When I pluck up the courage to look at his face, his smile is obscenely wide in a way it hasn’t been before. There’s nothing tight or sarcastic about it. He seems totally uninhibited, and the silver ball in his lip catches the light every time he shifts, making me forget what I was thinking about in the first place.

Suddenly there’s a woof from the beach below us and we both look down to see the plop of a frightened fish as it flops back into the stream, and Gizmo on a rock in the middle of the water, having jumped there from the shore.

‘Giz, no!’ Noel shouts and flies off down the shallow slope after him. ‘Don’t you dare chase that poor little fishy, it’s October, you’ll freeze if you fall in.’ He stops short at the edge of the water and leans over, trying to reach the dog, but the rock is far enough out that he can’t get there.

The fish makes the mistake of jumping again and Gizmo yaps and crouches down on his haunches and wiggles his back end, readying himself for launch.

I see Noel resign himself as he wades into the river and lets out a yell as cold water seeps into his work boots. He scoops the dog up easily with one huge hand. ‘Oh, no, you don’t, matey. Not at this time of year. Leave the poor salmon be.’

Gizmo grumbles his disapproval.

‘How did you manage that jump?’ Noel grumbles back at him. ‘Leah’s pet squirrel must’ve been giving you athletics training.’

I can’t help giggling as Gizmo tries to squirm over Noel’s shoulder to get back to the fish.

‘Yeah, yeah, I know it’s my own fault for letting you off your lead near a river at salmon migration time. But don’t worry about it, it’s not like I’ll have frostbite or gangrene in my toes by the time we get back or anything.’

Gizmo is still grumbling about it.

I’m laughing so hard at the conversation between them that I have to sit down on one of the large, flat stones behind me. ‘Do you think he’s going to multiply if he gets wet?’

‘Like the mogwai in Gremlins?’ He trudges up the bank, leaving a wet trail through the pebbles behind him. ‘I wouldn’t mind that. I love him so much, I’d happily have ten of him.’ He stops to look up and give me a wide smile. ‘And I’m glad you find my misery so funny.’

‘Actually I was laughing at how much he’s telling you off.’