#FF04: His wife was having tea with the King and he didn’t even know about it
Classic Bill. Why I’m still married to him is a mystery.
Linda pushed the fleeting thought away. It was wrong to think of her husband in such a demeaning manner, she knew that. But what could she do? Bill was just that sort of man: simple, unaware, dumb even.
Here she was, his wife, having tea with the King and he didn’t even know about it!
Granted, neither did anybody else. But nobody expected the King of Uthauria in a Starbucks, you know? Much less considering he was in disguise! But Linda could recognize her King anywhere. So when she found him crouched down on the sidewalk, dressed in old and torn clothes, she knew. He must be infiltrating the common folk, to get a feel for what life is like for them. Why he pretended to be a homeless person was beyond her, but she wasn’t about to question Royal Intentions.
“Your Majesty! May I offer you some tea inside this fine establishment?” Linda hoped she sounded eloquent enough for the King.
“Yeah, sure.” came the response, straight away.
So here they were, Linda and the King. She had ordered tea for herself and a macchiato plus half the pastries on display for His Royal Highness. It truly was as if he hadn’t eaten for weeks! She slowly realised how the people in the Starbucks were eyeing them, some looks disapproving, some pitiful. Little do they know.
The King was a silent and voracious eater. She observed him while she sipped her venti black tea with a splash of oat milk, pinky finger upward just like she had seen in Downton Abbey. She thought of calling Bill, but decided not to. Her excuse was that she didn’t want to use her phone in front of His Majesty. But in all honesty, she didn’t want Bill to show up. She wanted this moment all to herself. After he was done with his meal, the King spoke.
“You got any cash?”
Linda was taken aback by this question; not because she didn’t carry cash on her (she did at all times, of course), but because of how straightforward he had been. She mumbled a yesofcourseletmecheck and opened her wallet.
“Here you go, Your Highness.” Linda offered him all of it, upwards of 300 dollars.
“Fuck yeah! Thank you, lady!”
With that, the King barged out of the Starbucks, leaving Linda broke but content. She envisaged herself being invited to the Royal Palace, meeting His Majesty in his royal garb, and perhaps… Maybe he could offer her an escape from Bill the bore.
She grabbed her phone and googled King of Uthauria. She gasped as the headlines appeared.
King of Uthauria on week two of his Africa tour: exclusive photos here
If His Majesty was in Africa, who did Linda just have tea with?
I’ll be skipping #FF05
