‘And there’s no reason why we couldn’t have a child,’ he said, ‘if you wanted.’ He’d watched her closely; she didn’t seem to turn away. ‘You like that idea?’ Cathal asked. ‘A child is not an idea,’ she retorted. ‘And we could get a cat,’ he said quickly. ‘You’d like a cat, I know.’ She’d let out a genuine laugh then, and Cathal felt some of her resistance subsiding and closed his arms around her – but it took more than three weeks and some persuasion on his part before she finally relented, and said yes. And then another two months passed before she found an engagement ring to suit her,
