Turtle Channel!!!

She was lonely again. As always, he left for work without so much as a glance at her. It never used to be this way. He had always looked at her so lovingly. But now, he does not even notice her anymore. She felt so invisible. She asked herself this morning as she had asked so many times before, 'Why do I continue to stay in this house?'. Yet she always remained where she was, never moving out and never even able to tell him how she felt.

They had met in Paris, on a bright summer day four years ago. It was love at first sight...for him anyway. She actually didn't think much of him when they first met. He had walked into the art gallery and although there were many others who were equally as beautiful as her, he noticed her right away. She could still remember how his eyes had swept all over the room before settling down on her. Once he had noticed her, he never took his eyes off her. He had walked purposefully over to her and within the hour, brought her back to his hotel. She had many suitors before, but no one had enough to offer to capture her. Oh, he had all the right qualities, he was extremely wealthy, intelligent, handsome and suave.

Back at his hotel, he had spent the rest of the day just looking at her and telling her how magnificent and beautiful she was. He had been so gentle and careful when he touched her, but most of the time, he was contented just looking at her. He did not even consent to leave her side throughout the rest of the day. He was so in love with her. And so she had left Paris for New York with him the very next day.

Back in New York, he had introduced her to all his friends and co-workers. She met his entire family within the first month. His mother thought she was lovely, although her experience with his father was not quite so pleasant. It appeared that his father did not approve of her, and felt that she was far too extravagant for his son. It bothered her a little at first, but since he took little interest in anything his father said, she felt more reassured.

He was a popular and influential man. He held many cocktail parties in his apartment, and she had met the Senator, the Secretary of State and even the Vice-President over a glass of champagne. All of them marvelled at her beauty and praised her lavishly. She always felt beautiful, always at the center of attraction whenever he held one of his parties. In fact, she looked forward to them.

But a year ago, all that changed. She had been shunned to the guest room. He no longer looked at her with love and appreciation. He no longer even noticed her. He had never once entered her room, much less spent any time with her at all. The only person she saw on a regular basis is the maid. Recently, he only returned to their apartment once or twice a week. She suspected that he may have another mistress some place else and is spending more time there.

There were fewer cocktail parties now. The last function they had was 2 months ago, when he threw a birthday party for his seventeen year-old sister. She was not even invited to attend the party. She was only able to enjoy the it from listening to the music, laughter, buzz of conversation and sounds of glasses clinking while she waited quietly in her room. He did not even come in to see her after the party had ended.

It was now evening. She wondered if he would be coming home. She wanted to know him if he still loved her or if there was someone else, but the words just refused to come out. She heard the front door open. She waited, excitedly, for him to come into her room. She heard his familiar footsteps. So often she had listened out for him, only to hear his footsteps lead away from her towards the Master bedroom across the hall. But today, he seemed to be walking closer and closer to her door. She could hear another set of footsteps, it sounded an awful lot like high-heel stilettoes. Good God, was he going to throw her out in favour of another woman?

The door opened. A burst of light entered her unlit room. He fumbled at the light switch, eventually finding it and flicking it on. The room was suddenly flooded with light, blinding her. "You may stay here for the night," she heard him say. "There is an attached bathroom you can use to clean up."

"Thanks bro," she heard his sister say, as she slowly adjusted to the light. She watched as his sister placed a bright pink luggage on the floor next to the bed. His sister turned to look at her. Then she heard his sister say, "Wow it has been a long time since I last saw this painting. I had wondered what you did with it." He turned and looked at her for the first time in one entire year and said, "Well, I bought a new painting, so I relocated this one to the guest room. Anyway, get some sleep. I'll call to tell Mom you're spending the night here. You should probably try to sort out your differences with her tomorrow."

His sister made a face at him and said ,"Whatever." He left the room. His sister washed up, took a shower and went to bed. And she was left hanging on the wall above the bed, wishing she could say goodnight.