They came to pick me up after a long time apart. Ant was definitely a teenager- surly, talking back- but he was tiny, the size of a very small child. He climbed into my lap and fell asleep. His hair was full of gel.
The house was meant for a small number of people, I thought, but all his friends lived there. He had banished them to a part of the house that I could not see.
A shape-shifting genie tricked me. I do not remember what led me into the room, I just remember when he changed into a gold demon with horns, laughed, and locked me in.
I was kept in the room for a year until one of Chris's friends accidentally let me out. "Oh," he said. "I forgot you were in there." I went looking for Chris.
I found a room where seamstresses were working on what looked like the start of a wedding dress. They were lining up beads and rhinestones on a headless form. There were two special beads on a card lying on a shelf and I picked them up. They said, "Jeni." I sat down and cried.
The seamstresses left, one of them rolling her eyes at me on her way out of the room. "This is ten years in the making," I said to her. She did not respond. As they left, Chris came in with many other people. I hugged him and he asked if I liked my neck brace.
My neck brace?
I looked back at the mannequin and saw that it was not the start of a dress at all, just a lovely, light purple neck piece.
"It's for your neck injury," he said.
"But I don't have a neck injury."
"Ooh, I hope they play _______________," said some lady next to me. I realize that all these people are waiting to dance and this woman is looking for her husband. The music starts and it's an Otis Redding song, but not the one she wanted.
"Here, dance with her," Chris said, sweetly, like we were both doing her a favor.
I said okay because it seemed kind and her husband was probably dead and not ever going to show up again. I didn't think to ask why Chris wouldn't dance with her. Confused, I start dancing with this tiny old lady- she's like a doll. I turn and in that instant, Chris is suddenly gone, all the people have vanished, and I am left holding a toy doll, completely alone.
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