Delphine loves the mall. West Mall in Port of Spain. It’s big, has three toy stores, one bookshop, an excellent coffee shop, one clothes store for kids, a food court, two craft shops, a sports store and innumerable places selling bikinis and dresses. There are make-up places too but we never go into these so we can’t comment. We’d been a few times waiting to haul out Quest. Just a few! 

The morning we were due to haul Quest, Delphine’s glasses broke. She presented me with an arm. Just an arm. Hmmm. What could we do? We went to West Mall. Optometrists Today watched us walk in to their store. We showed them the broken arm. The metal arm had sheared off. They turned the arm over in their hands. I watched their faces become thick with concentration and remembered this had happened before. The optician’s shrug back home. ‘Sorry, can’t fix it.’ It was a new pair of glasses then. I winced in West Mall. It’s gotta be a new pair of glasses now. 

‘You can take them to our lab in Frederick Street. They might be able to do something. We’ll call and tell them to expect you.’ They gave us directions. We’d never driven into town before. This was exciting. We’d never driven into town before. We promptly missed the turning. Found ourselves making our way on a parallel road. A complicated one way system thwarted our final approach. We looked for the car park. They’d told us about a car park. Aha. We turned, got out and were immediately questioned by the parking attendant. He’d been sitting under an umbrella behind a large black SUV. We showed him Delph’s lonely arm. He smiled. A gold tooth flashed. ‘Turn left,’ he said, ‘walk a hundred metres.’ 

The lab whisked the glasses upstairs. Lulu had brought her iPad. Delph sat next to her, squinting at it. Jack went to work on his phone and I paced the store. The things you take for granted. It’s true. There was a time when I was traumatised by Delph’s eyes. I’d almost forgotten that feeling of putting her vision into other peoples’ hands. We’d searched for how to find the best person to look after her. Late one night in AlderHey Hospital a doctor had told us, ‘If you can find someone you can trust, it helps.’ ‘Are you yachties?’ I turned. The optician was tall, softly-spoken. Wore a miniature pair of glasses for a tie pin. We talked for a while. He excused himself and came back with Delph’s glasses. They’d not only fixed the arm, they put a whole new metal hinge on. ‘You pay at the counter,’ the optician said. The lady at the counter took the receipt. '$25TT please.’ Less than 3 quid. I looked back at the store. People were trying on glasses, looking in mirrors, talking to the opticians behind the counter. Delphine was pretty much sitting on Lu’s lap now. ‘Could I have a photo of you and Delphine?’ I asked the optician. He smiled enthusiastically. 'Of course.’ 

Love from Quest and her crew xx

PS. I asked for the optician’s name.. he wrote it down and I stuck it in my pocket. And I lost it. I’m sorry! If you’re reading this, tell us again.