just muse me 23 Bonus 1 Have your muse keep a diary for a week
Saturday
It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I'm contemplating not seeing Elaine for two weekends in a row and having a teenage girl living with me for a week, I'm not so sure. Kelly and I get on well enough, but I don't know anything about teenage girls and I've never had to be responsible for one of them before. The only consolation is that Elaine's just as nervous as I am. She called me when she got back from dropping Kelly off at the airport and asked me to ring her the moment I got back from picking Kelly up. I don't know how she's going to cope when Kelly goes off travelling. I said something to that effect and all of a sudden she was terribly busy. It's quite endearing really and I know she'll be in a better mood this afternoon.
Sunday
I had all sorts of ideas about the sights that I would show Kelly, but it turned out she had her own ideas. She spent yesterday afternoon playing around on the laptop she insisted I bring home from work. I had to agree, though, that it was all worth it in the end. She'd given Elaine instructions on how to use her laptop and we ended up talking on something called 'Sky', I think. It really was a wonderful invention - not only could I talk to Elaine, but I could see her too. Kelly tried to tell me it was free, until I pointed out we were using the phone line. And it was rather blocky. As good as it was, when I don't have someone here to help me I think I'll go back to using the phone.
When I asked Kelly what she wanted to do today she decided she wanted to go sailing with me. I can't help feeling Elaine's put her up to this, but I couldn't talk her out of it, probably because I did rather want to go, so we went. I enjoyed myself and I can be reasonably certain Kelly did too. For someone who knew nothing about sailing she did very well. When I asked her if it was something she might do again in the future she said, "Maybe," and since she sounded quite cheerful about it, I'll take that as a good sign.
Monday
I can understand a little better how Elaine feels now. Kelly was just getting up when I went off to work and sounded quite calm about exploring the city on her own. Her French is a lot better than mine - I suppose that at least means she's likely to get a good mark in her French A level. But I spent the day wondering if she was all right and had to resist the urge to call her and check because I know she wouldn't thank me for it. She was fine, of course, and had a great time. I told Elaine about it and she thought it was funny.
Tuesday
I had just about managed to relax today and then Kelly didn't come home for dinner. I was terribly worried until I discovered she'd texted me. It never occurred to me to look for texts on my mobile phone. I thought she wouldn't appreciate me checking up on her so I had an evening in on my own and waited for her to get in. When she arrived she seemed happy, but not drunk, so I opted not to say anything, except tell her to ring me in the future rather than text. I know Elaine often sounds calm about what Kelly gets up to at home, so I tried to do the same. But it was terribly hard to know where to draw the line. I decided not to ask Elaine in case I'd done the wrong thing.
Wednesday
I feel like I've seen very little of Kelly these past few days. I know she's an adult and I know she's enjoying herself, but it does make me wonder what use I am. Elaine confessed she's missing her daughter and then gave me a load of wedding things to do, on the basis that I had nothing better to do. Which I suppose I hadn't - I have got used to working long hours and having shorter evenings.
Thursday
This evening I was glad to see Kelly home much earlier than she has been the past three days. Except that she immediately went and hid in her bedroom. When I dared to venture in I found her lying on her bed crying. It took me aback a bit, but there are simple rules about what to do with a crying woman so I followed them and eventually she told me the whole story.
She'd met a man on Monday and fallen in love with him. Which I found unlikely in such a short time, but I wasn't stupid enough to point that out. Only now he'd broken up with her and she was devastated. I thought about asking exactly what they'd been doing this week, but decided I didn't want to know. After a while I discovered what it was that soothed a broken heart and she proceeded to eat rather a lot of Swiss chocolate. It seemed to help.
Friday
Kelly didn't sound like she had any intention of getting up today, so I took a half day and came home at lunchtime. She hadn't left the flat at all, so I was glad I did. So as not to repeat the events of yesterday evening I asked her where she was planning to go when she went travelling. We then spent the afternoon looking through maps and I told her about the places I'd been. On Earth, obviously. She sounded very excited about the whole thing, although less so about the six months she's planning to spend applying to university and working to earn enough money to go travelling.
I told her I had some savings that weren't doing anything and I would give her some of that money to top up whatever she earned. And to use at university, since Elaine's always telling me just how expensive it is these days. I had been planning to use that money to buy a boat, but that was before I met Elaine and I think this is a better use for it. She spent the rest of the day grinning after that. When I told Elaine she tried to talk me out of it, but I could tell her heart wasn't in it.
Since it was Kelly's last night in Geneva I took her out to dinner. We dressed up for it and I was surprised at how grown up Kelly looked in a dress, after she'd spent an hour in the bathroom. I think I'd got used to her the age she was when we first met and I've only just realised that she's not a child any more. I'll miss her after she leaves tomorrow.
Saturday
Kelly left today. She called me to tell me she'd got home safely and she was laughing as she did it. Given that I now worry about her just as much as her mother does I asked her if she regretted coming to stay with me. She said she didn't and promised to come back again, once she was a seasoned traveller needing to brush up on her French. I look forward to it.
It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I'm contemplating not seeing Elaine for two weekends in a row and having a teenage girl living with me for a week, I'm not so sure. Kelly and I get on well enough, but I don't know anything about teenage girls and I've never had to be responsible for one of them before. The only consolation is that Elaine's just as nervous as I am. She called me when she got back from dropping Kelly off at the airport and asked me to ring her the moment I got back from picking Kelly up. I don't know how she's going to cope when Kelly goes off travelling. I said something to that effect and all of a sudden she was terribly busy. It's quite endearing really and I know she'll be in a better mood this afternoon.
Sunday
I had all sorts of ideas about the sights that I would show Kelly, but it turned out she had her own ideas. She spent yesterday afternoon playing around on the laptop she insisted I bring home from work. I had to agree, though, that it was all worth it in the end. She'd given Elaine instructions on how to use her laptop and we ended up talking on something called 'Sky', I think. It really was a wonderful invention - not only could I talk to Elaine, but I could see her too. Kelly tried to tell me it was free, until I pointed out we were using the phone line. And it was rather blocky. As good as it was, when I don't have someone here to help me I think I'll go back to using the phone.
When I asked Kelly what she wanted to do today she decided she wanted to go sailing with me. I can't help feeling Elaine's put her up to this, but I couldn't talk her out of it, probably because I did rather want to go, so we went. I enjoyed myself and I can be reasonably certain Kelly did too. For someone who knew nothing about sailing she did very well. When I asked her if it was something she might do again in the future she said, "Maybe," and since she sounded quite cheerful about it, I'll take that as a good sign.
Monday
I can understand a little better how Elaine feels now. Kelly was just getting up when I went off to work and sounded quite calm about exploring the city on her own. Her French is a lot better than mine - I suppose that at least means she's likely to get a good mark in her French A level. But I spent the day wondering if she was all right and had to resist the urge to call her and check because I know she wouldn't thank me for it. She was fine, of course, and had a great time. I told Elaine about it and she thought it was funny.
Tuesday
I had just about managed to relax today and then Kelly didn't come home for dinner. I was terribly worried until I discovered she'd texted me. It never occurred to me to look for texts on my mobile phone. I thought she wouldn't appreciate me checking up on her so I had an evening in on my own and waited for her to get in. When she arrived she seemed happy, but not drunk, so I opted not to say anything, except tell her to ring me in the future rather than text. I know Elaine often sounds calm about what Kelly gets up to at home, so I tried to do the same. But it was terribly hard to know where to draw the line. I decided not to ask Elaine in case I'd done the wrong thing.
Wednesday
I feel like I've seen very little of Kelly these past few days. I know she's an adult and I know she's enjoying herself, but it does make me wonder what use I am. Elaine confessed she's missing her daughter and then gave me a load of wedding things to do, on the basis that I had nothing better to do. Which I suppose I hadn't - I have got used to working long hours and having shorter evenings.
Thursday
This evening I was glad to see Kelly home much earlier than she has been the past three days. Except that she immediately went and hid in her bedroom. When I dared to venture in I found her lying on her bed crying. It took me aback a bit, but there are simple rules about what to do with a crying woman so I followed them and eventually she told me the whole story.
She'd met a man on Monday and fallen in love with him. Which I found unlikely in such a short time, but I wasn't stupid enough to point that out. Only now he'd broken up with her and she was devastated. I thought about asking exactly what they'd been doing this week, but decided I didn't want to know. After a while I discovered what it was that soothed a broken heart and she proceeded to eat rather a lot of Swiss chocolate. It seemed to help.
Friday
Kelly didn't sound like she had any intention of getting up today, so I took a half day and came home at lunchtime. She hadn't left the flat at all, so I was glad I did. So as not to repeat the events of yesterday evening I asked her where she was planning to go when she went travelling. We then spent the afternoon looking through maps and I told her about the places I'd been. On Earth, obviously. She sounded very excited about the whole thing, although less so about the six months she's planning to spend applying to university and working to earn enough money to go travelling.
I told her I had some savings that weren't doing anything and I would give her some of that money to top up whatever she earned. And to use at university, since Elaine's always telling me just how expensive it is these days. I had been planning to use that money to buy a boat, but that was before I met Elaine and I think this is a better use for it. She spent the rest of the day grinning after that. When I told Elaine she tried to talk me out of it, but I could tell her heart wasn't in it.
Since it was Kelly's last night in Geneva I took her out to dinner. We dressed up for it and I was surprised at how grown up Kelly looked in a dress, after she'd spent an hour in the bathroom. I think I'd got used to her the age she was when we first met and I've only just realised that she's not a child any more. I'll miss her after she leaves tomorrow.
Saturday
Kelly left today. She called me to tell me she'd got home safely and she was laughing as she did it. Given that I now worry about her just as much as her mother does I asked her if she regretted coming to stay with me. She said she didn't and promised to come back again, once she was a seasoned traveller needing to brush up on her French. I look forward to it.