Is something Lola has grown very fond of since I’ve been home and she left in Italy. I called her first, the morning after my return–she’d spent the night “alone” at Nonna’s as Mum and Neve were in hospital (“hostable”, as Lola has passibly now stopped saying). I asked how how she’d been and she told me how she’d been a little bit tearful on the way back from the airport but that Stefi had been there and made her feel better. (Stefi had stayed for the night, sleeping with Lola in Nonna’s bed.) Then she said something like, “now that I’m remembering it, I’m feeling a little bit tearful again,” which I found very affecting.
Lola went on to ask me how things were in Cambridge and we talked a bit about the allotment. She suggested that water and food might help the beleaguered tomatoes. After a while, we started saying our goodbyes, and then, just before she went, Lola said, “Oh, Dad, can you tell me your telephone number?”. So I gave her my number and she took it down and then read it back to me and then asked how to spell “phone” and “number”. She asked when she could call me and I think I said anytime tomorrow and we rang off.
Since when, she has been calling me every day and we’ve chatted in what feels like a very grown-up way. Which, as well as the lack of hpysical context, makes the squeeky voice sound particualrly and incongruously squeeky.