Kate’s head shot up in disbelief.
As Hal spoke, sadness smells filled the room. They were coming from Kate, mainly. Her face crinkled, and tilted in sympathy.
‘You do,’ he gestured over to a dressing table cluttered with Kate’s face creams.
Hal sat down on the bed next to his mother. I wagged my way over and rested my head on the space between them then gave them the look. A knowing glance at both of them, punctuated with a blink between. Intelligent eyes, but not so intelligent they would get suspicious. A hint of humour.
They both laughed and stroked me. Well, Kate stroked me. Hal gave me a quick, playful tug of the neck. We bonded. The three of us. It wasn’t enough to take away the sadness, not entirely. But it helped bring them closer together, that was the main thing.