Auditioning for a role in this drama...

Dolly was shouting. Her cries wakened me from the light nap I was taking on the conservatory roof.

The basket was gone and with the basket Lil, Susan too.

The door to the hall that led to the front of the house was closed and I met Dolly trying to force the handle; she wasn’t heavy or strong enough.

“Stand aside Doll”
I leapt at the handle. I misjudged, my own strength... the door swung open and crashed into the bookshelf scattering paperbacks and cd’s on impact. While I clung to the handle Dolly dived through the rapidly diminishing gap. I managed just to scramble though before the door slammed shut. Unfortunately my leg caught on a light flex...

We; Dolly, me and the table lamp –it’s wire twined round my rear end, clinging to me as if it urgently needed to throw light on the subject - bounded upstairs.

The office door was ajar just a gentle shove would open it. But it, as if auditioning for a role in this drama responded so violently to Doll’s nudge it bashed against a stack of files (stupid place to leave office work –always thought so.) invoices and receipts exploded upwards and then downwards; a ticker tape parade.

Dolly dived onto the office chair. The chair with the castors. I sprung to join her and we three skateboarders shot across the office floor until we came to an abrupt end at our intended destination the window.

Who cares the computers were in he way. Not us. No. We were on a mission.
A car was revving outside. The blind was down.

Dolly yanked the cord and the blind did 20 revolutions flapping angrily against the glass

We were in time to see the car with it’s precious cargo negotiate the curve in the road and vanish from our sight.

“Lil.”
“Lil.”
“She’s gone Ferd. Lil’s gone. Ferd. I hate Susan. ”

“Ferd?”

“Dolly. Doll we better...”


“What?”
“Doll we better...”
“Ferd what? What?”
“Doll I don’t know... “
“What?”

“Doll I’m going to wait here.”
“Not going to pretend you were somewhere else? And it was some being with stripes that made this mess”
“No. Doll you go down, I’ll let you know if I see anything.”
“Ferd?”

“Ferd!”
“Yes.”
“I... Would it be ok if I just sat here by your side?”


“Yes Doll, it will be ok.”

Ferd: waiting for a friend. And Dolly: waiting with Ferdinand for her fellow inmate of Bath cats and dogs home.