This Torment

Part fifteen of the Robyn series

Six months had passed in Lazytown since Kit's departure. True to his promise Kit had come back on flying visits one of which had been for Robyn's birthday. He never stayed more than two days at a time and resided either with Sportacus or with the Mayor and Bessie. Not once since the collapse of his relationship with Robyn had he entered the house he had lived in for over a year or been anywhere alone with her.

This behaviour had confused some people. Some thought it was brought on by jealously of her seemingly stable relationship with Ziggy others thought it due to a continued attraction to the woman he had claimed to love more than life itself. The inhabitants of Lazytown were split in their theories and no one could agree on either of them.

Even being the person that knew Robyn the best out of everyone didn't keep Sportacus from being confused by her odd behaviour when Kit was around. She wouldn't try to be alone with him at any time just as he would do with her. In her manner she seemed restrained. Both were always unfailingly polite to each other and seemed to be total strangers to each other.

It didn't make sense.

The fire of such a passionate coupling seemed to have been doused out with the memories of special times. Neither of them spoke of old times, they didn't even speak of the present. They avoided conversation with each other wherever possible and even physical contact was non-existent. Eye contact was also evaded and simple requests to pass a bowl of peas were unusually strained for them both. It made the people around them feel uncomfortable as if they were pulling teeth.

Most people seemed glad that Robyn and Ziggy appeared to be getting on well. They seemed happy together and no one objected to their relationship. There were those that doubted the validity of the 'happiness' the couple were sharing. Robbie was one of them. As Robyn's father he had an instinct which told him when something wasn't right with his daughter. He had confronted her and conversations had ensued where Robyn had all but admitted that she'd made a mistake.

Despite her father's advice to cut short the relationship before she found herself in too deep Robyn was determined to continue. In her view she had made her bed and had to lie on it no matter what. She put on a happy face to conceal the silent tears she cried at night. She replaced Kit's photos with Ziggy's but kept a secret album full of pictures of the man she had once been willing to die for.

Robyn sat with Ziggy in his living room. The two talked over glasses of wine, their conversation followed idle routes. Ziggy's end of the conversation was strained; there was something he was holding back she knew. It seemed as if he was more willing to skirt around any enquiries she made and he kept changing the subject. This was neither the first time that this had happened nor would it be the last.

Their relationship had gotten off to a fairly bumpy start. Neither of them had adapted well to the change of state of their relationship and it took a while for things to smooth out. Robyn had missed Kit more than she'd let on and felt hurt by his betrayal. She'd not expected him to give her up so easily and her feelings became clear after the deed was done.

She was bored.

For his part Ziggy was concerned that he could never reach the bar that Kit had set. He didn't know if he could ever compare to the handsome, mysterious, funny and interesting man that had cast a shadow over him. Doubt preyed on his mind day and night that Robyn wasn't as interested in him as she was in Kit. To combat this he tried to make himself as interesting as possible and hoped that his and Robyn's experiences together would win through. He'd known her since she was a baby and they had gone from childhood chums to lovers. He also tried to convince himself that Kit had just been a fly by night boyfriend.

"Robyn?" Ziggy asked after a break in the conversation.

Stirred from her silent thoughts Robyn looked up from her glass, "Yes?"

"I was wondering something. Why don't we go for a weekend out somewhere? A small trip you know, just the two of us. Somewhere different."

"Where were you thinking of?"

"Paris?"

This suggestion made Robyn choke on her wine. It had been unexpected and had surprised her. For her part she'd thought he would have suggested somewhere less exotic like Sweet City where he could stuff himself silly on candy. Paris was an entirely different kettle of fish. It meant being alone with Ziggy in a completely alien place away from anyone that new them. The thought of it suffocated her.

When her body had finished making her cough to remove the liquid that had gone down the wrong way Robyn smiled at Ziggy.

"Paris sounds lovely." She said sounding convincingly excited.

Ziggy frowned, "Are you sure? That coughing fit didn't exactly fill me with confidence."

"I breathed in and swallowed at the same time. It happens. When were you thinking of us going?"

"In two days time. I've already booked the hotel and the flights."

It took all of Robyn's strength not to choke again and to cover it she smiled, "It's not like you to be this spontaneous. Who are we flying with?"

Ziggy smiled this time, "Air Ché with Greta being an Air Hostess for us."

"That's great. There's one minor problem though."

"What's that?"

"Ché's airship has two beds, one for him and one for Greta. If they share a bed it leaves on for us to share."

"We can manage that can't we? It's not as if we'll be doing anything. It would also give us practice for sharing a bed in the hotel."

Robyn was about to respond when the phone rang. Ziggy answered it with a sigh, his conversation with the caller only lasted ten seconds and he sighed again when he put the receiver down.

"That was Robbie. He wants you home, it's getting late." Ziggy explained.

Nodding Robyn stood up and went to fetch her jacket. Coming back into the living room she hugged Ziggy and gave him a goodbye kiss. He walked her to the door and even offered to walk her home but she declined on the basis that she didn't have far to go. Waving to Ziggy she left the house and made her way home.

What was she going to do?