Nell: You’ve chosen an interesting selection of photos this morning.
Me: The first one is Dave keeping an eye on his sister swimming in the river.
Nell: He always likes to know where Harriet is.
Me: He does. Darling Big Brave Beautiful Boy.
Nell: And Harriet is usually in the river, or the sea.
Me: She is. The second two photos are of you enjoying a sniffari and a walk.
Nell: I like to take my time.
Me: I know you do and you always look back to check I’m still there.
Nell: I do, and you always are.
Me: You and me, Nell. Always.
Nell: And the last two photos?
Me: When we got home, I noticed the flowers on the wall near the letterbox and thought how pretty they were and how lucky we are to live where we do.
Nell: Yes. For now. Moving on, Sally is arriving soon so the Hoffmanns thought she and David might enjoy a German breakfast.
Me: We would all enjoy that.
Nell: It’s not about us, though, is it? David needs time to explain himself.
Me: It was just a little hiccup. Shelagh wasn’t interested.
Nell: But David was, and he needs to apologise.
Me: What if he eats Sally’s breakfast by mistake? He does that when he’s nervous.
Nell: The good thing about a German breakfast is it’s extremely plentiful. Things can be eaten and not missed.
Me: You’re right.
Nell: The other good thing is that there’s always a lot left over, so we can join them once the apology is over.
Me: How will we know?
Nell: I’m expecting to hear a sigh and an ‘Oh, Davey’.
Me: She will forgive him, won’t she?
Nell: Of course. He’s David. How could anyone not forgive him?
Me: Yes. Sorry.
