It had been a while. She sat there like a little jewel, the sun sparkling on her back when he moved her around. Maybe, he thought, I can bore her to death so she’ll fly away?
“You don’t understand me,” she says. “Who knew going into it that’s what she would say all the time?”
He examined the little orange bug with black spots sitting there on the back of his right hand. He’d been pulling weeds when the Lady Bug landed there. Waiting for her, there was no response, of course. What do you expect from bugs?
“Can’t you support me?” she says.
The Lady Bug sat there still.
“Why won’t you just accept me as I am?”
The Lady Bug was unmoved.
“Hmmm,” he said, lifting his hand so that the bug was only about six inches away. “Giving me the silent treatment too, huh? You’re a stunning specimen, but your lack of communication leads me to believe you might be on her side. I mean, they don’t call you a Man Bug or a Lord Bug. You’re a Lady Bug. All of you stick together, I guess.”
The Lady Bug sat.
“It’s bad luck to shoo you away,” he continued. “You know that, don’t you? So I’m going to have to sit here until you vacate the premises.”
Nothing.
“Please, little girl, I can’t get any work done with you on my hand like this. Not that I’m comparing you to Wanda. She’s not like you at all, I know. Except for the sitting there and not responding. That way, in that way, you two are very much alike.”
He brought the Lady Bug to within close-up examination range. She was beautiful, like Wanda. Wanda had taken his breath away when he first met her. She was the best GetTogether.com date he’d ever had. But then the tit-for-tat and cold-shouldering had come. He’d been expecting her to dump him, but for some reason, she hung on to him. He couldn’t figure out why she didn’t leave, given what seemed to be constant dissatisfaction with his communication abilities.
“Lady Bug, Lady Bug, fly away home,” he whispered.
And with that, the bug fluttered her wings, rose, and departed. Possibly for home, who knew?
He watched her go, and for some reason, he choked up.
“Just like that she goes,” he murmured. “They just up and leave. I believe I do understand her. I believe I do support her. But it’s not enough for some reason. It’s just not enough.”
And with that, he returned to the yard work grind.
Lanning Lee 