It took so long for Lottie to return, that Bill managed to get his sister to leave before that disaster could take place. She would, as she suggested, rent a room in town and meeting his family could take place later.
And Bill put it off again. He met her privately a few times, ensuring she was comfortable in her room, bringing her kippers as a peace offering, and all the while promising that meeting his family would happen soon, but they had so much going on that now was a bad time. He could not pull it off without revealing some details of his dramatic family life: Kate's fatherless baby that took up so much of Lottie's time that she couldn't meet Jane right now; Joe's young wife who had suddenly dropped into their lives; John's return and the worries about him going to military prison.
Meanwhile, he put off telling Lottie about his sister. It wasn't just the right time. It wasn't the right time a week later either. Or the week after. Or the week after that. He grieved his father's death in silence, aided by pints at the Red Lion and long sobering walks through town. He could never have put it in words. And so he held his tongue and frustrated his wife.
All the while, Bill knew that he couldn't keep this up. That the two women would meet eventually and that it would be worse if he waited. It would be worse, he felt. Some big grenade was about to hit him from an unexpected corner any day now. But he did nothing.
