The problem with the sticker album, it turned out, was Belgium. Not Belgium specifically. Belgium had submitted their squad list promptly, in alphabetical order, with a covering note that Griselda had described as exemplary and pinned to the noticeboard with a medium-sized pin. Belgium were not the problem.
The problem was that whoever had designed the album template, and there was some disagreement about whether this counted as Greta’s responsibility or simply one of Greta’s consequences, had given Belgium seventeen spaces and Belgium had twenty-three players.
“We could make the stickers smaller,” said Gwendoline.
“We cannot make the stickers smaller,” said Griselda.
“Six smaller stickers—”
“The album has a specification.”
“You wrote the specification this morning.”
“It has always had a specification,” said Griselda, in a tone that closed the matter.
Greta was looking at the ceiling. This was either deep thought or the beginning of something that would need managing. With Greta it was generally both. “Belgium,” she said, “could leave six players off.”
“You can’t tell Belgium to leave six players off,” said Gwendoline.
“I’m not telling them. I’m creating the conditions in which they arrive at that conclusion independently.”
Gertrude looked up from the seeds ledger, which she had not actually been reading. “How?”
Greta smoothed the paper. “We send them a very supportive letter.”
https://myrtlelion.substack.com/p/belgium