Maude Lyon, the head of Sylvia Cougar’s interior design team at CHANGING SPOTS, got an emergency call from Sloane’s office to go to his new home.  He advised Maude’s assistant, Tina Thompson Gazelle, that his wife would meet them there. 

“It was a bad day when those worthless Simbas made enough money to buy anything more than a double wide,” grouched Maude to Tina as they drove toward the neighborhood off of Mombasa Road.

“Now, Miss Maude, your husband even made a Simba his vice president,” argued Tina who was very much into the new age in the Mara, having just wed Ossie Okapi’s son. 

“That’s going to come back and bite Ralph in the ass too.  I’m so glad Lewis and Ashley helped my son, Daniel, start his own law firm and not have to traffic with that trashy pride.  I saw Roy Lee on a motorcycle the other evening.  I’m hope he’s not going to start riding around and spraying folk’s porches again.”

Tina threw back her head and laughed at the image of the debonair megastar spraying a porch.  She pulled Maude’s Land Rover into a muddy semblance of a drive, causing more sputters and grievance from the cantankerous lioness.  They made their way into Sloane’s house which is almost in a state of full completion.  They were met by Caitlin.  She showed Maude and Tina through the rooms, inquiring if anything could be sped up to accommodate the arrival of her parents from Montana. 

“You’re Sylvia and Bernard’s niece, aren’t you, girl?” asked Maude with her piercing tawny stare directed at Caitlin. 

“Yes, mam, I am.  I’m Caitlin Cougar Simba, Bernard’s brother’s daughter,” she said by way of introduction.

“Do your parent’s know what kind of rubbish those Simbas are?” was the lioness’ next question. 

“Mam?” asked the stunned Caitlin. 

Tina tried to plead with her eyes and warn Caitlin to play it cool with the lioness. 

“My husband’s a Simba, Mrs….uh….”

“Lyon, Mrs. Maude Lyon, wife of the President.”

“Miss Maude,” said Tina, prodding her boss with her nose. “Let’s go and see what we can get for Mrs. Simba as quickly as possible.”

Maude gave Tina a perilous look but continued on her way through the house.  When she had done with her assessment, she sat on the one chair in the room and took out her note pad. 

“You want the whole job or just the basics like drapes and paint?” asked Maude. 

“Everything, Mrs. Lyon, if possible,” answered Caitlin in a subdued undertone. 

“I’ll start to work on the project.  Tina can order the necessary things from Lyon Fine Furnishings in the mall.  Which one of the Simba lionesses is your mother-in-law, girl?” asked Maude.

“L-Leander Simba.”

“I saw her last week in the supermarket.  She was so drunk she almost fell in the okra bin.  Shall we go, Tina?”

After Tina and Maude had driven from the muddy drive, Caitlin sat and smoked a cigarette, rather shaken by the irascible old lioness’ blitz.  She pulled a diet coke from the cooler and drank it.  Suddenly she was overcome by nausea and went to toss her cookies in the toilet that fortunately flushed. She chalked it up to nerves over the unsettling afternoon. 

            Sam Simba had another attack of morality and was lagging on Jason and Joshua’s court ordered visits to their mother and new stepfather, their uncle, Shane Simba.  He was upset at the news of Caroline Cheetah’s pregnancy and the gossip that Shane was the father.  Shane visited his office in the State House.  Sam was behind his desk.  Shane sat down and lit a cigarette. He got right to the point. 

“Sam, Josh and Jason haven’t been visiting for the last few weekends.  Any good reason for this?”

“Yeah, Shane, I hear you’re up to your old tricks again, knocking up Caroline Cheetah.”

“What’s that got to do with Betty?” snarled Shane. 

“You are the stepfather in whose home they visit.  I don’t like your morals, Shane.  I don’t want my boys exposed to them.”

“This is a court order, Sam, not a case of your druthers.  Betty has resisted my suggestion that she go to the courts about it because she doesn’t want to cause trouble for you but I will do it myself if this continues.”

“Catherine’s death, Betty’s cancer and even your near death in a plane crash didn’t make a dent in your alley cat morals, did they, Shane?”

Shane stood abruptly.  “Get those cubs there this weekend or I will cite you myself.  And don’t bother to go back to higher court; Sef is not sympathetic with your Pollyanna bullshit anymore than I am.”

He walked out slamming the door behind him.

 

---

Carl and Georgia Cougar, Caitlin's parents.

            Caitlin and Bernard Cougar were at the airport to meet his brother and her parents, Carl and Georgia Cougar.  They took them to Sylvia and Bernard’s lovely home where they settled into the guest quarters which are most glamorous.  Sylvia took the rest of the day off from her mayoral office and the five settled down to a lunch prepared by the chef in the Cougar household.  The weather was kind to the travelers.  We experienced a warm and sunny day for a change.  The rains had been pounding us off and on for days.  For Kenya this is a good thing.  We depend on our seasonal rains for our agricultural endeavors, water supply and scenic largesse.  Bernard and Carl played golf the next day with Sylvia and Georgia.  Then, came the inevitable meeting between Carl, Georgia and their new son-in-law, Sloane Simba.  The setting was, at the request of a nervous Caitlin, Sylvia and Bernard’s home.  Sloane and Caitlin’s new abode still lacked the finer amenities.  They weren’t slated to move until the coming week.  If one thought Caitlin was nervous, her disposition was nothing compared to her new husband’s.  He was nothing short of a wreck.  He kept tying and untying a silk tire, roaring when he wasn’t satisfied with the outcome.

 

“Honey, your tie looks fine. I promise you,” giggled Caitlin, nervously. 

 

“My damn mane is awful.  I’m having a bad day with that,” he growled. 

 

Caitlin giggled.

 

“Your mane is magnificent. Don’t worry about it.  Dad will be amazed at the whole article since he doesn’t have one.”

 

    Finally they made their way to Sloane’s car.  He was so nervous he almost stripped his Mercedes’ gears in his anxiety as he screeched from the parking garage at Lyon Towers.  It had begun to rain lightly when they pulled into Sylvia and Bernard’s tree lined drive.  Sylvia had invited Betty, Shane, Roy Lee and Chloe as well as little old me in her wish to relax the ambiance a smidgen.  We were all sitting with our drinks when Caitlin and Sloane walked in.  Carl Cougar had already been greatly impressed with the charm and charisma of Shane Simba.   He had met Roy Lee and Junior in Montana this past Christmas and liked them very much. Later, Dr. Sylly Cougar Lyon arrived with her charming husband, Junior Lyon.  Sloane, after an intense period of repeatedly loosening his collar, finally chilled out and seemed to enjoy the rest of the evening.  He found Carl Cougar and his wife, Georgia to be charming cats.  Carl was very similar to his brother, Bernard, with an overabundance of charm and good cheer.  Georgia was warm and humorous.  Later, during dessert and cognac, Lucy and Alexander joined us, both looking quite miserable. The evening went well.  We all wondered why Caitlin suddenly left the dinner table, returning rather shaken. 

 

---

                Staci Simba felt rather bereft as she waited for Arlon Lyon to pick her up from the soccer field where she had attended cheerleading practice.  The wheels were turning for Arlon to go to England to study law at Cambridge.  Tigger Tigeres was soon leaving for a university in America where he would study medicine as is the legacy in the Tigeres family.  Since Staci had been elevated due to her level of intellectual development, she was almost on a par with Arlon and Tigger’s social group.  Being Arlon’s stepsister, she was included in many of their parties and dances.  She had reached a rapprochement with her father where she could go to their parties as long as she, Arlon and Tigger stayed together.   This was not a problem for Tigger and Arlon since Staci was becoming a greater beauty every day.   They were proud to be seen with the effervescent and very popular Staci Simba.  Today, she and Arlon were heading home to get dressed for a farewell party for the young lads.  Since Kenya is on the Equator, our seasons are reversed.  Our schools let out just before the Christmas holidays when graduations are held.  Arlon would be leaving for school in England after the holidays.  This made Staci very sad.  She had grown very close to her stepbrother and had a crush on his best friend, Tigger.   Arlon was not the happiest camper about this recent development.  All he wanted was to follow his uncle, Junior Lyon, in to the chronicles of soccer greatness.  Junior had to remind his nephew that he got a college degree before returning to the Mara and resuming his first love, soccer.  Ashley planned to take his son on several of his air safaris before he left for London. 

            Shane and Betty were sitting home on a rainy Friday, alone.  Their children had gone to various social events.  Staci to an overnight party at Delilah Dik Dik’s home; Sean to spend the night with Ashley and Leah’s cubs and Arlon to attend a party at the Tigeres compound.  Babs and Miss B had the night off.  It was very quiet in the huge house.  Betty and Shane were enjoying drinks before a blazing fire in their library. 

“Fifi, I have an idea that I’ve been working on.  See how you think it’ll work.  I have to go to England the first of the year and see Tony Blair.  Why don’t we all go and see Arlon off to his university?”

“Oh, Shane, that would be marvelous.  You are the most wonderful male in the entire world and I simply adore being married to you.  You told me once that if I had you I would tire of you.  All I do is love you more and find you more exciting each day of our life together.” she enthused, giving him a kiss.

“Expand on that theme, Fifi,” he laughed, holding her close and kissing her very sensually.  They made love before the fire in a rare show of sexual spontaneity considering their child laden home. 

            Caroline Cheetah decided to don maternity garb a bit early.  With her long lean figure she really didn’t need to but she loved the effect it had on Betty Simba when they would meet in the halls at WMM-TV the days Betty was working there.  Betty’s eyes would widen ever so slightly before she rushed past Caroline.  Caroline would live all day on the sensation that gave her.  She was still abiding by her one glass of wine rule and eating only the best foods for an expectant mom.  Her last sonogram had revealed a growing male cub.  Her one bow to fun times was when she would be invited by Steven Simba, Sidney Simba or both to join them at the Simba Fuck Farm for an orgy.  Linda Cougar and Dr. Carey Caracal would be there too. Marci Mondo, one of the safari club’s bush pilots had begun to attend the sexually charged soirees.   Caroline did notice that Steven spent an inordinate amount of time quizzing Carey about her sister, Cameron.  Caroline’s only misery these days was that the number of holiday parties she was invited to was fractional compared to those being planned.  Of course there was the RUNNERS party that she was invited to because her parents were owners, then their Mombasa Christmas bash.  Glenda Gorilla had invited her to a big festivity planned for the following weekend.  After that, there was a big fat 0 on Caroline’s holiday calendar. 

            Sloane Simba was in extremis.  Caitlin had just announced that she suspected she was pregnant.  They were finally sitting in the living room of their new home in the Mombasa Road Village.   They had moved in over the weekend.  Maude Lyon, despite her disgust with the Simba pride, had done an amazing job of decorating.  Carl Cougar had written a check for the entire project as a wedding gift for Caitlin and Sloane.

“My God, Caitlin, we just got married.  Are you telling me we’re fast forwarding into the parenting thing too?”

“Yes, Sloane, we just may be.  What happened to your rubbers stash?”

“I thought you would get on the pill before we attempted wedlock,” he growled.

“No, Sloane.  I guess I didn’t notice the lack of Trojans on your dick. But that’s not so bad if we have a litter, is it?”

“I have never longed for patter of tiny feet.  I realize that eventually that has to happen but we’re barely wet behind the ears in this marriage game.”

“Sloane, you act like marriage is a dirty word and you can’t describe it except in the most gingerly terms.  And I never knew you felt that way about children,” she wailed. 

“Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Caitlin.  I didn’t say I never wanted kids but I had hoped to put it off for a while.  As for marriage, I am very happy that we did it.  Do cougars drop big litters?”

“No they don’t. Do lions because these are half lion as well as cougar, Sloane?”

The squabble and mood deteriorated, causing Sloane to sleep in the guest room.  That weekend they were invited to be guests on Sylvia and Bernard’s boat with her parents.  This was also on the disastrous side as Caitlin’s confirmed pregnancy caused her to be nauseas.  Although not pregnant, Sloane suffered from the same malady due to seasickness.  It was deemed that the young lion was less than seaworthy. 

            Jason and Joshua Simba were picked up on a Friday afternoon by Shane’s Masai driver and joined the family outing to Mombasa that weekend.  They went to Shane’s house at the beach.  It would be the last time since Shane and Betty had decided that it would be better to rent his and continue using hers.  Montecore, her former husband, being Las Vegas born and bred, loved munificence.  He had made their home in Mombasa a show place when they were still wed.  He had many guest rooms built where each guest had almost a private unit to himself.  These served the children well these days.   It was very large despite the fact that only Montecore and Betty stayed there.  It was also walled and gated and provided more security for the vice presidential family.  That weekend, Leah and Ashley Lyon were in residence.  They did much boating together and engaged in the furious water sports they liked.  Joshua learned to wind sail.  Leah took Jason wave running, holding on behind her.  Betty got close to Joshua again and Jason was beginning to tag along behind her too.  She spoke to Ashley of her poignant thoughts on missing their son, Arlon, when he would go to school.       

“Betts, I don’t plan to press Arlon into being a lawyer.  If he doesn’t want that, I’ll let it go.  He really adores soccer.  If he still feels, after the first months there,  that he wants to follow in Junior’s footsteps and be a coach, then I will just insist that he get a rudimentary degree.  I don’t believe in forcing kids into a mold.”

“Did anyone ever tell you that you’re one great guy, Ash?” she asked, giving him a hug.

She wished that Sam Simba would be more like Ashley Lyon, who after his initial and very brief spells of warfare during their divorce, was always wonderful about their sharing Arlon.  She treasured the fact that she was good friends with Ashley and Montecore.  But it would never be that way with Sam, who would always be bitter about her liaison with his brother, Shane, and their subsequent marriage.