Shelf #022

So Kuu stayed at Max and Bella's house. He felt grateful he didn't left a number for Spike. He phoned Martin and let him look after the shop without him for a few days. Max and Bella had told Honey and Lory about the problem, and they felt alright with Kuu staying with them. After work, they would come and see him. Then the friends still got together for as usual, lovely dinner on Fridays. Kuu felt indebted to his friends. From the bottom of his heart, if it hadn't been for them, he couldn't just imagine how he would turn out from this depressing state. He was very glad the presence and consolation from them had actually helped him gradually heal.

Staying in this house for two weeks made Kuu witnessed such genuine and warm love of his best friends Max and Bella. . At nights, after their nice conversation with Kuu at the living room –– just right after dinner –– Max would lift Bella off her couch, and sometimes from her wheelchair, planted soft kiss on her lips, and carried her all the way upstairs to their bedroom. . During the days when they would go off to work, in the mornings, Max would be all in his suit for the city. Bella would check and fix his tie, then kissed him goodbye. Kuu would be in the kitchen watching, eating his breakfast. . Bella was also dressed for work, and assured that Max was out, she would be back in the kitchen to pack her briefcase with law books from the kitchen table.

One time, Kuu tried to tease her and Max. He hid a very important law book and one of Max's important documents. She still kept looking for them everywhere.

Kuu later gave up. Bella turned back to the kitchen table to check again, when she saw her book and Max's folder in his hand. Chewing his crunchy cereal groggily, Kuu just calmly spoke.

"Guilty. Just very, very guilty."

Bella would just smile and take those from him, as if nothing happened at all.

"Yup. I know." Then she would just wink.

"Don't throw me to jail yet. Not until I find someone to marry me and bear me a child," Kuu said, taking a spoonful. Bella would just chuckle, ruffle his hair as usual and kissed his head. Then she would be off to work.

Kuu thought they were the most perfect couple. For Max to have give Bella such genuine passion as much as he. It never mattered that Bella was on a wheelchair. Max never cared about that. As long as his feelings were based on true love, everything else didn't matter. . . Kuu saw that kind of love, a real love. . . Staying here with Max and Bella made him realize how much he wanted to love someone and be with that woman until he grows old. He will kiss her farewell before he'd go off to work. . And at nights, he will carry her to bed, like Max did to Bella.

But it was hard for Kuu to admit, that still, even at nights there were times when he fought himself to sleep. Scenes from the dates with Julie, their first meeting. . Their kisses. . . They all kept coming back to him. . Even if with his friends' help in trying to keep himself off her. Even if he allowed himself to go and find another woman. To slowly and eventually forget her. . All those efforts were still were of no use. . They were useless because. . . Until now, Kuu admitted. He couldn't forget Julie at all. . . His mind was still so full of her. . .

The final day came and now was Saturday of the second week. It was time for Kuu to go back. This early morning, at the door were Max and Bella, as they bid farewell to their only best friend in life. Kuu emerged from the house, a little ruffled from the nights away from home, and now a bit away from despair, headed off and waved to his best friends.

He walked along Portobello Road. Heading home, he never noticed newly updated daily tabloid papers on a stall that he had just passed, all of which seem to have very gainy, grabbed pictures of Julie on their front page. Trash of headlines in capital, bold letters ––

'Julienna Stunna' –– 'It's Definitey Her!' –– 'Stinky Julie' and 'Scott of Pantartica.'

He finally arrived home and the silence which brought back to him told him that Spike was out again for the night probably drinking and partying the whole night out with other crazy friends. True enough, Martin must have told him about his situation, as Spike left him a note at the kitchen table.

Hungry, Kuu grabbed some hearty breakfast, brushed his teeth and took a nice, cool bath. He picked clothes from the closet and wore Armani's given casual shirt and pants. Today, he decided it was now time for him to go back to work and check on Martin and other things at the bookshop. Just as he locked the brown leather of Dior's casual golden watch on his wrist, the doorbell rang. He headed out of his bedroom to answer it.

The doorbell rang again as he walked on the corridor.

"Yeah, coming. . ." he called out, hurrying. `

Kuu arrived at the door and opened it. His face fell. . . There, stood a dark-glassed Julie with her shoulder bag, her head low. She only wore a white fitted, deep neckline, sleeveless top beneath his blue denim jacket. The other side of it was loose down her shoulder. She wore jeans and white trainers.

The moment she looked up and saw him she breathed heavily. She quickly took off her sunglasses. Kuu's wide, shocked eyes mirrored hers.

His voice breathe softly.

"My God. . Julie. . ."

Nothing idealized to her image right now. Her hair was down and a mess –– she never wore make-up. She looked tired, and he noticed pinkish hint of bags under her red eyes. It was very clear that she had been crying for a very long time. There was a little bruise on her forehead and cheek. On the other side of her lips was a little scratch. Tears kept falling down her face.

Kuu couldn't take this sight. His heart twisted into a huge knot it ache so much. The knuckles on his hand almost got pale as he gripped the door tightly. Julie looked so surprised to see him for a second, as she hadn't expected him to be in. Then her eyes softened tearfully. More tears fell as she cried out for him.

"KUUUUUUUUU–!"

She rushed forward and flung her arms around Kuu, her face buried in his chest. She kept crying in his arms, desperately holding him tightly.

"KUU–! KUU–! KUU!"

Right before every single person around the neighborhood of Portobello could process everything and realized who that woman in front of Kuu's house really was, the blue door quickly shut close.

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