"Thanks for that," Millicent nodded with a grateful half-smile. "Makes sense. S'pose I'm just not used to, er, not being able to handle Buster myself, so pardon if my head's screwed on wrong."
Well, what a way to start off. Millicent had almost never had to worry about going out of her way to know people before. Ever since she was a child, her acquaintances were always picked out for her, and on top of that she generally got on better with the boys, who were notorious for making friends through shared activities rather than talking and sharing and whatever.
Needless to say, this year was quickly making Millicent aware how miserable she was at this.
"Hmm." She broke the silence again. Best to start out with commonalities. The what's-your-favourite brand of small talk could wait a bit. "So how'd you and Nik meet anyway?"