“Where are you, lovely? xxx” Seb’s message comes through at 4.59pm.
“At the parentals,” I reply.
The phone rings.
“That’ll be my boyfriend,” I say, reaching for it.
“Hello?” I say.
“Hello my lovely,” Seb says.
“How are you darling?” I say, feeling happy to hear his voice.
“I seem to have flooded my room,” Seb says.
“How?” I say, my heart sinking.
“So, the plug hole got blocked in the shower, and you know the bathroom is one of those wet rooms,” Seb says.
“Yes, I remember,” I say. When you turn the shower on, the water goes all over the bathroom floor. When I stayed there, had to keep changing my socks in the night as everytime I went to the loo, my socks got wet.
“So, I went off to lectures today,” Seb says, “and when I returned one side of the bedroom carpet was soaked. The water had got under the bathroom door and soaked the carpet and…”
“Oh no,” I say. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to have to try to dry it out, with the heater,” Seb says. “The problem is: we’ve got a room inspection next week. So I won’t be able to get to you till Saturday and…”
“Oh,” I say. “I’m sorry, darling. Poor you. Hope you can sort it out.”
“Me too,” Seb says. “I’ll be with you by lunchtime on Saturday.”
“Look, I’d better go,” I say. “I’ve got to write the blog and have a bath. Goodbye darling,”
“Goodbye,” Seb says.
Putting the phone down, I feel very sad. I’m not going to see him till Saturday now and was so looking forward to seeing him tomorrow.
The attached photo is a dinosaur made of beads. Bought him as a present for Mum.
*1948. By Agatha Christie. Hercule Poirot detective novel.