Oriel had always been fond of Ellie. Of the Cattermole's in general, because Maisie was a good friend of his as well, and Alfie had always seemed nice, although he didn't know him so much.
His head nodded, that smile shining on his face again. He was quite pleased with his job, especially now. When he'd first been hired on, the June past, when school had ended, he had been working solely as a fact checker. And he had quite liked that job! But two months earlier, he had finally been given a column to write, and that thrilled the young man!
"I write a column about rare animals and magical creatures," he explained. Sometimes Magical Creatures, and sometimes Non-Magical ones that people did not know a lot about, like the civit or the vampire squid or something else. And sometimes about animals now extinct. He adored animals of all kinds.
"A daycare?" he echoed and another smile lit his face. "That's great, Ellie." And well needed! As seemed to be the way after wars, there were babies being born all over the place. "When does it open?"