The Garage Girl's Thread

The unnamed girl who gives Harold the idea of faith, receives his postcards and confession, and finally brings the truth to Maureen.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Burger And A Question Of Faith

A Burger And A Question Of Faith The Happy To Help Girl Harold stops at a petrol station and buys a BBQ Cheese Beast. The girl at the till seems dull and empty until she begins to talk about her aunt, who had cancer. You Have To Believe She tells Harold that faith is not about religion but about trusting what you do not know and believing you can make a difference. Her aunt said it gave her hope when everything else had gone. The Seed Of The Walk The girl's simple certainty stays with Harold. He will later say she gave him the idea to walk, although her story is more complicated than he knows.

Postcards To Happy To Help

Postcards To Happy To Help Remembering The Girl Harold sends postcards to the girl in the garage, addressing them to Happy To Help because he does not know her name. He tells her he is still walking. A Correspondence Of Thanks The postcards thank her for the idea of faith. He asks if she prays, and admits he tried once but was too late. The small messages become a confession in reverse. The Girl Who Lost Her Job Fans and journalists eventually crowd the garage, and her boss asks her to leave for health and safety reasons. The postcards have changed her life too.

The Confession Letter

The Confession Letter The Full Story Harold writes to the garage girl because he owes her the whole truth. He tells her about David's suicide, his own drinking, and Queenie taking the blame for the smashed Murano glass clowns. The Purpose Of Faith He says people think he walked because of romance, but it is not true. He walked because Queenie saved him and he never said thank you. Her faith, he tells the girl, gave him the idea. A Letter Of Humble Thanks The confession is addressed to a girl whose name he still does not know. It is the most honest thing Harold has written in his life.

The Garage Girl Visits Maureen

The Garage Girl Visits Maureen A Sallow Visitor A young girl in a black duffel coat appears at the Fossebridge Road front door. Over tea and flapjacks, she explains she is the one who gave Harold the burger. The garage has become impossible because of the publicity. Bringing Harold's Letter The girl pulls out Harold's confession letter and hands it to Maureen. Maureen reads it weeping, the loss of David as raw as ever. She then tells the girl her own secret. A Network Of Confession The garage girl has carried Harold's confession across England, not knowing it would unlock Maureen's confession in return. The pilgrimage has come home.

The Truth About The Aunt

The Truth About The Aunt My Aunt's Dead Maureen tells the girl she is not a fraud because her faith inspired Harold. The girl breaks down: her aunt died years ago. Cancer, she says, cannot be stopped by belief. Maureen's Own Fraud Maureen then reveals that she is the real fraud. Twenty years ago, Queenie came to the door with a message for Harold, and Maureen threw away the flowers and never passed on the message. The Lie Behind The Walk The girl's confession gives Maureen the courage to confront the lie that has shaped her marriage. The conversation becomes the hinge on which the whole story turns.

First afternoon, garage outside Kingsbridge

Spring and early summer, during the pilgrimage

After Harold's breakdown in the Berwick café

Days before Queenie's death

During the visit to Fossebridge Road