The Four Seasons of Michael (Princess Diaries Fanfic)

November (1)

I didn't skip sending Mia the email the third time around, though.

SkinnerBx: "Hey, Mia, hope everything is well.

Things here are fine, thanks for asking, Charlie is coming along great – well, for this stage, anyway.

We are having great weather over here, so a few days ago I went sightseeing with some of my colleagues. They took me to this great statue of Buddha called 'Ushiku Daibutsu'. It's actually authorized by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest standing Buddha figure in the world. There is also a flower garden on the site and apparently, the flowers change with seasons – I will have to go there in spring to see it by myself."

I had gone to Buddha with Renata, but despite my rationality dropping drastically since taking a job in Tsukuba, I was still sane enough not to mention it to Mia. It seemed like Renata could remain a hidden secret – for now. I was planning on telling Mia about Renata one day, though – if our relationship improved enough for the information to be valid. I wasn't going to repeat the mistake I had done with Judith.

And even though Renata would most likely be gone by the time seasons changed, I still promised myself to go check out the flowers, even if it meant going all by myself.

"Oh, and they promised to take me to Tsukuba Space Center some time! I heard there's the exhibit hall which features models of the H-II Transfer Vehicle and a full-sized mock-up of the KIBO module on the International Space Station. Can you believe how cool that must be?

Of course I am still waiting for them to take me to the Geological museum here!"

Renata didn't think it was cool, neither of the suggestions, at all. It looked like I wouldn't get to go till her departure, but it was fine with me.

"Anyway, I hope you are doing alright. How did the midterms go? You doing anything special for Thanksgiving? Are you once again going to visit Mr G's family in the morning and attend your grandmother's dinner in the evening? Or are even your relatives from Indiana showing up?

Michael"

It was friendly enough, but still showed I cared about her. I knew the chances of her mentioning grades were slim, but I could still ask Boris later.

After clicking send I realized Renata was looking at me the entire time I type. The smile she wore hinted she had just discovered something of interest and joy. I didn't dwell on it. I tried to let go of Mia the moment I emailed her.

***

I am not a fan of social networks, let alone an enthusiastic user, but with my ex being a royal, it was still impossible for me to lose track of her life completely.

On Saturday morning I had seen pictures of her and the Tennessee Williams wannabe out on a date again. They were coming out of Ray's, a place Mia and I used to frequent. Needless to say, the choice of restaurant hurt, but, looking over my shoulder and seeing Renata in my bed, I guess made it even.

But in the upcoming hours and days, I kept bumping into her.

Over the years we had been dating, I was always on the lookout to learn more about Genovia. I borrowed every book from the library that had Genovia mentioned. I browsed the internet, reading even obscure articles about celebrities visiting Genovia. I watched every documentary I could find online, though most of them being in French presented a challenge since I didn't speak a word of the language. By now, I probably knew more of Genovia's history, economy, government, legislation than Mia. I even took up learning French in that little free time I had in my first year in college, knowing the chances were I'd be one day living in Genovia.