The following Sunday, Penny visits her sister with both George and Alice. It’s a sweltering day and they sit in her back garden sipping lemonade. George asks if the pond has gone toxic because its surface is covered in a layer of green gunk. “It’s algae.” Felicity tells her nephew.
“It looks putrid, like nuclear waste or something,” George says.
“It’s quite harmless,” Felicity tells him. “It happens every summer when it’s hot.”
She shows her sister and niece some of the new flowering plants she’s put in. There are petunias and begonias, geranium, and one called black-eyed Susan. George sits by the pond, poking at the algae with a stick and turning his nose up at the gunky green gunge. Being a boy, he has no interest in flowers. Alice saunters over after he calls her name. She emits a high-pitched yelp and George laughs out loud before causing a huge splash. The adults rush over and grab his arms, pulling him out of the pond. “What happened!?” Felicity asked.
Alice is on the verge of tears. “He splashed some of that gunge on me,” she said. It’s all over her T-shirt and is dripping onto her shorts.
“George why would you do such a thing!” his mother barked.
“It was funny!” he claimed. The adults presumed that Alice must have pushed him, but the rotten little scoundrel had laughed so hard at his sister that he fell backward into the pond. He’s covered in gunk and both need a change of clothes.
Felicity rushes indoors and returns with a couple of bath towels. She tells them that they’re not going into the house until they’ve removed their gunky sodden clothing. Penelope berates her son for being so cruel and stupid. “What are you going to wear now?” she asks in total exasperation as he peels off his jeans.
“Leave it with me,” Felicity tells her sister. “You get them dried, I’ll be back in a moment,” she says before darting off. “Ah… Catherine! Sorry to call round unannounced… you’ll never guess what’s happened.”
“Is everything OK?” Catherine asked.