‘The fact is, my dear friend, however certain and knowledgeable you feel now, the day you get married you will realise that it’s never clear. You will think, But what am I doing! Do I really want this man? No, I need more time! And then you will find that custom and ceremony oblige you to go through with it, and in fact you will be quite glad about that, because it means you don’t have to decide it all yourself. Later, you will think, But did I really know what I was getting myself into? You will think, But did I actually know the person I married? You will ask yourself these questions, and find that, like most brides, you entered the harsh and stony field of marriage thinking it would be a … what’s the word I’m grappling for … what’s it … a … a …’ He took a deep rattling breath. ‘A flowerbed. Thinking it would be a flowerbed.’