慦hat was it??asks Ruth.
Zoe laughs. 慏erek. I named the cat after him, but I haven抰 tried to get in contact. I suppose I felt a bit bruised after Jean抯 response. Apparently, Derek was someone Jean worked with at the bank. She was in love with him but he was married.?
And, once again, Ruth hears her mother抯 voice. 慦hat do you mean you抮e pregnant? You抮e not even married.?If only you抎 told me, Mum, she thinks.
慗ean didn抰 feel able to bring up a child as a single mother,?says Zoe. 慣hey were different times, that抯 what she said. I抣l show you her letter. I did hope that we would meet but . . .?
態ut she died the next year,?says Ruth. 慔ow did you find out??
慣here was something in her local paper,?says Zoe. 慖抎 put a search link on the name Jean Galloway. It was a shock but then, I抦 afraid, I turned my attention to you. I抳e always wanted a sister.?
慚e too,?says Ruth.
慖t was quite difficult to stalk you,?says Zoe, with a slight smile. 慪ou don抰 have any social media presence, but I read your books and watched your TV programmes.?
慜h God,?says Ruth.
慖 thought you were wonderful,?says Zoe. 慖 was in awe of you. Then this house came up for rent and I had a chance to be your neighbour. I grabbed it.?
慖抦 glad you did,?says Ruth. 慏id you realise that your foster mother had lived next door? In my house??
慛o,?says Zoe. 慏id she really? I don抰 really remember her, but I was always told that she was very kind. Maybe that抯 why these houses always felt so homelike.?
慖t was the same with me,?says Ruth. 慖 wanted to live here as soon as I saw the cottages. Maybe I sensed that it had been a safe place. That抯 what Cathbad would say anyway.?
慍athbad??says Zoe. 慔e抯 one of our patients. I抎 heard he was in hospital. Is he OK??
慖 think he will be,?says Ruth, reluctant to talk about it for fear of jinxing the miracle. 慖 found a picture of my cottage when I was going through my mum抯 things. Our mum. On the back it said, 揇awn 1963??
慖 was born in 1963,?says Zoe.
慖 know,?says Ruth. 慪ou抮e five years older than me.?
慖抳e got a little sister,?says Zoe with a smile. 慖t抯 been wonderful getting to know you. I didn抰 count on being locked down together though. Or being kidnapped by a murderous pensioner.?
慣o be fair,?says Ruth, 憈hose were hard things to predict.?
慖抣l get you the letter,?says Zoe. 慉nd then I抣l make us both a cup of tea.?
Ruth is sure that this is an excuse to leave her alone with her mother抯 words and she抯 grateful.
Dear Dawn （I know you are Zoe now but wanted to call you that name just once），
I can抰 pretend it wasn抰 a shock to hear from you. I抳e always thought about you, though, and I抦 glad that your adoption was a happy one. I抦 afraid I don抰 feel able to meet with you just yet. I haven抰 told my husband and children about you and I still don抰 feel ready to do so. One day, I抦 sure, our time will come.
You deserve to hear the story of your birth. I met Derek at the bank where I worked. He was older than me and seemed glamorous and sophisticated. We started an affair （an awful word but what抯 the alternative?） but I didn抰 know he was married. I only found out when I fell pregnant with you. Derek refused to leave his wife and I couldn抰 face life as a single mother. They were different times then. My daughter is a wonderful single parent but I didn抰 have her courage. My parents were furious and I went into an 憉nmarried mother抯 home?to have you. I was only allowed to see you once. You were a beautiful baby and it broke my heart to say goodbye to you. I named you Dawn after Sleeping Beauty. I was told that your foster parents were good people and I managed to find out where they lived. I even went to their cottage one day but wasn抰 brave enough to knock on the door. I took a photograph of the house ?little knowing how important it was going to be to my family ?and have often looked at it over the years.