Raising his mug…
Guy: Here’s to the driver of this trip—me.
Antonia: Driver? You barely managed to reverse into the driveway without flattening the hydrangeas.
Guy: Tactical parking. Hydrangeas are resilient. Anyway, I might not need a conductor on the bus.
Antonia: It's not a bus thank God. It's only car. You wouldn’t get far. Remember, I’m the navigator right? Without me, you’d be circling the Parnell roundabout forever.
Guy: Roundabouts are just polite mazes. I enjoying going round twice.
Antonia: I picked this 1950s cottage so you could relive your glory days—when buses had conductors, not contactless cards.
Guy: Back then, people respected the driver.
Antonia: And if I hadn’t collected the victuals, you’d be surviving only on tea and biscuits.
Guy: Tea and biscuits are a balanced diet. Biscuit in each hand.
Antonia: And how can you drive the car without my managing the cat. She’s eyeing your mug like she wants to drive the bus herself.
Guy (to Afogato): Don’t even think about it. You’re too short for the pedals.
Antonia: I’ve orchestrated this trip so you can feel special. Though honestly, the cat thinks it’s her birthday.
Guy: Three cheers for Afogato, the actual passenger of honor.
___________
Voice-over
It seems Guy wouldn’t make it far without Antonia along as navigator, accommodation organizer, cat controller, historian, chef, memory maker, celebrator… and therapist.
