Pleased at Wensley's response, Brian grinned back at him. "Yeah!" he said. "And people can do all kinds of amazin' stuff in the kitchen. Cooking, I mean."

He tasted the pudding and raised an eyebrow. "Hey, thanks, Wens. It's really good. Wish I could cook. I mean . . . instant stuff's one thing, I could maybe do that, but . . ." He shrugged, a bit embarassed. "Mum never let me in the kitchen. Dunno why," he added as he ignored his spoon and dug out a fingerful of pudding.