‘I still think it’s odd she never confided in me. My one wish is that she’d told me about him.’
‘I wonder what she wrote? I guess you can find out, since this is your property now,’ says Tomas, pointing to the box.
‘Oh, I only flew with a budget airline. I couldn’t possibly carry a box of letters home. Besides, these letters are between Marek and Aunt Grace, and that’s where they should stay,’ I say.
‘But what if they wanted their story to be told?’ Tomas looks at me curiously. Albert stares at me, waiting for me to agree.
‘No, absolutely not. Under no circumstances should we open the letters. That would be like going through someone’s diary. In fact, maybe we should burn them and protect Aunt Grace’s privacy.’
‘That’s terrible. Sacrilege! You can’t burn a love story!’ says Tomas.
I look at the Christmas card that is still on my lap. The postmark is dated from 1994. He was already dead when this was sent, and that’s why it was never opened. Looking at the number of envelopes here, it seems she wrote for longer than she admitted. All these letters, just to lay in a box, never to be opened by their intended recipient. It is a waste, but that doesn’t mean to say that we have any right to read them.
‘I think the time might be right to open them,’ says Albert.
‘Definitely. What if there’s something inside we need to know?’ says Tomas.
‘Like what?’ I ask.
‘He’s right. You could be Marek’s secret daughter, for all we know,’ says Albert.
‘I don’t think so. I’m far too old. I was in the pubs by the time they met,’ I laugh. I self-consciously feel for that one long grey eyebrow hair that always sneaks its way in. I must remember to pull it out when I get back to the hotel.
‘No, you don’t look old enough,’ smiles Tomas.
I feel myself blush, as I tend to do, every time Tomas looks at me.
‘But aren’t you curious, Olivia? When someone passes, there’s always so much we never knew. This is our chance to learn more about both of them.’
‘I don’t know. Besides, you’re never supposed to open someone else’s post. In fact, I think it might be illegal. I’m sure Ken told me that once.’
‘Ken?’ says Tomas.
‘My postman.’
‘Ah. I see. But if we don’t open these letters, we will never know about their love. It would be a shame for their story to die with them.’
I look at the box, unsure how to persuade these two to stop. As much as part of me would love to learn more about Aunt Grace and Marek and this magical love story they are supposed to have had, going through their post seems far too intimate.
‘Well, I don’t agree. I’m certainly not their secret daughter, and I’m quite sure there’s nothing we need to know about in that box. I’m sorry. I need to leave now.’
‘Sure, I’ll take you back into town, but will you please say you’ll think about it?’ says Tomas.
I would agree to anything to get some breathing space, so I nod and tell them both that I will consider it. But I decide that I will tell Dewi about the pressure they are putting on me, and he would never allow it from a legal perspective, so I am quite sure it is a hypothetical argument.
Chapter Eleven
Before I begin my search for somewhere nice to eat for dinner in ‘Staré Mesto’, as I heard Tomas call it, I decide to give Dewi a call. That way, if there is any more pressure from Tomas and Albert about the letters, I can quote the correct legal terminology. I ring his office and keep my fingers crossed that it is still open before they all slink off for the Christmas break. I am relieved when the receptionist answers and tells me that I have just caught him before he leaves for the care home. He comes on the phone with his usual chirpy tone. Does this man never have a bad moment?
‘Hello. Nice surprise to hear from you again. What’s the latest there?’
I explain about the letters that have been discovered and how I respect the law.
‘I see what you’re saying, and you are correct about the Postal Services Act 2000. It is an offence to open someone’s mail, and you could be prosecuted.’
‘Yes! That’s exactly what I tried to tell them. Thank goodness I never—’
‘Ah, but let me stop you there. What I was about to say is that there is abutcoming… If you don’t have consent to open the post, which you obviously don’t, an acting executor of an estate can give you the authority. I give you full authority to open those letters. I mean, they’re practically your belongings now, and besides, don’t you want to know what Grace wrote to Marek?’
