"Today, my Sheila heads off to Hong Kong and Singapore for a ten day break. Though born in London, she and her brother were raised in Singapore until their early twenties. Having been schooled there, this ten days will be used by Sheila to make contact with some old school friends she hasn't seen for forty years and to meet up with some close relatives of her mother.
My only worry is that during her stay, she will eat too many Chinese delicacies and stuff herself with loads of mooncake (a round Chinese pastry eaten in Southern China, Hong Kong and Macau that has a thick filling made from red bean or lotus seed paste, surrounded by a thin crust that may contain yolks and salted duck eggs), making it extremely difficult to resume her daily practice of some Yoga positions on her return which require the most pliant of stomachs.
Sheila, has eased me into the notion of fending for myself during her absence, by already having given me a trial run of being on my own, when she spent a long weekend in Holland a month ago, visiting an old school friend there. I would have loved to have gone with her to Singapore, but the flight is simply too long and risky with my medical condition.
Over the past three years, Sheila has been totally selfless in her energies spent visiting her mother daily in an Old Folk's Home, besides running her Yoga classes and seeing to all my needs from morning until night, especially when I have constantly suffered with one ailment or another. Also, our dog Lady is on her last legs, Come to think of it, all three, mum, me and the dog are on our last legs! Sheila has the only pair that's still moving and looking good. Sheila truly deserves this break and I hope she brings me some of that moon cake back (which some report to be laced with all manner of illegal substances that are mind altering, but good for relieving pain).
Over the past year, like many aging people, I frequently forget things. I don't know what I'll do when you're not around, Sheila, to remind me. I'll probably be scratching my head trying to remember what I've lost, and then suddenly remember, its you that I'm missing. Other things I'll miss in your absence will be your smile, your loving touch, your reassuring concern for my well being and your cooking to die for. I will also miss waking up on a morning and finding you performing one of your yoga positions on the bedroom rug before you shower and dress. While the absence of these things will remind me you are not here, seeing the cupboard door shut (the one in the kitchen which you always leave open to my annoyance, and which you never close after use), will simply reinforce your absence in my mind.
Have a smashing break, Sheila. Me and my other lady will be fine while you're away. I shall do three things today; miss you, miss you and miss you! And if you think that missing me is hard, you should try missing you. It's funny, but when I close my eyes, I see you, and when I open them again, I miss you. I suppose I will just have to accept that if you can't get someone out of your head, then perhaps they're meant to be there. The French have a lovely saying, Sheila, when two lovers part. Instead of telling their sweetheart, 'I miss you', they say 'Tu me mangues' which means, 'You are missing from me.' Love you lots. Stay safe; stay you. Lots of love. Bill and Ladyxxxx" William Forde: September 8th, 2016.