Apis mellifera feeding on Compass Plant

I met this girl in the library. I liked her instantly; of course I liked her! A girl like that is better than cake.Her father was ‘in real estate’, which at first I assumed meant that he was a realtor, but later realised meant he was rich. So rich he didn’t really work at all, only bought and sold things. Mostly buildings. You’re imagining houses, I know, but you’d be wrong. Think warehouses, office buildings, apartment blocks.

I only met this girl – let’s call her Bethany – because it was raining. When it rained, I needed shelter, and the library was the best place to go. In the art gallery people looked askance, but in the library anyone is tolerated, so long as they can read.

She was reading I Capture the Castle. So I said to her, in my best I-am-quoting-from-the-book voice: I shouldn’t think even millionaires could eat anything nicer than new bread and real butter and honey for tea. And then I flourished sweet honey sandwiches out of my pockets and offered her one.

‘Oh, we shouldn’t eat in here,’ she said. Oh sweetness! Oh delight!

And so we went for a walk in the park. And I ate my full.