They and I

A lively, tongue‑in‑cheek portrait of a small family’s grand ambitions, the story opens with a cramped house plan spread across a knee and a chorus of opinions about what a home should contain. The narrator, his sister Robina, and the brothers Dick and Robin spar over kitchens, stairs, billiard rooms, and the occasional dance floor, each suggestion revealing the quirks and pretensions of early‑1900s middle‑class life. Their banter, peppered with references to games of chance and sport, paints a vivid picture of domestic negotiation that feels both timeless and charmingly dated.

Through rapid, witty dialogue the characters expose their differing priorities—practicality versus frivolity, tradition versus novelty—while the house itself becomes a canvas for their dreams and frustrations. The narrative’s humor lies in the absurdity of redesigning everyday spaces into grand schemes, a satire of the era’s social expectations. Listeners will find themselves drawn into the playful clash of personalities, eager to see how these schemers navigate the reality of building a home that’s as modest as it is imagined.