Betty Chimpo was invited to Shane Simba’s beach place one weekend. Tookie Simba was there too. Betty was given a guest room in the new home which was quite lovely with a view of the Indian Ocean. Tookie was glad to see her and Betty sat back and enjoyed the fact that Shane and his formerly estranged sister were now so close and very compatible, it seemed. Sean became quite fond of Betty in a short time. He found her stories fascinating. Staci, she noticed, was inclined to gaze at her with questioning eyes. Betty took it very slowly with Staci. There was time, she felt, to make friends with the young cub whose life had been so drastically changed. Betty also noticed that the two Masai assigned to Shane were warm and caring of his children. They had become great friends.

There was no sex between Betty and Shane that weekend. Betty didn’t mind, though. She was warmly included in his family activities. Ashley and Leah Lyon came down and joined them for a steak grill. Arlon was with them. Betty was content to be a part of his life on any level. She did notice that Arlon, who was just developing his first fringe of mane, stared long and hard at Staci Simba. They ended up at her Apple laptop computer playing a card game.

Ashley Lyon had accosted his father, Ralph, about his escalation of Shane to the vice presidency. It was on a day I was there in the office working with Ralph on an itinerary for some good will stints in other African nations.

"Dad, did you even think to ask me if I wanted to be Vice President?" asked Ashley, pacing the floor nervously.

"No, Ash. I didn’t. As I’ve told you before, this is not a dynasty. You miss most ministerial meetings because you’re busy flying hither, thither and yon. You are a great minister of tourism despite that. But a vice president has to attend every little detail, including meetings and conferences."

"I just wondered, Dad."

"Did you really want that slot, Ash? I would have thought otherwise."

"Actually, no. I’m probably where I need to be."

"Precisely," stated Ralph putting on his spectacles and returning to the paper work before him.

Two cubs joined the professional junior soccer league, headed by Tommy Tigeres and Junior Lyon. Junior was over the entire thing, including the adult team as well as the juniors. Tigger Tigeres’, Tommy’s much younger brother and Arlon Lyon, Junior’s nephew, put on their new uniforms and attended their first practice. They did exceptionally well that first day. Junior and Tommy were well pleased and sensed soccer stardom for the youngsters. Each afternoon after school and on weekends, Tigger and Arlon went to practice. They had to sacrifice most of their leisure time in Mombasa and in Arlon’s room filled with video games but the two cubs didn’t mind. They were both dedicated to the idea of soccer careers.

Betty opened her door one late evening to find Shane Simba and his Masai guard standing there.

"Mariek didn’t get his supper. Can Babs fix him some, please, Betty?" asked Shane with a slight smile.

Mariek was his guard. Betty called Babs who led the Masai warrior to the kitchen where she made him a delicious supper. Shane and Betty made drinks and sat in her living room.

"What’s it like, Shane? You are now second in command."

"It’s heady stuff, Betty. I can still hardly believe it. Ralph Lyon treats me a like a son. I love that lion. He is the father I never really had."

"I suspect he loves you as much as any of his sons. That sort of came out in his talk with me. It was between the lines in every sentence he spoke."

Her cigarette lighter flicked its brief flame into the dim light of the room.

"Really? How incredible. I am seeing and hearing more from Mandela these days. I also admire and love that great man."

"Mandiba is magnificent. He and Ralph are the stuff of African legend."

"Betty, I wanted you terribly that weekend in my home in Mombasa but I can’t let my children happen on anything. They are just now getting their bearings from all that’s gone down."

"I understand that, Shane. I told you that I feel privileged to be any part of your life, no matter how great or small."

He stood up, putting his cigarette out in the porcelain ashtray.

"Do you want to show me the paintings in your bedroom? I didn’t get a good look the last time I was there."

"Yes. I would love to show you may etchings."

The door had barely closed behind them before she was in his arms, removing his shirt, then his slacks. The paintings were forgotten as the two made love with the same mix of passion and tenderness as before. Betty longed to whisper of her all-consuming love to him but she refrained. Patience was the name of the game for now.

Betty with Shane in her bedroom.....

Alexander Simba sat on the back porch of his home. His wife, Lucy, sat next to him in a chaise lounge.

"I think I’m pregnant, Alex. I’m so excited."

He was slightly taken aback. They had been arguing, with Lucy sulking, most of the time these days. Now she was all bubbly excitement. He drew on his cigarette and took another drink of his Scotch.

"That’s great, Lucy."

"Alex, you don’t look happy! What the hell is wrong with you?"

He jumped up and stood over his wife.

"Lucy, you’ve had us on an emotional see-saw for months now. You’re up. You’re down. You’re weeping about your supposed infertility. You’re bitching me out because I won’t fuck on demand. Now, the egg or eggs have been pierced by my sperm and you are------oh sooo happy and want me to be the same. A marriage is not made up of one component, Lucy. It’s not just whether you can get pregnant or not. It’s about the whole nine yards. Being there for each other, caring and not carping every minute. Creating a harmonious home front. This! This! This is what it’s all about!"

He threw up his arms and abruptly left the porch. Lucy was flabbergasted. She sat stunned for several minutes and then followed him inside. He was no where to be seen. She opened the front door and looked out. His car was gone.

Sylvia and Bernard Cougar cruised the coast of East Africa in the marvelous power boat she had given him last Christmas. It had glamorous quarters and loads of fishing equipment. They would moor the boat in various ports and go ashore for sea food suppers, drinking the local wines, catching up on all they had been denied saying to each other due to their busy lives. They engaged in the pleasant chit chat their crammed work schedules had precluded. At night, they put a mattress on the deck and reveled in the bright landscape which is a typical star filled African night. They had never been happier.

Shane Simba went the next week on a trip to North and South America on behalf of the Kenyan government. He was wined and dined in most of the capitol cities of that geographical hemisphere, made multiple speeches and attended conferences. He was gone four weeks. Betty sat in her office and home, hearing nothing of him except for the voluminous news stories  that came into the Masai Mara Daily. The speeches he made to the major governments in those districts reverberated through out the civilized world. He was on television news each night.  The world became quite familiar with the attractive and charamastic lion.  He phoned and emailed his children on a daily basis. President Ralph Lyon sat back and watched his prize pupil hit all the relevant notes.

Caroline Cheetah sat in her living room, long silken legs crossed, and lit a cigarette. Alexander Simba was there with her. He tossed back the second Scotch she had served him that evening.

"You seem disturbed, Alex."

"Lucy is pregnant."

"So? That’s a good thing, isn’t it?"

"I’m not so sure anymore, Caroline."

She leaned into him and kissed him deeply.

"Having your doubts about your child bride, Alex?"

"I suppose so. Let’s to go the bedroom."

"The bedroom is only a stop gap, Alex. You will have to face the music, sooner or later."

"I know," he said, pulling her to her feet and leading her in that direction.

The last week of his trip to the Americas, Shane Simba had his children and nanny come to join him in Sao Paulo, Brazil. They had much fun in the various restaurants and street festivals of the city. They arrived back in the Mara, exhausted but content.

Caroline Cheetah once more found Shane Simba on the tennis courts of the Masai Mara Sporting Club. She challenged him to another match. He acquiesced, beating her in two sets. When she tried to interest him in a drink in the bar, he politely declined.

He sat in the comfortable living room of his in-laws, Dorian and Cynthia Cheetah. There were just the three of them sharing the cocktail hour.

"I’m so sorry I didn’t come before. I just couldn’t. I had to face my grief before I could," said Shane. "You all look so much like her and I couldn’t bear that."

"We understand, Shane. But, now you’re here. You’ve worked that part out," answered Cynthia Cheetah.

"We do understand, Shane. I still can’t speak of her," said Dorian, who abruptly rose from the couch in tears at the thought of his dead daughter.

Shane stood and put a paw on Dorian’s shoulder.

"It’s hell all the way around, Dorian. I know," said Shane.

Sylly with her younger sister,  Lucy....

Dr. Sylly Cougar Lyon admitted her pregnant sister, Lucy Cougar Simba, into the Exotic Animal Clinic, to stay for a while and be analyzed as to why she couldn’t retain a viable pregnancy within her womb. Alexander visited often. He was torn between his growing addiction to Caroline Cheetah and his love for his young and pregnant wife, Lucy.

    In the interim, Caroline wanted to find and get to know Shane SImba better. He was hidden behind a wall of state protection in addition to his own. It was difficult to pierce the veil between Shane Simba and anyone who wanted to meet with him on a social level. No one could approach privately unless they had implicit permission from him, personally. He allowed it to few. He spent his evenings with his children and his sister, Tookie, on occasions when she came from Mombasa.

President Ralph Lyon invited Sam Simba to come to his office. The house boy brought drinks. I was also there.

"You have resigned from two of my posts. I won’t offer another, Sam. But I believe you to be the best one to take over Shane’s slot as Minister of Justice. Are you interested?"

"Yes, Sir," answered Sam Simba. "I won’t let you down again, Sir. I swear that."

"The ceremony of investiture will be next week, Sam."

"Yes, Mr. President. I will be there with bells on."

So Sam took over the office vacated by his brother on the second floor of the State House.  He kept both the human secretary and deputy minister that Shane had chosen.  Ralph then placed a call to Sefu Simba explaining that only he could fill the role of his chief justice for Kenya. A good judge is a special thing, Ralph told Sefu.   He raised Sefu's salary.