The following week was pretty dreary. It's true that anything would seem comparatively dull after last Friday, but there was something particularly drab about this week. Firstly, the weather. It was cloudy, cold, damp. But mostly it was the walk home from work each day.
The bus continued to stop at the bus stop each evening, but my princess never emerged from it. Like a loyal dog, I walked at the right pace, in the same direction each evening, just in case. But nothing. I presumed that after watching me come in her mother's mouth, the heartbreak was too much for her. Certainly the tears in her eyes and the look on her face, that picture in my mind which had haunted me all this week, would suggest that. She probably took another route home now to avoid me, and I didn't blame her.
Eventually Friday evening came and went the same way, with no joy from the bus, ejecting only normal, uninteresting people onto the pavement. I trudged home to find the car not in the drive. My wife must have left early this week to meet her monster cock in the forest car park. Let her have her fun, I thought. I hope it lasts longer than mine did.
Monday, the week after that, and I noticed more people out as I walked to work. Perhaps because it was sunny. But then it dawned on me like a second Sun - last week was the half term holiday. Of course my princess wouldn't be getting off the bus from college. Maybe this evening I'd see her again. The excitement seemed to make the day brighter than the sun, and I felt a new sense of purpose in my life. I would do whatever it took to get back with her.
That evening, I walked home via the bus stop with renewed energy. Sure enough, there was the bus, bang on time. I slowed to ensure I caught sight of all the passengers who alighted. There she was! My heart skipped and I almost allowed my feet to. Trying desperately to keep a calm exterior, I walked casually. Too casually? I felt like Wesley Snipes in Malcolm X, but I couldn't seem to walk normally no matter how hard I tried.
She didn't even glance my way as she stepped off the bus. Another girl in the same blue college uniform stepped off behind her and they walked, side by side, in the direction of my princess' house. Her friend was about the same height and build but blonde, and she quickly glanced back at me before turning back to my princess and saying something inaudible from where I was.
I slowed down further so as to create more distance between us and not to crowd them. Eventually, they reached the front gate of the house and went through, letting it swing shut behind them. As I reached the gate, about ten seconds later, I looked at them both in the front garden.
"What do you want?" said the blonde, rudely.
Two could play at that game, I thought, and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"A naked selfie." I stated, whilst pointing in blondie's general direction.
Blondie gasped at the suggestion and I waited for further catty responses, but she was done.
"I don't think it's a good idea you come round anymore," said princess, calmly. Once again, with that simple sentence, she proved her complete authority over me. It felt like she had reached inside me and yanked out my intestines. Now, as she turned to walk toward her front door, it felt like she was dragging them out across the path.
As they both entered the front door, blondie turned to face me, and with a cheeky wave and smile, said, "Bye!"
The door closed, and I realised I was still staring at the house. I turned my empty shell of a self to face the direction I had to go in and started walking. Only half of me seemed to be leaving though, the other half still strewn across princess' front garden. I was a zombie, set on autopilot to go home.
At home that evening, I just sat, replaying those five minutes outside her house over and over, until bed.
The next day, the same two exited the bus and I assumed my respectful distance behind them in our walk home. At times I felt like a whimpering puppy, loyally following along behind but not understanding what was being said.
As I passed the gate, blondie called out to me from the door of the house, but this time in a more playful, smiling way, "What do you want?" The tone in her voice let me know she wanted to hear the same response as yesterday.
