George didn't even realise she was doing it as she reached over and put her hand on his. "I'm so sorry," she said, the compassion in her face coming from a place of complete empathy. "That must have been very difficult. And then to end up in this confounded lottery?" She shook her head, a lump rising in her throat as she tried to understand how a government claiming to be ruling the greatest country on earth could do this to its citizens.
"And they do, yes, they do regain their shine. It might not be quite as bright, or even the same, but we do continue, even if at first we might not believe we even really want to." She knew it was her children who had kept her going, held her hand and given her a reason to keep going when Gerry died. "But they do."