Me: I think you look beautiful.
Nell: I wasn’t expecting my photo in The Growl on Sunday. They’re calling me ‘Matriarch Nell Martin.’
Me: That’s what you are. Wasn’t it a beautiful wedding?
Nell: Yes, I have to say it all went really well. Susan’s entrance on the top of Alejandro’s Aztec crown was magnificent with all her Gulls on his back.
Me: Yes and you, Gladys and Harriet dancing in front with sequinned scarves.
Nell: Harriet and I didn’t dance. We strolled elegantly. We left the dancing to Gladys.
Me: Malcolm was terribly nervous until David sang to him softly.
Nell: Yes, that always seems to help. David has a lovely voice.
Me: When the Beefies started gathering I was worried.
Nell: Stephen Seagull had them under control and they simply lined up along the cliffs and watched quietly.
Me: Apart from Romeo.
Nell: Yes. All that weeping and wailing. Thank goodness Poppy intervened.
Me: When she lifted her sword I thought she was going to cut his head off.
Nell: Yes. I wondered for a moment.
Me: But then she speared a scone from the buffet table and shoved it in his beak.
Nell: At least it kept him busy during the whole ceremony.
Me: It was such a lovely day. The cake was a triumph. How are the newlyweds?
Nell: Blissfully happy. Just as it should be. Poppy is flying them down to the South of France for their honeymoon.
Me: They’ll need their passports. I suppose Susan is called Susan Flamingo now, not Seagull.
Nell: Malcolm’s last name isn’t Flamingo. I’m not called Nell Labrador. Gladys isn’t Gladys Pomeranian.
Me: What is his last name then?
Nell: It’s Martin. Malcolm is Family. And now Susan is too. Malcolm and Susan Martin.
Me: Yes, of course. Sorry.
