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think
anything of it at the time.’
    ‘It doesn’t mean she…’ Frank lapsed into
silence, but Amy could finish the sentence easily enough.
    ‘It doesn’t mean she’s my little girl.
You’re right, Frank, it wouldn’t mean anything by itself. But
there’s something else.’ She closed her eyes for a moment and
smiled at the memory of the heavy piece of gold lying in her palm,
still warm from being worn against Sarah’s body. ‘There’s the
brooch.’
    ‘What brooch?’ Lizzie asked.
    ‘I never told you about it, did I?’ Amy
mused. ‘It was all secrets and hiding things. The brooch was my
Christmas present. He…’ She stopped, then made herself say the
name. ‘Jimmy gave it to me.’
    After all those years, the word was so
unfamiliar in her mouth that it almost seemed to burn its way out.
But it would have been foolish to think she could share with them
the wonder of Sarah and at the same time hide from the memory of
Sarah’s father. She had said the name aloud, and felt she had
passed a test.
    ‘It was made in the shape of an “A”. A for
Amy. It was gold, too, it must’ve been quite valuable. I thought it
was the most wonderful thing anyone had ever given me.’ And she had
worn it every day, hidden under her dress as it hung on its chain
between her breasts. She had thought it was a sign of his love.
    ‘I didn’t want it… afterwards. It didn’t
feel like it belonged to me any more. So I gave it to the baby. I
asked the woman who took the baby if she’d look after the brooch
for me, and give it to Ann’s…’ New mother . ‘To the people
who were going to have Ann. A for Amy and A for Ann, too. I wanted
to give her something, and that was the best thing I had. And it
seemed like it belonged to her. I didn’t know if they’d even let
Ann have the brooch, but I hoped they would.’
    She smiled at Frank and Lizzie. ‘And they
did let her have it. They told her it had been mine, and that I’d
given it to her. She’s still got it—she showed it to me. That’s how
I know she’s my little girl.’
    There was a long silence when she had
finished speaking. Amy watched their faces as Frank and Lizzie
weighed up what she had told them. It was Frank who spoke
first.
    ‘Well, it sounds true enough to me. Don’t
you reckon, Lizzie?’
    ‘It’s… yes, I suppose it does,’ Lizzie said,
still looking mildly stunned. ‘Yes, it must be.’
    Amy laughed aloud at their serious
expressions. ‘Look at you two! You’d think I’d told you there was
going to be a war or something. Aren’t you pleased for me?’
    They both appeared to give the matter solemn
consideration. ‘It’s a lot to take in, all at once,’ Frank said.
‘But… well, it’s about time you had things come right for you, Amy.
Yes, we’re pleased all right. Aren’t we, Lizzie?’
    ‘I’ll say it’s a lot to take in,’ Lizzie
said. ‘I suppose it’s like getting someone new in the family. It’ll
take me a while to get used to the idea. I used to think she was a
bit odd,’ she said, with the air of one being scrupulously honest.
‘She’s got some funny ways about her. But she was that sensible
about letting me know I should get Dave back home for you. I said
then that the girl had a good head on her shoulders. It must’ve
been being brought up by those people in Auckland that made her a
bit funny.’
    Lizzie nodded sagely, pleased to have found
so clear a reason for Sarah’s supposed strange ways. ‘Yes, that’ll
be it. But there’s plenty of you in her too, Amy. That’s reason
enough to be pleased.’
    She enfolded Amy in a hug, careful not to
crush Benjy in the process, and Frank leaned across to put an arm
around Amy’s shoulders. The three of them sat locked in a shared
embrace, Amy basking in the warmth of their affection.
    Lizzie detached herself first, and Frank
returned to his chair. ‘Now, about this going to Auckland,’ Lizzie
said. ‘It’s a different story, with her being family and all.