JITTERS HAPPEN
The difficulty with marriage is that we fall in love with a personality, but must live with a character.
Peter Devries
Ashley Lyon, with his golden looks and charm to match, rang his ex-wife’s doorbell at the home he had given her in their recent divorce. A servant answered the bell but Ashley’s cubs with Lucy, hearing his voice, ran to greet him. They were a male and female and as cute as those types usually are. At the moment they showed none of their leopard or cougar heritage. Lucy was upstairs and came down when she heard Ashley come in. He had come to visit them since his new home was not completed and he had to be out of town for the weekend. He sat with his cubs and Lucy and during the course of their conversations; Lucy lost her anger and frustration with Ashley and became his friend. He was easy to love. He bid his adieus by assuring Lucy that he would help her with her redecoration project. Lucy Cougar would join Betty Chimpo and Leah Simba in considering the lion that had married all, a dear and very helpful friend.
Staci and Ashley’s wedding, like her father and Alexandra’s nuptials, was to take place on Lewis Lyon’s estate in Mombasa. Lewis Lyon had always had a soft spot for his half-brother, Ashley, and wanted to do this for him. He also was the dear friend and business partner of Staci’s dad, Shane Simba. Another perquisite of holding the affair at Lewis’ was the fact that it was almost impenetrable to the paparazzi. It was walled and guarded on a high bluff. Staci had chosen her first cousin, Lee Simba, as her only attendant. Ashley was to have his dearest buddy and business partner, Luke Leoparde at his side. Luke’s grandmother, Lucretia Leoparde, had read Luke the riot act for participating in any of the wedding festivities. Lucy was her favorite great grandchild. Lucretia had no idea (nor did anyone else) that Ashley had invited all of his ex-wives to the wedding, including Lucy.
Ashley’s oldest child, Imani Lyon, was in a perfect snit. Her cousin had passed her over in favor of their cousin, Lee, as a bridal attendant.
“I hate your wife to be,” pouted Imani, lighting one of the cigarettes she had taken to smoking.
“Hello? Why in the hell do you hate Staci, Imani?” asked the rattled Ashley.
“Because she chose Lee as her attendant and after all, I AM YOUR DAUGHTER. She slighted me.”
Ashley had to request that Staci include Imani in her attendants. Staci, being very overwhelmed by the details of her second wedding in less than a year, felt very badly about the oversight. Being a kind young female, she called Imani and asked her to please forgive the oversight. She did and her mother, Leah Simba, added another dress to be made for the wedding.
The next investment that Lewis Lyon tossed to Shane Simba was a high rise apartment building in Manhattan that Lewis’ company was to build on an area Donald Trump had sold him. Shane thought the idea was marvelous. He tossed in a chunk of change and sealed the deal. He and Lewis were to maintain apartments in the building to be called the Lyon-Simba Building. Lewis, Gina, Shane and Alexandra flew to Manhattan to spend a few days and Christmas shop.
Alex and Shane in Manhattan shopping...... Catching a cab in NYC.....
Lewis Lyon looks on as Alexandra shows Tanya the elephants in Central Park
Shane gave me the week off. He and Alex were to be in New York so there was little I really needed to tend. It was a much needed break. We had been busily working on projects to enrich Kenya now it was time to kick back. Bernice Bear and I spent Monday morning going over some things for Alexandra and Shane and then we decided to take our leave. However, a cup of hot tea was needed first.
“What are you going to do with your time off?” I asked my good friend and co-worker.
“I really don’t know, Maury. I haven’t mapped it out yet,” she tittered as she drank her tea.
I had an idea and a really good one at that.
“Bernice, Lachlan and I are going to our place in Mombasa. Why don’t you join us? We can fish and eat the results,” I giggled.
She put her cup down and clapped in delight. “Oh, Maurice, that will be so special. I haven’t fished since I caught salmon in the river in Montana.”
“Then you’re on. We usually get an early start so we’ll pick you up at 7:00 am sharp.”
“I’ll be ready, Maury. And thank you, I really had no idea what to do with the time.”
When we pulled into the long drive at our beach place, Bernice jostled out to take a look. She noticed a car next door.
“You have close neighbors,” she said, taking her straw hat off and waving it at a tall figure that happened to be Jack Tarzan.
He wandered our way.
“Betty and I took the week off and the cubs are playing hooky so we can do some serious fishing,” he said as Solly Simba came running toward us.
“I don’t believe you’ve met Bernice Bear,” said Lachlan, who had become very fond of the funny and whimsical grizzly on the drive here.
Jack stuck out a hand and Bernice grabbed it in one of her strong paws. Over lunch we decided whose boat to take out. Jack won and we all set out to do some afternoon fishing. Bernice laughed at our hands, some natural and some not so natural. We were all fishing with rods and poles.
“I can fish better than all of you put together,” she giggled as she dove in the water having shed a large muumuu revealing a bathing suit beneath.
There Bernice stuck her head under the water and came up with fish after fish in her adept and long clawed paws. Lachlan was amazed and delighted. Jack Tarzan sat scratching his mane in wonder. Betty broke into gales of laughter. She loved the bear that had once been her mainstay and helper when she was the first lady of Kenya. Solly jumped in the water with Bernice and held a bucket Jack dropped to him. An hour before the sun set over the indigo ocean, we pulled Jack’s boat to shore and removed the fish we had caught. That night we drank and ate of the fish we had caught. Jack and Lachlan had grilled them to perfection. Before everyone headed for slumber, Lachlan told Bernice she had an open invitation to join us whenever she could. One of the many things I love about my Lachlan is the fact that he takes to my friends as they do to him. You had to walk on eggshells around Lawrence Leoparde, my deceased lover.
Bernice Bear, Solly Simba, Jack Tarzan and Lachlan exhibit part of their day's catch on Jack's boat in Mombasa....
Leah Simba was busily working on the collection that was to be Staci Simba’s wedding garments and trousseau. Duke puttered along with her.
“What are you going to do with that fiancé of yours, Leah?” asked Duke, marking a hem that needed changing.
“I think he must smell the coffee, Duke, I haven’t seen him in ten days.”
“You haven’t broken the engagement off yet? Naughty, naughty.”
“He never gave me a ring anyhow so what’s to break off,” giggled Leah.
“Very good, my girl. I think you should play the field anyway.”
“Between my job and my kids, I barely have time to breathe.”
“You can’t waste your lovely self being a workaholic, Leah. You are far too fetching. If I were straight, I’d grab you up.”
“Is Todd Tigeres your lover, Duke?” asked Leah, deciding to approach the heretofore taboo subject.
Duke began to laugh. “Dear girl, Todd is not gay. We are friends because we grew up in India together. The Tigeres clan is from the Ghir Forest also. The reason everyone thinks Todd is gay is because he gets his nookie in the Serengeti. He doesn’t want his female friends requesting free cosmetic procedures of him. Todd is so straight he makes my teeth ache. My lover died of feline AIDS. Next question answered, I don’t have it. I did meet a very special chap at Montecore’s the other evening. His name is Gerald. He’s a giraffe. I’m sure his neck had crimps from lowering it to chat with me.”
“Oh Gerald is marvelous. I adore him. He used to be my personal trainer in the old days when I didn’t work my ass off here.”
“He invited me to a party at his barn tomorrow night. Want to be my date?”
“Oh, I’d love that, Duke. Yeees! I’ve always wanted to see where Gerald lives.”
“Mom, you’ve become a real fag hag,” was Imani Lyon’s comment as she went through her mother’s refrigerator on Sunday afternoon.
“Imani, I can live without your pronouncements. If you’re referring to Duke taking me to Gerald’s party, he is becoming my best friend very fast. I simply adore him.”
“And all of those other gay parties you’ve begun to go to with him?” teased Imani who was now filling a grocery bag with things from her mom’s stock.
“Imani, you get quite the allowance, would it be too much to ask you not to raid my refrigerator. The kids love those things that you’re taking.”
“Oh, Mom, I don’t have time to shop. I have school,” said Imani lighting a cigarette.
“You have a hell of a lot more time to shop than I do. School is out in the afternoon and weekends,” said Leah, slamming her refrigerator door against further theft.
“Oh, Mom, shit. I love that ice cream too.”
“You wouldn’t have such a sweet tooth, Imani, if you’d quit with the pot smoking.”
“Whatever!” snarled Imani, taking her filled bag and heading for the door.
Staci Simba was beginning to feel nauseous from early pregnancy. She was glad her dad and Alex had returned from New York City. This wedding was becoming more complicated than she had intended it to be. First Imani Lyon had bitched because she wasn’t to be a bridesmaid. Staci had graciously invited her to be one along with their cousin, Lee Simba. Now Ashley had requested that his adopted leopard daughter, Kitty, be one. She wished she hadn’t designated any bridal attendants at all. This was getting too complicated. To make matters worse, Lee had told her that the Simba pride was bitching about her father making all these lucrative business deals with Lewis Lyon and not including them. Lee’s dad, Roy Lee, was not one of the pride members that were complaining. In fact, Roy Lee had walked out of the last pride meeting because of the complaints. He felt that his brother had a right to make any deals he wished with anyone he wished. Shane wasn’t his pride’s keeper as far as Roy Lee was concerned. Having mended fences with his mom, Sarah Lee, Shane had reimbursed Roy Lee for half of her elaborate mansion’s price on Leoparde Drive. Another thing adding to Staci’s stress was the fact that Ashley continued to go along at his nonchalant pace. He had not seen Leah about wedding clothes, saying he had plenty in his closet. When he would phone, he was either with Betty Chimpo and Jack, or Luke and Jane Leoparde, sometimes with Leah or at times he was visiting Lucy and her sister, Chloe. Staci loved Ashley madly but was having difficulty getting a bead on the easy going male lion.
Chloe and Lucy, the Cougar sisters who are single and looking for fun.....
It seemed her future husband’s life was just one big love fest with various ex’s and great pals. She didn’t really need the heart to heart that her father foisted on her.
“Staci, it’s not too late to back out,” Shane had suggested when Staci broke down in tears over the bridal attendant situation.
“Daddy, IT IS TOO LATE. I’m pregnant and I love Ashley. It just seems that he is too blasé for words sometimes,” she had wailed.
“Shane, you are making things ever so much worse,” complained Alexandra, putting maternal arms around the distraught Staci. “Just leave all of this to us. We will deal with it and of course she doesn’t want to back out of her wedding to Ashley.”
“Don’t mind me,” he shouted. “I’m just picking up the bloody tab.”
“Ooooh,” sobbed Staci, flopping on the sofa in the mansion’s library.
“Shane, dear heavens -you can be such a boor sometimes. Just leave us for a few, Luv. You’ll see that everything will be just dandy,” said Alexandra pushing her husband gently toward the door. Shane Simba thanked his lucky stars above for his wife. He wondered at times how he had ever lived before meeting Alexandra Delamere Simba.