Michelle remembered

 

Michelle remembered

Ann's sister, Jane, contacted me unexpectedly a little time ago to ask if I would paint a portrait of her daughter, Michelle, who died a few years ago. She was a beautiful girl, full of life and ambition, who loved all things Japanese and spoke the language well. She also worked for GCHQ/MI6, though naturally we knew little of that side of her life, other than at her funeral, two coaches came up from London and Cheltenham each filled with people to honour her memory. One of the chiefs from MI6 delivered the eulogy, telling how her work could never be acknowledged, but that many people owed their lives to her. However, I have attempted to portray her gentle grin, her deep brown eyes, and her clear complexion. She is against a soft blue sky with encircling of cherry blossom, and partly hidden by soft curtain of hair. I have even sent for a frame for it: the first canvas I will have framed.

Ann is in London. She went yesterday with the boys, a friend of theirs and her mum, to see Moulin Rouge, booked nearly a year ago but delayed through lockdowns. Today they have visited the Stonehenge exhibition at the British Museum. Now Ann says she is on her way back, but won't say where from, so I remain unsure when she will be back, or if she will have eaten. Once when she went off with the boys I cooked a simple supper, but they came in with a take-away meal. The house is very empty without her.