They are very calm and listen. Dogs are too active and don’t want to listen or behave,” Maureen told her.“I see, how long have you been able to ...do this?” Jill asked in a nonchalant voice. Maureen shrugged, it seemed to be a standard reply for her.“I don’t know, a long time,” she answered.“Do your Mother and Grandfather know about this?” Jill asked, trying to get the young girl to talk about it more.“No, they never asked about it. Grandfather would take me with him when he went to the Pub, but. ’ ‘You little devil,’ I said moving closer to him and bashing him with my shoulder. ‘Gotta go mad sometime,’ he said. ‘Does Mum have the kids tonight?’ ‘Just my daughter,’ he said, ‘Paul is with the sitter and off to a centre for the weekend. Horse riding, electric buggies, swimming, the whole thing.’ ‘How did you swing that!’ I said. He looked wistfully but with a big smile, ‘Those wonderful social services people have got me an entire weekend respite, first time EVER!’ He made a grand gesture. It was really posh. It had three bedrooms.The other half of the semi-detached house had a widow living there. Her husband had been killed in North Africa by the Germans in 1941, and she didn't have any children. Her name was Rose, and she and my Aunt Lizzie were great friends. While I was with Uncle Reg she even stayed with Rose for two or three nights because she said that Rose was still weepy about her dead husband, and Aunt Lizzie would be a friend for her and comfort her. They must have. I looked down at the newspaper spread on my table and sipped at my coffee, hoping that she hadn't seen me staring. I glanced up, looking across the room so that I could see her out of the corner of my eye. Seeing that she was standing side on to me and looking the other way, I relaxed and looked at her more closely.Today she was wearing a short denim skirt that hugged her hips and then flared out to about mid-thigh. Her tight-fitting white blouse showed off her curves. Thin strips of ruffle.