This is wonderful. Your writing is absolutely equisite--I love the details of the people and places--Petunia's flowers and neighbours, the cafe, the images of her past--and I love your dialogue too. The nuanced, shifting voices of the different characters really make them whole to me, and the tone of your dialogue is perfect for all the characters, from the exchanges with Dudley to the conversations with Delphine. Everything about this story struck the right note, and it's a very moving, clever story in its own right.