‘Wow, Caroline, you look terrific!’ He greets her with a little kiss on her left and right cheek. I’ve never seen the two of them do that before – I knew my theory was right. Then he sees Nina. ‘Oh, hello, I didn’t know you were here too.’ He sounds disappointed, and I know humans well enough by now to realize that he really is. Only Nina seems to be oblivious to this fact. She waves at him merrily.

‘Yes, I joined in on the spur of the moment. I’d rather have a girls’ night, but you can certainly stay.’ She laughs.

Daniel manages a smile. ‘In view of the fact that I, unlike you, have an invitation, that is a very generous offer.’

‘My pleasure.’

Nina beams at Daniel. Apparently, she has no intention of clearing out.

‘So what are we cooking?’

She heads to the kitchen. Caroline looks at Daniel and shrugs her shoulders. Then the two of them follow Nina. When they get to the refrigerator, they all stand still.

‘I have all the makings of a coq au vin. We just need to slice up the potatoes while the chicken is in the oven. So sit down and I’ll give you both paring knives.’

Caroline, you really are too good for this world. We’ll never get rid of Nina this way. And Daniel and you will never be a couple. And I will never be the super I-always-knew-it dachshund.

It turns out just as I fear: after half an hour Nina is still here. It’s no wonder: the chicken is now giving off quite a tempting smell. Of course she wants to have a taste of it, and I can’t even blame her. I’m also speculating on a little taste of my own. To improve my starting position, I slip next to Caroline, who is now sitting on the kitchen bench, lay my head on her lap, and look at her as heartrendingly as I can, unfortunately with limited success, because Caroline, Nina and Daniel are so engrossed in their conversation that they don’t even notice me.

‘So Dr Wagner is not your dream guy after all?’

How can you keep talking about someone who’s just a vet? And that’s the verdict you came up with? With all due respect, that was a foregone conclusion. If you’d asked me, Nina, I could have told you that right away. Nina pours herself another glass of wine.

‘We’ve gone out three times now. It’s enjoyable every time, but it doesn’t lead anywhere. And today wasn’t even particularly nice, because several large families brought their bratty kids along and managed to spoil our trip to the beach. It was so annoying.’

‘What a surprise – and here you are such a fan of children. It must have been really bad.’

Am I mistaken, or is Daniel making fun of Nina? I guess he is, because Nina really tenses up.