"If that old lady had a heart problem...she would have dropped dead..."

There were no grocery stores in these days, most Trinidadians would have bought their goods, food and even alcohol from what were called 'Chinese Shops". The Chinese had quickly become the merchant class in Trinidad, organizing around Chinese associations.

Silla's aunt had married a Chinese man. At this point in her life Silla worked with them in the shop that was downstairs from where they lived.

By the 30s some Trinidadians had emigrated and found their way to Canada and England in search of a better life. Some, like Cece's father (Silla's aunt), had left families behind, never to be heard from again.

In the story you are about to hear, this particular emigre and absent father returns. Peter Stephen, common-law husband to Sasa (Silla's grandmother) and father to Cecelia (Cece) Chow, Silla's aunt.