During the run-up to Christmas, while my son and I were on our way to a local out-of-town supermarket, I decided to have a little fun. In my right hand, I was carrying a shopping bag. There was nothing in my left hand, but this is not the impression I had suddenly chosen to give my son. As we walked, I occasionally slowed my pace of walking and glanced toward the ground, almost as though I was waiting for an imaginary dog with an imaginary lead, which I was (of course) holding with my empty hand.
As one might expect, my son thought I had completely lost the plot. He had certainly never heard of any post-menopausal women suddenly having an imaginary pet, whilst on the way to a supermarket, but then again, I think he's come to realise that absolutely anything is possible with me. Either way, my son opted not to protest when I stopped at various lamp posts because the fictional imaginary dog needed to wee.
In the distance, there was a man walking towards us with a dog (a real one). To err on the side of caution, I decided it wise to switch the hand I was carrying the shopping bag with, with the empty hand carrying the fictional imaginary dog lead.
What I had not anticipated was that this man's dog would stop and start having a good sniff around where my fictional imaginary dog was. I kid you not, the real dog sensed the presence of my fictional imaginary dog.
So, the question I ask is this? Between a woman who knew she had no pet dog, and a real dog that clearly thought she did have a pet dog, which one of us was actually barking mad? 