DOG COLLAR

Lynne is in a cafe with an unnamed friend. The friend tells Lynne that Sophie said she'd be a bit late as she had to buy a new dog collar. Lynne says that she didn't know she had a dog. The friend says she doesn't and asks Lynne if she heard that she just married a vicar.

Lynne has organised one of her coffee mornings, this time with a couple of friends we don't know. Lynne doesn't seem to know much about her friends so these may be old school or work friends. Lynne then seems to be more surprised at not knowing Sophie had a dog than she does when she finds out she's married.

These must be friends, especially Sophie, who do not live in the same town as Lynne. It's likely that Sophie's marriage to the vicar would have been big news amongst the townspeople. It's not every day a man of the cloth gets married. Also, we know that Lynne's local vicar is a plump bald man who is unlikely to marry someone as young and stylish as Sophie.

What does the friend mean when she says that Sophie just married a vicar? Is the reason Lynne hasn't heard is that it only happened a couple of days ago or even just this morning? This marriage is not going to go far if Sophie is swanning off for coffee just hours after her wedding. At least he, the vicar husband, has got her running errands for him when he is attending to important church business. This seems like a strange relationship, perhaps one of convenience.