Me: Harriet is doing that Can I Come In Please?
Nell: Come in where?
Me: She’s outside the bedroom. She wants to come in and snuggle with Dave but she won’t walk through the door until I tell her she can.
Nell: Why do you have to tell her?
Me: I’ve no idea.
Nell: That’s ridiculous.
Me: She does this sometimes.
Nell: Harriet has a habit of sitting in the second row.
Me: What do you mean?
Nell: She doesn’t like to appear pushy so she puts herself last.
Me: Dave doesn’t really do that.
Nell: David never does that.
Me: Neither do you.
Nell: If you don’t look after yourself how can you look after others?
Me: True.
Nell: A certain amount of selfishness is necessary.
Me: Anyway, I told her she could come in and she quickly snuggled up to Dave.
Nell: Did he notice?
Me: Not really. He was having a post-breakfast nap.
Nell: Soft-boiled eggs?
Me: Yes, from the farm with hot-buttered toast and a large cup of tea.
Nell: Perfect. I had scrambled eggs this morning with a side of smoked salmon.
Me: Very fancy.
Nell: I thought about The Cat. How is it coping without me?
Me: A lot better than it was.
Nell: Was it very sad?
Me: Sad? Complete and utter devastation. Weeping and wailing.
Nell: Oh dear.
Me: It’s only just out of mourning.
Nell: Out of mourning?
Me: It refused to wear anything but black.
Nell: That’s not like The Cat.
Me: There were feathers and high-heeled boots.
Nell: Well, that’s a relief.
Me: But to answer your question the mourning period appears to be over as I saw it yesterday in a sequinned coat.
Nell: Good. It’s nice to be mourned but not excessively. Take note.
Me: Yes. Sorry.
