Terms of endearment

I NOW check my emails before going upstairs—a vow I made mid-lockdown two: no laptops in bed. Last night, the only email I bothered to read was from my friend Tessa. ‘My very very old cocker spaniel, Betsy, sank her teeth into my hand on Thursday. The pain! It was unprovoked and she gripped me tight, the fleshy part between my thumb and index finger. She is quite blind and deaf, and maybe I startled her. I give her the benefit of the doubt, but we are yet to cuddle again. I am flooded with antibiotics, but