Season: Summer
Weather: Hot, smoky with thunderstorms in the morning.
Day of the week: Wednesday
Date: 29th February, 2024
Happy leap day!
Today reminds me that the Olympics will be taking place this year. It will be exciting to watch. I love watching things like the tennis opens and the Olympics. I don't normally watch sports during normal times, but big sporting events like that are exciting. Did you know, I used to want to be a swimmer competing in the Olympics? But that dream was dashed after I developed a fear of the swimming pool. A pity. If I had been given the chance, I still believe that I would have at least been able to reach the national or international stage. I can only watch other people achieving my dreams now and cheer them on.
This morning, the two bosses decided to go into work and the dark shadow lord decided his little holiday had also come to an end. They had made the decisions last night and informed me before they had gone to bed. So I got up early to make them lunchboxes and sharing snacks for the boss floor lunchroom.
I kept things simple. For the lunchboxes, I made sandwiches using yesterday's leftovers for the bosses, with fruit, cheese and crackers. To share, I baked two cakes. One a walnut and raisin cake that was less sweet with a little more salt and less sugar for the gentlemen. One an apple teacake.
After the dark shadow lord badgered me for an hour for a packed lunch of his own, I made him a giant sandwich as well, giving him an oversized muffin instead of a cake because he insisted he needed cake as well. I packed his meal into a brown paper bag that he hugged to his chest with glee, leaving a kiss on my lips in front of the bosses before prancing out of the house.
With a shared rolling of the eyes, the two bosses gave me goodbye kisses on the cheeks and then hurried off to work. They were late because of the dark shadow lord's antics. This left me at home on my own for the first time in quite a few days. It felt like my normal humdrum life was so faraway that I could barely remember it anymore.
At home alone, I cleaned, did the meal prep for dinner and for the first time in quite a while, watched some television programs. There wasn't very much to watch on the usual TV programs, but the Asian channels had all sorts of eye opening programs, from variety to music videos, to documentaries, infomercials and dramas. It made me forget the time until I heard the stomp of feet on the doorstep and jangle of keys in the door lock.
In my surprise and hurry, I tripped over myself, so that the men opened the door to find me in a tangled, ungainly heap of the floor.
"Welcome home!" I called cheerily from the floor, trying to untangle myself and get my stiff limbs moving again.
"What happened?" the men hurried over with a whiff of smoke from outside. It smelled like the smoke had thickened despite the thunder and rainstorms this morning.
"Uh, I forgot to move all afternoon," I rubbed my nose, allowing them to help me up and sit me back on the sofa. "I got caught up watching TV."
"Jane," Stony Boss shook his head at me and sighed, rubbing my head with an open hand.
THE biggest boss of all just held me for a moment and then enveloped me in a big and rather tight hug.
"Uh, ah, boss, boss," I patted him after a while. "As nice as the hugs are, but I need to go to the toilet. Don't squeeze me anymore or I might not be able to hold it in anymore."
THE biggest boss of all let me go in a hurry and I bolted, stumbling over myself to get to the toilet.
"Sometimes, I really wonder how she survived living on her own," Stony Boss muttered.
"Look, she's already prepared everything to cook for dinner," THE biggest boss of all said from the kitchen.
"Let's get changed and start cooking," Stony Boss said.
When I emerged from the toilet, the two men had just finished changing out of their work clothes and were tying aprons on. Since they had gotten started there, I decided to get started with the laundry.
"Leave the laundry, Jane," Stony Boss called to me. "We'll do it after Seamus and I have finished cooking and eating and showering."
"Oh," I nodded and then entered the kitchen, only to be shooed out.
"Let us cook tonight," THE biggest boss of all picked me up and sat me back on the sofa in front of the TV. "Watch a little more telly. We'll call you when dinner is ready."
As a result, I got stuck into watching a palace drama about a girl from a lower noble family entering the palace as a maid, only to get stuck amongst the politics and romances of the various princes and princesses. I watched with avid interest, muttering something about needing popcorn and a soda, only to find a buttery smell coming from a bowl in my lap moments later and a can in my hand. I didn't even know where it came from.
"It'd be great to eat dinner here in front of the TV," I commented to myself and then smelled a forkful of something delicious in front of my mouth. When I opened my mouth to ask where the food had come from, the food was placed in my mouth. Distracted by the TV, I automatically chewed and swallowed, opening my mouth ready for the next mouthful. The food entered my mouth all on its own. It was great.
I don't know how much I ate, but it was a lot. My stomach felt uncomfortably full and bloated afterwards, making me feel sleepy.
The remnants of blueberries and cream from the dessert could still be tasted in my mouth and I savoured the flavours, while watching the palace maid getting peeked on while bathing. My eyes dropped at the same time as the palace maid's did when someone blew a sleeping smoke into her bathing room.
Someone had me lean against their body and patted me gently while I struggled to stay awake.
"I've remade her bed for her," Stony Boss's voice murmured. "The new lock has been installed on the window as well. She should be safe in her own room tonight."
"Let's carry her to bed then," THE biggest boss of all murmured.
"Wait. I'll help her brush her teeth first."
It was lovely of the boys getting me ready for bed while I was too sleepy to move. I would have to remind myself not to get too used to this kind of pampering. It could happen once, twice, but not for a lifetime. No man would be patient enough to withstand such a lazy bum and I was too scared of getting used to being spoiled like this.
It is still better to stay down to earth and know my place. Much as I love these two gentlemen, eventually, I will be forced to move on.
Oh. Hello. Someone has come in to sneak my journal away, hoping to read my most recent entry. Too bad. I woke up and I'm still writing. You can't take my journal.
Bleh. I stuck my tongue out. Hahaha.