A Sad Little House

Ponsa ponsa time, Ronni knew a funny little man called Monk. Monk got his name because he wore hoodies when hoodies weren't cool. Monk was from Gary Indiana, and, one year, he came to visit Ronni in Vancouver with his friend, SSS. SSS was recovering from a divorce, and Monk thought that a good thing to do would be to drag SSS across the country and an international border, travelling on a shoestring budget. Monk and SSS had been friends since Middle School.

Monk and SSS immediately began to compete for Ronni's attention, and Ronni agreed to return to the States with them both. They were headed for Austin, Texas. Through a very convoluted set of circumstances, Monk remained in Texas and SSS and Ronni went to Gary. SSS and Ronni managed to return to Texas a few years later, when SSS wangled a transfer to the Houston branch of the company he worked for in Chicago.

Ronni doesn't actually remember how they found the Sad Little House in Rosenberg, but they did. At that time, Rosenberg was thirty-five miles outside of Houston, which was considered a long commute. Ronni suffered from culture shock. The neighbour across the street tried to sell Ronni life insurance (she should have bought it), and the neighbour next door thought Ronni was a witch (seriously)! Ronni was all alone all day with nothing to do. The library was miles and miles away, and Ronni didn't even have a bicycle. Never mind that it was so hot and humid that Ronni could barely move. The Sad Little House did not have air conditioning. SSS and Ronni had moved there with a Dodge van full of stuff, and had not yet added much in the way of furniture.

Fourteen months later, SSS and Ronni moved to Austin, the original goal. On the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, SSS and Ronni were moving from Rosenberg to Austin.

Ronni had not been back to Rosenberg since.

On the way home from Houston, Ronni drove down Alternate 90, looking for something familiar. Difficult after thirty-one years. Still, the name "Hwy 36" jogged her memory, so she swung left and headed south. Sure enough, eventually, on the left, she saw the Mustang Lounge, and knew she was on the right track. Further, on the right, the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds, and, eventually, the building that used to be a little Mexican store where Ronni used to hang out and watch the Telenovelas with the lady who ran the place. Her first lessons in Spanish...

Right across the street from there was the street where SSS and Ronni lived, and, turning down there, Ronni saw the Sad Little House. There's a manufactured house next door now, instead of the lady's who thought Ronni was a witch (seriously!), and a school right beyond that.

The Sad Little House looks as if people might still be living in it, as there were tire tracks in the muddy drive, so Ronni didn't get out and walk around.

Ronni hopes, if there are people living there, that they are happier than she was.