At the end of the day, it was Shane Simba’s air headed son, Sean, who brought him out of his grief and to his senses once more. 

“Dad, why are you carrying on like this about Grandma Simba’s death?  She was old and sick.  You lost Mummy when she was young and you were left with Staci and me to raise,” his eldest son reminded him.  

Shane's jock son, Sean, who helped him come to terms with his grief...

            Betty had just turned off the lights in her Manhattan apartment in preparation for bed when the buzzer rang indicating a visitor.  She wondered who it could be having just left her editor after dinner at an Italian restaurant following a day of hard work.  She took the call. 

“Betty, it’s me.  I’m here to speak to the UN tomorrow.  Can I come up?”

She opened the door and waited for the elevator to arrive.  When it did, Shane walked into her open arms and they held each other for what seemed like ages. 

            After making love for an hour, they repaired to the living room for a nightcap of cognac. 

“It’s strange, Fifi…. my son Sean made me realize that I was being a nitwit in my grief.  He reminded me that I had lost Cathy and been left to raise our children,” said Shane, lighting two cigarettes and handing her one.  “Mom was very sick with heart problems.”

“I know, darling, and you were not a cruel son to her.  You even sort of made up in the end, Shane.”

“Yes, I know.  I guess just having been on bad terms with one’s mother since childhood is not an easy thing to deal with once she’s gone.”

“You will be fine, darling.  You are an exceptional male.”

            Two days later, Shane Simba arrived back in Kenya with Betty on Simba One.  Reporters on the presidential jet took note of a beautiful ring on Betty’s left hand.  The couple had been under intense scrutiny by the paparazzi.  This was definitely a new bling that Betty was sporting and on just the precise finger to start tongues wagging. 

            A small matter of real estate came up after Sarah Lee Simba’s demise.  Shane and Roy Lee Simba had built their mother a mansion on Leoparde Drive next door to Roy Lee.  Shane brought the home from Roy Lee and allowed his aunt, Leander Simba to remain there.  Aunt Leander had always been more of a mother to Shane than Sarah Lee.  Shane also owned a piece of property with an empty house that was to have been occupied by his divorced daughter, Staci Simba.  Staci had chosen to rent mine when I moved to the country with Lachlan.  Now her home was for lease and it was owned by her dad, Shane.  Shane had increased his coffers even further by going in as a silent partner with magnate Lewis Lyon who copped the Land Rover business for Kenya.  The sturdy British vehicle is a winner in our country where potholes can be deadly during the rainy seasons.

            Betty Chimpo made a rare visit to the State House and the media went wild.  She went to Shane’s office and spent an hour.  I took her aside for a cup of coffee in my office.

“Betts, it seems to me that you are gearing up for another try at being our first lady.  You can tell me….I’m supposed to be your best friend,” I giggled.

She lit a cigarette.  “Maury, you are still my best friend and I will tell you that I am frightened to death.  All I have ever wanted since I first met him was to live my life with Shane Simba.  He wants that again and I am terrified…..of being hurt once more.”

“Betts, Lachlan thinks Shane has really undergone a sea change.  I think everything has served to make him different these days.”

“Maurice, he just dumped his wife; he burned his devoted lover, Jane; he screwed all the time when he was married to Catherine…..and well, you know my story with him.”

“Still…animals CAN change, Betty,” I insisted. 

            On her way out, as Bernice Bear followed her dear friend down the stairs of the State House, Betty’s camisole got rearranged and the paparazzi caught a boob baring a nipple.  They went wild.  It made the second page of the major newspapers and the cover of that week’s ANIMAL ENQUIRER. 

Betty bares a nipple as Bernice looks on.....

            In the interim, it seemed as if my perfect relationship was going south in a mighty hurry.  Lachlan was totally preoccupied with his role as a planter which made him short and fractious with me at times.  Living in the bush had its merits as well as its distinct drawbacks.  I had to drive miles to work each morning, avoiding pot holes when ever possible.  Finally, Shane suggested a solution to my problem.  I could take a room in Sarah Lee’s mansion for my very own during times I needed space from Lachlan.  I hoped this was all temporary and Lachlan wouldn’t get so stressed as a grower of food that his wonderful personality would completely disintegrate.  He was trying to keep up with his patients at the Mental Health Clinic as well as farming.  At the same time, Shane had noticed my stress and recommended a solution, Sylvia Cougar the founder of the Mental Health Center and the head of the board, had noticed Lachlan’s pained expressions. 

“Lach, your brother is here now and there is also Gus Leo so why don’t you take a break from your schedule during planting season,” suggested Sylvia. 

“Emotional problems are so difficult that a shrink can’t just unload his patients on others but thanks for the thought, Sylvia,” was his stubborn response. 

Therefore, began our difficult period – the first we had undergone in an almost perfect relationship.

Lachlan on his tractor.....

            I made some changes in a bedroom of Sarah Lee Simba’s mansion and brought some clothing there.  The only occupants were Leander Simba and a Kikuyu maid.  Leander, being a pleasant old drunk of a lioness, presented no problems.  She hiccupped her way through a day filled with strong martinis.  She seemed lonely though. 

            Bertram Baboon was practically delirious to have me back in the neighborhood although I wasn’t there every evening.  I was invited to supper immediately.  I returned to Sarah Lee’s to find Leander had installed her outrageous sister, Goosey Simba in Sarah Lee’s former boudoir.  Now if anyone ever wanted to get a bead on what the Simba pride had once been, there is no better example than the snuff using, beer drinking, chain smoking, disheveled, smelly Goosey who also has retains a flea and tick problem.

             Poor Cutty Sark Simba, living on the same block of Leoparde Drive and dealing with an indifferent husband and new pregnancy, didn’t need to have her totally irascible and disgraceful mother-in-law living close by.  Matters only got worse.  The house that was never lived in due to Staci Simba moving into mine was for lease and there was to be a new tenant.  The house was just next door to Dickey and Cutty’s home.  It had been rented to a George Lowenstein in Nairobi.  Who ever George is, he was not the one that moved in.  Cutty was getting in her car to drive to work at the State House when she almost dropped her teeth.  There next door, directing a moving van stood Alexandra Delamere, the ex-wife of Shane.  Dickey Simba had engaged in a brief fling with Alexandra. 

“Shit, that’s all I need,” exclaimed Cutty, as she drove from the driveway almost hitting a car as it drove past. 

            Despite questions as to whether they would remarry, Shane Simba and Betty Chimpo were having the time of their lives – as only the very rich and famous can do.  They spent a weekend at Betty’s house in Mombasa where Shane gave her surfing lessons.  Shane had paid to enlarge Betty’s home on Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania and he now purchased a sailboat for that location.  They spent a weekend there as well with Tanya Simba and Shane’s granddaughter, Cathy Lyon. 

'

Shane kicks back in Betty's Tanzania cottage....

            After the children were in bed and before a roaring fire, they discussed matters of remarriage. 

“Shane, I was an awful first lady and you know that.  You complained all the time and I hated the role.  I love my university career and I don’t want to give it up,” explained Betty. 

“That’s not important to me any longer, Fifi.  You can keep your university post.  I have Bernice Bear and Cutty who can plan state social events if you will just be there when they occur,” reasoned Shane.  “I can hike Bernice’s salary and Cutty’s too for that purpose.”

Shane attempting to make a 'water baby' of Betty...                                        Betty after her first surfing lesson.....

Shane after surfing in Mombasa.....

            The paparazzi followed Shane and Betty everywhere, hiding in bushes and wherever needed to get pictures of the famous couple.  The couple could have cared less.  They were having a blast and didn’t care who knew it.  Betty decided that to keep up with Shane’s love of sports, she needed to get even fitter.  She scheduled some sessions at RUNNERS with Gerald Giraffe. 

“Oh gawd, that’s a new bling, Betty,” he chortled as he examined the magnificent new ring that graced Betty’s left hand.  “Are we engaged yet?”

“It’s a friendship ring, Gerald,” was Betty’s response. 

“You’re full of shit, Princess Di….that’s no friendship ring.  Let’s get to those weights now.  You look damn good.”

Gerald Giraffe oversees Betty's workout...

            When Cutty told Shane who had rented his home on Leoparde Drive, he hit the ceiling. 

“Are you sure it was Alex?  I rented it through Jackal Realty to a George something or other,” raged Shane. 

“Of course, I’m sure, Sir.  I know Alexandra Simba when I see her,” insisted Cutty. 

“Delamere, Cutty….she took her maiden name back after our divorce.”

“Whatever….”

            Betty arrived at Shane’s bush house after a day working at the university on her class schedule.  Shane told her of Alexandra’s renting the home on Leoparde Drive. 

“I’m going to kick her out of there, Betty,” he said, lighting his third cigarette in less than an hour. 

“Darling, you cannot do that.  You will look like a monster if you do.  After all, your son, Sacha, will be closer and you can see him more often.”

“Alex is up to some sort of bullshit.  This is not about anything reasonable.  I never figured her for that type of trouble maker.”

“Shane, she has been badly hurt by you…..”

“Okay, Fifi….I get it…I really do.”

“Let’s go eat at the river again.  I simply adore Croc’s Bar & Grill, don’t you, darling?” she said, kissing him. 

“Yes, let’s do that, Fifi.  We can relax there.”

            That same night, Goosey Simba got drunk as a lord and raged at her sister, Leander.  You could hear beer cans hitting the walls in the other room. 

I left by the rear door and drove to the bush house I shared with Lachlan.  He welcomed me with open arms. 

“We’ll work this out, Maury….I promise you that,” he whispered in the dark of our bedroom.

            The next afternoon, Shane’s brother, police chief, Bubba Simba advised him that he had a real problem on Leoparde Drive and that there had been multiple noise complaints regarding their late mother’s residence. 

            That night, Dickey Simba left his wife’s bed with the pretext of checking on his mother, Goosey.  Instead, he rang Alexandra Delamere’s doorbell.  She answered and led him to her bedroom. 
.