Still 14/4/72
Good news; she's not pregnant. That's a relief. We're going to be much more careful when it comes to contraception from now on. I guess I can stop thinking of names now…Erin, Eric, Eileen…STOP IT! Lauren seems happy that her figure is safe (the thought of getting fat simply disturbs her), but she's decided to go on vacation for a couple of days. Apparently it's not actually a vacation; it's more of a cooking school. She wants to become a fully qualified cook and appears to have given up on the idea of becoming an interial designer.
I think it's a good thing that she isn't pregnant because I only want to have children with a woman whom I'm in love with and so far, I haven't found her. At least I don't think I have.
16/4/72
Okay…I am so…what's the word? Bewildered?
I was out doing my rounds early this afternoon and I happened to come across the queen. After I said the usual, "Good afternoon, Rose," she ordered me to stop and report to her immediately. To save myself from possibly having to find a new job, I did as she said. We stood there for about 2 minutes having a conversation that went something like, "Mr. Alexander, you know very well that my name is not Rose, Jennifer, Mary or any of those other names you have been disrespectfully calling me this past week."
"And my name has never been Larry, Daniel, Steve…"
"Stop it, I understand what you're trying to say. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry."
"Sorry? Well that fixes everything. Are you going to apologise to all of your staff members, or just the ones who aren't afraid to stand up to you?"
I started walking away, but she called me back.
"I'm not finished," she took a deep breath and straightened up her jacket, "I want you to help me to become a better queen."
"Excuse me?"
"I want you to help me get in touch with the staff, to show them kindness, generosity and to make them feel as if they aren't just here to work. I think you could assist me in learning to understand them better and possibly even befriend them."
"You want me to help you do that?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I've been thinking a great deal about what you said and I realised that it actually makes a lot of sense to become one with your workers."
"Alright then, you seem genuine enough."
"So you will help me?"
"Your Majesty, you have engaged my services. When shall we begin?"
She smiled at me and told me that we could start tomorrow morning. I think it's strange how she allowed herself to be influenced by a mere commoner like me. It's good that she wants to change herself for the better and admitting that to herself is the first step on her way to becoming a better person.
17/4/72
We started what I call our "lessons" today. We sat in the gazebo and I told her to wave to everyone who went by and to say "hello" to whoever the person was. For example, she said, "Hello Peter," to the hedge trimmer because his name was Peter. Since she already knew everybody's names, it was a synch for her. The people looked at her in shock that she knew what their names were. I thought the whole thing was quite amusing.
Later on, I asked her to come down to the kitchen with me. She had never been in the kitchen before because she always orders her food from upstairs because that way she didn't have to mingle with the staff. Some of the kitchen staff weren't native Genovians, they were French, so I asked her if she knew how to speak French and she said she knew a fair bit. I told her that they would appreciate it if she spoke to them in their native language, so she got to talking with them and they seemed to have a fair bit in common. She liked the way that the food she ordered was brought to her much faster than if she were to order it from her suite and decided that she would visit more often.
After she bid the kitchen staff farewell, I told her that our lesson was over for the day and she said, "It may be over, but I'm not finished with you yet."
It turns out she just wanted somebody to accompany her on a walk. We started talking and she told me all about how she came to be the queen. She said it was an arranged marriage and that she wasn't too happy about it at first, but started warming up to the idea when her first child was born. I had no idea that it was an arranged marriage; they seemed perfect for each other, despite the 14 year age difference. She didn't go into great detail about their relationship. She just stopped at, "Rupert and I…" and then moved onto, "So, Joseph tell me about your life. I'd like to get to know the person who has agreed to help me become a better person."
So I thought to myself, 'Hey, if she doesn't want to talk about her relationship with her husband, then leave it be'.
I then told her about myself, "There's not much to tell really; I went to school, then college, played a lot of tennis, moved out of home, travelled the world for a few years and then came to work here because I loved the land so much. It's a beautiful country."
"It is, isn't it? Has there been anybody who was particularly special in your life yet or are you still looking for 'the one'?"
I let out a long sigh, "I haven't yet found 'the one', but I am with somebody."
"Really? What's her name? Or his…or…"
"HER name is Lauren."
"Lauren? You don't mean the Lauren who brings my meals up from the kitchen, do you?"
"As a matter of fact, yes."
"Oh really? Well that certainly is a shock. A palace romance…wait a minute, I didn't see her today."
"She's on vacation."
"Vacation? Oh, you mean a holiday?"
"Yes. Learning to be a better cook."
"Oh good, she needs improving…oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend."
"Oh go right ahead, she's a terrible cook."
She laughed, "But she's terribly pretty. What are you doing with her if she's not the woman of your dreams? The one you want to spend the rest of your life with?"
"I could ask you the same question, your majesty."
The expression on her face was totally wiped away after I said that. She excused herself and hastened back into the palace.
I think I know what I'm doing with Lauren. She's there in case I don't ever happen to find 'the one'. If I don't find the woman of my dreams, I'll still have her to fall back on. So I know I won't die completely alone. Now that I've put that in writing, I realise it sounds very selfish and very unfair to Lauren. I'm a hypocrite! No better than the queen was.