End 6

Sandra looked up from where she sat in the breakfast room, nearly deserted at this early hour. Spotting Kelly walking with Shazné across the hall she stepped out to talk to them.

"Good morning Mum." Kelly greeted, pulling her mother into a hug.

"Nana!" Shazné giggled and Sandra took her hand, seeing that her mother was glad of the spare hand to search for her car keys in her bag.

"Are you going out to meet Daniel?" Sandra asked.

"Yes, he'll be here in an hour or so, I thought I'd wait for him at the airport."

"Do you mind if I come with you?"

"No, I'd love some adult company."

Sandra smiled as she listened to her grandaughter laugh heartily at something only she knew. A dog skittered past, pads and claws finding no purchase on the slippery tiles of the airport flooring, and the young girl's attention was diverted again. The dog dashed around one set of chairs, chased by its master, and skidded to a stop in from of her, sniffing curious at her. She giggled and sniffed back, patting it on the head as it wagged its tail in approval of this action. Its master caught up with him and the dog was oblivious to its recapture, lost in the examining of this new and curiously small human.

Sandra watched Shazné's face carefully as the dog was pulled away, wondering if perhaps even at the fourth generation there would be enough in her genes to but the child displayed nothing out of the ordinary. She simply watched the animal go sadly.

Kelly reappeared with coffees and a juice for Shazné, seeing the look in her mother's eyes and wondering at its cause. She jumped as the polystyrene cup was waved under her nose and Kelly sat down beside her.

"Where were you?" Kelly laughed.

"Oh, a long way away." She sighed. "In a different world in fact." She shook her head as if to shake off the unwanted thoughts. "I'm sorry you had to be around when your gramma went through her last days."

"Oh, I'm glad we were here, I'm glad she got to meet her first great grandchild. I'm glad she wasn't alone. You couldn't tell, you know. It wasn't any worse than any other day. She just didn't wake up that morning."

"What have you told the little one?"

"Oh, I told her she'd gone to be with god. I seem to remember that's what you told David about Dad and it seemed to console him a little. She doesn't really understand yet, but she's OK."

"I'm I think it might be better if you didn't come to the funeral. Liz and David either. This is bad enough for you without all of that." Kelly looked up at her mother, shocked.

"What? No! We're coming to the funeral. She was out grandmother! We all loved her very much. And it hurts, mum, but that's the way it has to be." Shazné, sensing the anger between her mother and grandmother, began to cry, diverting their attention. When she was consoled Kelly had forgotten what they had been talking about.

When Daniel walked through the doors and embraced his wife and then his mother-in-law he wouldn't have been able to tell that there was anything wrong.

But there was.

Sandra didn't want her children at that funeral if her Uncle was planning on pulling some kind of stunt. She had spent too long trying to keep them safe from the truth to expose them to it now, after so long. She watched her first grandchild climbing all over her father as he tried to hold on to her.

There was too much at stake now.