Coming Home to Story

Captain Midnight here with good news.

Meet Hedda. She’s the good news. Himself is smiling a lot more since she turned up. I say turned up, but it was all my doing really.

I know it’s my job to keep an eye on him, but a few weeks ago I got to thinking that it would be nice to share the load. So, I took him down the hill in Lyme Regis to visit old friends, and when I spotted Herself, sitting in their garden, bathed in sunlight, I pounced.

Himself was drinking tea, completely oblivious. Duh!

I tugged at the lead to get his attention and looked pointedly in her direction. He still didn’t get it, so I woofed and dragged him across the lawn to say hello. You’d think he’d know what to say, being a writer and all, wouldn’t you? But no. He hemmed and hawed, mumbled, went red, and sat down.

Hopeless.

She seemed friendly enough but he clearly need help. Summoning my super-dog powers, I jumped onto his lap and looked winsome. It’s one of my most appealing looks, well-nigh irresistable.

“Nice dog,” she said. “Yours?”

“His name is Ted,” said Himself.

“Suits him,” she said. “My name’s Hedda.”

“Mine’s Geoff,” he said. “Hello Hedda.”

The ice was broken and my work was done. They haven’t stopped talking since. He tells me they’ve been out to dinner, and to the circus (I wasn’t invited to either, which is a bit rich). But I did go to visit Hedda at home and, last weekend, she came to stay with us in Lyme. She gave me chicken and we all paddled in the sea, which I enjoyed very much.

Himself told me they want to see a lot more of each other. I said that three is better than two and that she is very welcome to join our pack. “Absolutely,” he said blithely, as if it had been his idea in the first place.

Of course dear reader, we know what it really was.

A triumph for Captain Midnight.

Babe magnet.