I finally found someone

I see him watch me. Cats. Pay them attention and they'll never be yours. Like many women. Like some children.

He slips off the sofa where he till then sat, beside the only woman in his life.
He climbs in beside the brown suede I sit on. How fickle love is.

Unmasked attention after a long time. The woman in me revels in it, noiselessly though.

Let me get it for you. I walk into my room to bring something that I just promised.

A shadow. And another one trails behind.

Opening my cupboard, I rummage through it.

Are you married? My other shadow asks me.

There is a conspiracy, I am convinced.

Do I look like I am, I want to ask. I realize its not a question he can answer correctly. Or even appropriately.

I shake my head in the negative. No.

I find what I want. But the conversation isn't over yet. I pretend to search still. Fossicking, yes.

"Will you marry me?"

That's a first.

I smile at the clothes. Only they can see my amusement.

Why do you want to marry me? I have to know.

"You look pretty."
His reply is nothing but genuinely superficial. But then, maybe that's all there is to it.

How old are you? I ask my only suitor.

"I turned 5 in November."

Hmmm...I always had this thing for Scorpios.

I bend down and looking into eyes that see no more than what's in front, I ask. Will you grow up soon for me?

Does that mean I should eat well?
Yes.

Does that mean I shouldn't cry?
Not too much, yes.

Does that mean I can't watch Pogo?
Of course you can.

I am not too demanding. I don't want to chase away my only knight who's too young to even climb onto a horse.

My beau thinks I am worth doing it all for. I see the admiring look hasn't vanished.

Giving a quick look-over at my wardrobe, I hear him say, "You have very dull clothes.”

And, “I like red."

And then a few seconds later my-husband-to-be-in-maybe-twenty-years says. "You should show me what dress you wear everyday. And wear it only if I like it."

They're always men. They learn it young.