Kris at work asked me the other day how often I see Katie in a year. “Three or four times,” I told him, and we both laughed. Kris is one of the loveliest people I know and he wouldn’t laugh at my situation spitefully. He wouldn’t laugh if I didn’t also. And I laugh because, as they say, you’ve got to, haven’t you?
In any case, I’ll be seeing rather less of Kris and more of Katie in the months to come. The Robsons have, absurdly generously, agreed to look after me for, not the two weeks surrounding my birthday as was planned, but a period nearer to three months. In no particular order, the benefits or reasons are these:
• Mrs. Robson has promised to illustrate my short stories (now numbering four and a half), but, vile woman that she is, she works too hard and as such doesn’t have the time - or, I would expect, the energy - to draw silly pictures of weird fuzzy critters. So, for three months, I’m going to steal as much of her work away from her as possible and chain her to a table with pencils in her hands. I’m really proud of these “short tall tales” and I’m genuinely hoping to have them published as soon as possible. If we can achieve that, I can earn some credit as a storyteller and perhaps some money as well, both of which are very helpful when it comes to making films (which is next on my list of vocations…).
• May, June and July are the three months that Katie will be home from college. We’ve never spent more than three weeks together, so three months is going to be wonderful. Honestly, spending four hundred pounds to see your fiancÈ for two weeks every four months is laughable, isn’t it? Katie is planning to come to England for Spring semester ‘08, so, over the next year, we should get to spend a lot of time together.
• This is a perfect reason for me to leave my job, which, as I’ve mentioned, I’ve been feeling less and less comfortable with recently. What happens when I return is uncertain at the moment (an ambiguity that I’m quite reveling in). Perhaps I’ll head to Africa. I expect I’ll take up street performing as I’ve threatened. Human statuing is fun, and I also had a wonderful notion of getting an ugly old honky tonk piano (though of course I have no idea where in London [or Colchester, or wherever] I would keep a piano, and taking along my digital piano or a keyboard just doesn’t have the same charm…) and setting it up outside somewhere to play rhythm ‘n’ blues for passing pedestrians, which I could happily do all day long.
• A lot of the people reading this are my American friends. I get to see you! Although I saw most of my closest Pineappleers last July, I haven’t been to the States since - crikey - February ‘06, and I very much miss Betsy and Scott and Mr. and Mrs. R and Loki and you. It’ll be strange to be, for a little while, part of the social circle, rather than just a guest. Strange and wonderful. And I’ll get to meet some of Katie’s extended family and watch the fireworks on July 4th. I delight in fireworks.
It’s moving how accommodating the Robsons are to me. I made sure everybody was given the opportunity to object to my staying for so long, because three months is a long time to intrude on other people’s lives, but I’m led to believe that, as is their way, nobody raised a finger in defiance. I suppose I should expect my fiancÈ’s family not to be too bothered about putting me up, especially given the circumstances, but I’m still unspeakably grateful for how lovely they all are to me.
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