‘Derek, will you stop giving William a hard time,’ she said, as he dropped her none too carefully on to the ground.
‘Well, I haven’t forgiven him for losing my bloody record yet.’
‘I told you, I don’t mind,’ I said. For a moment the phrase reminded me of Madeline, but I hastily brushed the memory aside. ‘Anyway, I’m beginning to look on the whole thing as a… learning experience.’
‘You’ve grown up, I can tell you that,’ said Derek. ‘Not your body, unfortunately, but the rest of you has.’
I couldn’t find anything to throw at him so I said: ‘Do you really think so?’
‘Definitely I reckon another fifteen years and you’ll be reaching puberty.’
Even then, all I did was smile. It’s a funny thing, actually, but these days I can’t seem to get enough of being teased.