Weetees

Hey mate,

When we’ve received the death certificate, I’ll let you know. As to the ashes, I wondered what on earth Maria was planning to do with them. Put them on the mantlepiece, or what? And then what? Wait for one of the cats to knock them over? 

I must say, however, that she had a rather brilliant idea …
Have you ever visited Moutinho’s grave in Santana with Lucy? If so, then you know it’s a full-body-length slab of marble with a locker on top of it. The locker has a glass door, through which one can see a portrait and a candle, and stuff. These Catholics claim it is all about the soul, you know, but you should see how they worship the earthly remains of their loved ones, for instance on All Saints’ Day, when they tidy the graves and lay flowers.

Anyway, Maria wants to place Lucy’s ashes inside the locker, so she will be reunited with her maker, so to speak.
We never met, her father and I, but it seems they were two of a kind character wise, Lucy and Moutinho. You must have noticed, Colin, that the love between Lucy and her mother was a bit of a one-way street. Although I am pretty certain of it that, if I’d have seen Lucy and her father together, I would probably have sworn that there was no love lost between the two of them. However, the truth is that Lucy had to seek psychological help after the untimely death of her progenitor. A weird human condition, innit, that people seem to take the love received from one parent for granted, and vainly keep striving for the love withheld by the other, sometimes even after the latter has died. 
Well, no skin off the nose of us ETs, izzit? 

Abraço!
Jaap