Vera

The little old lady (we will call her Vera) was walking up the hill as the Gorse Fox walked down to the shop.

"Good morning"

he said
and in a voice that sounded like an escapee from Emmerdale or Coronation Street, she replied

"Mornin'"

The Gorse Fox went on his way, collected the shopping chatted with one of the residents and then headed back up the hill. Walking towards him was Vera looking confused.

"Hello again" said the Gorse Fox. "Is everything all right?"

"Well," she said "is there another road behind this?"

The Gorse Fox explained that ther was not, and that the dwellings to which she was pointing all looked out over the golf course.

"Well, I'm looking for 88" she said.

The Gorse Fox explained it was just a litlle further up on the left

"I know" she said "but that's not the one. It has mesh at the window, and mine doesn't. And the pavement surface has been painted, and mine hasn't"

Gorse Fox suggested "Maybe you have the wrong number, and you were staying a little further up the hill? The surface there still hasn't been replaced."

"Maybe they resurfaced it overnight?" She was grasping at straws, by now.

Being Sunday night Gorse Fox suggested that was unlikely. By this point they had arrived outside 88. "is this it?" he asked.

"No" she said, getting flustered. "There's only one thing for it, I'll have to knock at each one until my son answers"

And so the Gorse Fox left her. Later as he was setting off with the Silver Vixen he passed Vera again.

"Oh, hello" she said. "I found my son. we were in number 80"

So all was well.

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