armchairs.

‘What have you got in there, rocks?’

I shrug. ‘Yes, actually. I took some pebbles from the beach at Lutry the other day.’ I know I’m going to put them in a vase when I get home, a physical reminder of the day I met Anna – and said goodbye to her again.