Excerpt from Ivet Britwistle’s personal email
Excerpt from Ivet Britwistle’s personal email
From: IB
To: Yara Britwistle
Hello, dear sister,
In response to your last letter, yes, we are fine.
The coast is wonderful. The people here treat us as if we were just any couple.
We are delighted. I am sorry, I cannot reveal the exact location where I am.
Tonia does not want to take unnecessary risks.
We hardly watch the news since we have been here.
We have not looked at a single gossip magazine.
We live oblivious to everything that happens around our past lives, and, chouchou, I cannot conceive of a better way to grow old.
As for your doubts, do not worry. The husband knows nothing. Tonia says that, in any case, it is the son who must be watched. Please keep an eye on the family and let us know if anything important happens.
I don’t regret choosing her, Yara. Tim could never have given me something like that. I always knew I would choose Tonia in the end.
Oh, little sister, you don’t know what wonderful parties, what divine cotillions there are here! We’ve made friends with a couple who have dinners and ballroom dancing every Friday. Then, on Saturdays, we go for custard tarts and milk tea. Sundays are beach days.
I could get used to this.
How about you, Yara? Have the kids started their summer vacation yet?
Send me a photo of them in your next letter.
Kisses,
I.
***
From: IB
To: Yara Britwistle
Date: November 5
Dear Yara,
Thank you very much for the information. And sorry for the handwriting, my hands are shaking. I expected your next letter to be the same as the last one, heavy, an envelope full of photographs and messages from all the family. I knew something was up as soon as I saw it. Oh, mon dieu…
Tonia has already found out. I don’t know what we’ll do now.
I’m afraid of what might happen if we go back.
The whole family is going to end up behind bars.
Oh, Yara! I’m sorry if my tears blur these words.
Tonia says that no matter what happens, she’ll protect me.
I know she also wants Elo?se to be away from all the fuss.
She’s worse off than me, I’m worried. Yesterday she spent the day talking to her son on the phone.
I’m not lying when I say that I’ve never, in my years with the family, heard Tonia talk to her son for more than ten minutes at a time.
At least they spent two hours on the phone.
Afterwards… I think she spoke to a lawyer. A lawyer, Yara!
If Tonia goes back to France or the UK, I’ll probably stay here. That’s what she says, you know? That’s what the lawyer told her, I think. Until things calm down a bit.
I knew this utopia couldn’t last long…
I hope you read this letter before something bad happens. Give the children a kiss from me.
Bissous,
I.