The long rhodo home....

Marta sat on the edge of the sofa, being glowered at by Dora on one side, and deliberately ignored by Genghis on the other.

'So. Six months without a word.' said Dora 'You could have been dead for all we knew.'

'You mean six months without a word....except for the phone calls every Sunday?' said Marta. 'And the texts, the emails, face time?'

Dora ignored her. 'You might have been dead.' she repeated, 'Genghis has hardly eaten, and your Aunt Lilian was demented with worry.'

Marta sighed. 'You knew where I was. He,' she prodded Genghis who was pretending to sleep, 'looks as healthy as ever, and Lilian was demented long before I left.'

Dora frowned. 'Running off to Spain because of that stupid boy, was childish. You should have dealt with it some other way.'

'Such as?'

'I know people,' said Dora darkly. 'I could have had him seen to.'

'Damn. I should have thought of that. You could have had him run out of town by the Rotary Club. Or got your bridge pals to take out a contract on him...' Marta laughed at her own joke and Dora stomped off to the kitchen to break out the gin.

Genghis began to purr. Life was about to become interesting again....