‘Um, kettle on first, if you don’t mind,’ Steph interrupted, before getting nearly bowled over by a fluffy whirlwind. ‘What is that?’

‘You got a dog?’ Nicky cried, pushing past his sister to follow Nesbit back into the garden.

‘You got a dog?’ Steph echoed, eyebrows raised in surprise.

‘Dream List number nine.’ I shrugged.

‘Well, yeah, but I’d have thought items one to eight might take priority. Like, getting your house sorted so you can sleep in an actual bed, and work in your home office.’

‘Those things aren’t on the list,’ I replied airily. ‘And I didn’t plan to get a dog. If anything, he found me. I’ll fill you in while I make us a drink.’

‘Is this a sticker chart?’ she asked a few moments later, nose wrinkled in disbelief as she stood staring at the fridge . ‘For the dog? Blue sticker for a wee, red for a poo? Ollie, I’m not sure living alone is working out for you.’

I shrugged, laughing. ‘It’s for me, really. Nesbit’s accidents were driving me mad, so I thought a sticker chart might help me keep track of progress and feel less stressed about it.’

‘What do you get when he makes a full day without an accident? A Bonio?’

‘He gets a Bonio. I’ll decide what I get once I know how long it took. Now, stop laughing at me and tell me about your holiday.’

We spent the rest of the day painting the bedroom in a pale green while Drew and Nicky repaired the cupboard doors and then ripped up the carpet, sanding the floorboards before painting them a fresh white. Joan appeared shortly after lunchtime, and she joined in with the painting too. After an early morning walk in the woods followed by the excitement of meeting new people, Nesbit was mostly happy to watch from the dog crate I’d bought so that I could leave him home alone without risking him gnawing a tunnel to Ebenezer’s house.

With Steph’s summer playlist on at a neighbourly volume, the windows open to allow the paint smell out and the country air in, a picnic lunch and a giant coffee cake for afternoon tea, I’m not sure it could have been any better had my friends been replaced by a Dream Man.