21......

Continued..............

(This is for my lovely friend Charlie - hope it all goes ok and that you're back amongst us soon. xx)



Marta's phone was ringing. She knew it was her mother calling, by the irritated way the phone bounced up and down on the kitchen table. (That, and the fact that Dora's name flashed up on the screen.)

Without giving her daughter a chance to speak, Dora said 'Well?'

'Very, thanks. How about you?'

Dora tutted. 'Don't be smart. I want to know what that boy's doing in your house.'

Marta sighed. 'Jamie's 44 mum, hardly a boy. And not that it's any of your business, but he's here recuperating from an operation.'

'Oh really? Frontal lobotomy perchance?'

'A hernia, if you must know.'

Dora snorted. 'Hah! What did he get that from? Picking up someone else's wallet?' She laughed at her own joke. 'So what form does a hernia take anyway?'

'Well, I think it's a sort of wee, fat filled lump, that floats about where it shouldn't, and gets a bit painful at times.'

Marta could sense Dora smirking down the phone, as she said, 'Enough about Jamie, dear. I was asking about his hernia.....'