Me: Good news.
Nell: Tell me.
Me: Dave and Harriet are friends again.
Nell: I thought they looked more relaxed when I saw them outside on their loungers.
Me: Yes. There was even a little play fighting upstairs.
Nell: Has David managed to come to terms with Harriet going on tour?
Me: Yes. After he talked it through with the tortoise he realised Harriet must be allowed to spread her wIngs.
Nell: I wish you would stop bringing birds into this.
Me: It’s just a saying.
Nell: And what do you mean talked to the tortoise? Does David speak Spanish?
Me: No, but the tortoise speaks German.
Nell: Good grief.
Me: And French.
Nell: What about Swedish?
Me: I don’t think we can expect it to speak Swedish, Nell. Italian perhaps, and Portuguese at a pinch. Swedish is a bit out there.
Nell: Because if it speaks Swedish we may have a problem.
Me: Poppy spoke Swedish for a while. And so did The Cat.
Nell: Exactly.
Me: Although it probably doesn’t count if you’re hypnotised.
Nell: I’m still waiting.
Me: Waiting for what?
Nell: For you to join up the dots.
Me: What dots? Oh, wait a minute. Hypnotised.
Nell: And there we are. Sherlock Martin strikes again.
Me: Do you think that evil seagull Sven Gully is behind all the singing?
Nell: Possibly.
Me: And he has disguised himself as a tortoise?
Nell: Don’t be ridiculous.
Me: Stranger things have happened.
Nell: No, they haven’t.
Me: So, what has the tortoise got to do with it?
Nell: Probably nothing. The tortoise merely led me to Gully.
Me: No it didn’t. It’s in the kitchen eating tortillas with Manuel.
Nell: Just leave this to me and go and pack your case. You go on retreat tomorrow.
Me: Yes. Sorry.
