With a genial smile, he takes up his cane and rises (is he leaning on it? Certainly his other hand is on the desk), asking, "before we go down, might you have a look out the window? I've done what I could, about the tree."

Said tree is, it should be noted, both taller and fuller than it had been when they first arrived, and a sturdy-looking branch grows within easy reach of the window.