Can I come? asks Ageless.
It's not like him to ask.
Of course, says Belle. There's plenty of room in Margaret's tinny.
Gaius comes in.
Ageless! You left rather abruptly, says Gaius.
Not wanted, says Ageless.
On the contrary, says Gaius. I rejected Ivan's offer. I'll need you to make observations.
I'll consider it, says Ageless.
Ivan has lent me his notes on seagrasses, says Gaius. So I know just where they're located in the Gulf of St Vincent. There are fifteen different species, including ribbon weed, wire weed, paddle weed and eel grass, and ... are you listening?
No, says Ageless.
I am, says Terence. We're going on a picnic tomorrow. In a boat. On the water.
A boat? says Gaius. What boat?
Margaret's tinny, says Belle.
Several expressions flit across Gaius's countenance.
Disbelief, acceptance, faint hope and ultimate rejection.
Hum, says Gaius. If it were anyone other than Margaret......
Oh Gaius! says Belle. She's a lovely person!
A Medusa! says Gaius.
Woop! says Baby Pierre. What's a Medusa?
A woman whose gaze will turn you to stone, says Gaius. That may not seem bad to you, being a pebble.
Gaius, says Belle. Chill out. I'm sure Margaret's over you. She'd love you to come out in her tinny. It'll be purely platonic, and Ageless is coming as well. He can do his sensory observations down in the seagrasses. You can make notes in the tinny. You can sit way up the far end, facing outwards. I'm bringing a picnic.....
Gaius sighs, remembering previous unsatisfactory encounters with Margaret.
And now Fate has conspired to bring them together in Margaret's tinny.....
.........
Margaret is at home, choosing a hat for tomorrow.
One that will keep the sun off, but not repel Gaius.
She picks one with a bird badge.
Let him not notice that!
Next she thinks about what kind of food will impress him.
What was that recipe she saw on a website, only last week?
Yes! Skinny Monkey Bread.
Monkey bread, but less calorific.
She gets out a bowl.
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