Maurice & Friends

What an evening it was – cool and crisp with an abundance of stars overhead – when we opened our literally new doors to those invited to our Halloween party. I don’t think we left out a soul. Cappie Cape Buffalo and Charlotte arrived in costume, she with a large orange cape and he sporting Dracula fangs. Even Croc Crocodile and Hippi Potamus arrived with their usual house warming gift of a basket of the exquisite river orchids that they both cultivate. Lachlan was lyrical at this gift. He wants to put a pond in the back yard and develop them. Hippi promised tender shoots to root from. Duke arrived with Gerald Giraffe and Duke’s current roomy, Dr. Todd Tigeres. And then came Ashley Lyon with his ex-wife Leah in tow. Shane and Alexandra arrived causing Duke to go into inner rigors and squeeze my arm so tightly I thought it might lose its blood supply and fall off as a result. Much later, Staci Simba arrived alone. Ralph and Mildred Lyon came with Ralph being immediately commandeered by Charlotte Elephanti who wrapped her trunk about him. Bertram Baboon arrived, walking with his wife Gloria and Roy Lee and Janice (Jaguar) Simba. No one was omitted from our invitation list. Betty Chimpo and Jack Tarzan arrived early. She was dressed as a gypsy. Jack was without costume.

Alex Simba bobs for apples.

Janice and Roy Lee Simba in their costumes...

Betty Chimpo in her costume...... Lachlan behind our bar in the back yard......

and last, but not least, Cappie Cape Buffalo in his Dracula fangs:

We bobbed for apples, Shane getting the first one and not minding a bit that his mane got drenched. Our table was a virtual groaning board of good foods prepared by Lachlan and me. Even Rhonda Rhino commented that I should be back in the catering business. Cynthia and Dorian Cheetah arrived dressed as lion and lioness causing Ralph Lyon to break out in his usual guffaws. Lewis Lyon came with his adorable wife, Gina.

At one point, I went to one of our bathrooms and found the door slightly ajar. Ashley Lyon and Staci Simba were in there making out. I closed the door rather noisily hoping the two would take a hint and make sure that Shane didn’t happen on a similar scene. Sloane Simba was there with a sulky Caroline on his arm. Things don’t look too happy for this couple. Trevor Tau arrived alone and seemed to be in close conversation with his former flame, Leah Simba, occasionally running his recently acquired hands across her back and downward. I believe they left together.

At two a.m. we saw the last visitor out. Lachlan and I went to the porch with a pitcher of Bloody Marys and engaged in the hair of the dog until a warm sun peeped over the Ngong Hills to the east.

Alex and Shane share a moment at home.....

“Lexi, do you think we should reciprocate and invite your brother and sister-in-law here for All Thanks Day?” asked Shane as he and Alexandra were going over some correspondence in the mansion on Sunday.

“No, Luv, we will have quite enough of them for one year after we spend Christmas in England. At any rate they are English and don’t give a rip about American holidays or those culled from same.”

“Just thought I’d ask, I want to be polite to them.”

“Did you notice that Sacha and Tanya are beginning to get their teeth? That’s very early for human babies. Do you suppose they will look like yours?”

“Who knows what our children will look like, Lexi. We have gone where no one ever has before in having them. Will you be upset if they have my teeth?”

She put down her notes and slid closer to him, giving him a lingering kiss.

“No, Luv, the more they look like you the better I’ll like it.”

Two weeks later the twins took their first steps. It was obvious that their development was going to be more accelerated than a human. The mixture of lion and human DNA in those two will be fascinating to watch as it unfolds.

Shane and his daughter, Tanya, who is already walking...

Meanwhile, the only other animal to combine the Simba DNA with the Lyon’s was having a parlay with her lover.

“Ash, I’m pregnant. I want to have it but I will take the full responsibility of it if you don’t want to,” said Staci Simba very sincerely to her lover, Ashley Lyon.

Ashley looked troubled. “Staci, I love you. I want to marry you but I hate hurting Lucy. If you’re pregnant, the ox is in the ditch. I will ask her for a divorce.”

Staci came and sat in his lap, snuggling her fair head against his.

“Are you sure, Ash?”

“Yes, I’m sure, Staci.”

Ashley Lyon filled with anxiety as to what Shane Simba’s reaction would be to his impregnating his daughter, dialed Lucy’s parent’s number in Montana. When called to the phone Lucy took it very badly when her husband requested a divorce.

“I’ll call you back, Ashley,” she shrieked through the transatlantic phone line.

Four hours later when she did call, the news was not good. She would give him his divorce but she wanted his new bush home and money out the kazoo.

It is a good thing that Shane Simba’s life was at such a peak time of delight and happiness over his new wife and children when Staci came to call on him and share her news of impending motherhood. Even with that, Shane’s reaction was near apoplectic. Staci beat a hasty and rather cowardly retreat after sharing her news with him, leaving Alexandra to pick up the pieces.

Alex Simba who has a soothing effect on her husband, Shane.....

“Shane, if you were human your face would be beet red at this moment. Cool down, darling and think on this. If she loves Ashley and he’s going to do the right thing by marrying her, what’s your near stroke state about?”

“Alex,” he sputtered, “That bastard has gotten her pregnant when he was still married.”

“Shane, let’s not be too holier than thou, Luv. It’s not as if you haven’t engaged in a full cornucopia of sinful situations yourself. I am sure Staci will be just like you and come out smelling like a rose.”

“She’s my daughter, Alexandra,” he shouted.

She began to laugh in her husky, appealing way.

“And a chip off the old block, I might add. Chill out, Luv. Staci seems very happy and she certainly was not two months ago, grieving over Juma and the whole aftermath of her divorce.”

“I’ll be a grandfather, Alex!” he roared.

“Oooooh I seeee!!! That’s okay, Luv. Most sex symbols end up as those when all is said and done. I’ll still think you’re the hottest ticket on the planet.”

“I’ll have a son-in-law that’s older than me….”

“That will be even sexier, Darling,” she giggled.

Shane couldn’t help himself, seeing his wife’s impish face barely able to restrain her amusement at the sight of his indignant ego; he began to laugh with her.

“It will be only the second time that the Simba blood has mingled with the Lyon blood,” he mused. “The first time was also with Ashley and my niece, Leah. Their two sons, Adam and Sim are both Lyons and Simbas.”

“And the Cheetah blood will also be infused. I am sure that will be a remarkable combination, Luv.”

“Whatever brought you about is the most remarkable combination of all, my angel,” he said, holding her close and nuzzling her hair.

Lucy Cougar Lyon arrived ahead of her parent’s in the Mara. She went immediately to the Leoparde-Bonobo law firm and put her divorce demands on record. Ashley agreed to everything she asked for. He even threw in some extras. Since Shane Simba had taken the post divorce law back off the books, the divorce was granted right away and Ashley was free to remarry. The only problem was that, except for his bungalow in the safari club compound, he had no residence of note in the Masai Mara, Lucy having taken over the new bush home.

Lucy Cougar Lyon heads for her great uncle's law firm..

“I have so much money now, Ash,” soothed Staci. “Daddy is so rich. He’s making millions with your brother, Lewis.”

“I am sure, Staci, that your dad would love nothing more than to boil me in oil,” argued Ashley. “Anyway, Luke and I are loaded too.”

“I have a home in Mombasa,” she said, taking her hands up his side in a sensuous motion.

“I have that too, Staci. But I want more for us.”

Luke Leoparde, who had given up on his best friend’s marital merry-go-round, offered Ashley some more acreage adjoining his exquisite bush home. He had given the other to his brother, Leland, when he married his bride. Now Luke had come across with an astounding gift for Ashley although he was marrying one whom Luke had loved before. There were no hard feelings. Luke had long realized that Staci Simba would not have made a peaceful marital partner for him. His marriage to Jane the lioness was among the most serene and contented in the Mara. So with an open and giving heart, Luke announced the gift to Ashley when he and his fiancé were invited to dinner with the Leopardes. Ashley, having alienated for the moment the Cougar crowd, asked his brother Lewis to recommend an architect. He suggested the one that designed the spectacular home that had just been completed for Duke the fashion designer.

Luke comes across for Ashley....

The next truly astonishing blast was held at Duke’s new home in the bush country of the Mara. Lachlan and I were invited and although Lachlan was not that keen to get involved socially with the flamboyant gay designer, sheer curiosity won out and we went. The entire gay animal crowd was there with a few straights added. Leah Simba, being Duke’s partner and friend, was there looking gorgeous. As promised, Duke had several eligible straight lions there for her to pick from. Among them was the lion architect from Tanzania who had designed Duke’s house. He and Leah spent much of the evening in conversation to the side of the crowded areas. It is an amazing house and I believe Lachlan enjoyed the bash immensely.

Duke's new home dubbed Casa Mara.....

“You are going to be a good sport about this, Luv, and we are going to give Ash and Staci a nice wedding plus a big fat check to start them out,” said Alexandra Simba to her recalcitrant hubby, Shane.

“Ashley Lyon has mega bucks himself, Alex,” snarled Shane.

“Just you remember, Shane, that it was Ashley’s father who backed you for the presidency.”

He stood, running his hands through his mane and seeming to soften at this point.

“I do love and admire Ralph. I would be nothing except a lawyer without Ralph Lyon. You are right as always. Will you make all the arrangements for the wedding, Alex?”

“That’s a good boy, Luv. I’ll get together with Staci and see what she has in mind for her nuptials. By the way, Luv, she and Ashley are coming to dinner tomorrow evening and I want you to be charming.”

Sacha and Tanya toddled in the room with their nannies. Shane forgot his angst and picked his daughter up. Alexandra did the same with Sacha.

As it evolved, Alexandra Simba, with her remarkable ability to soothe, invited Mildred and Ralph Lyon to dinner along with their son, Ashley and soon to be daughter-in-law, Staci Simba. This worked remarkably well. The dinner was held in the bush house and Ralph and Shane were so deep into political conversations that the rest of the diners were able to chat amiably with each other. At the end of the meal, everyone repaired to the den where Shane broke out a bottle of vintage cognac and proposed a toast to the newlyweds.

Her next major effort at diplomacy of a personal nature was to hold a rather small and intimate engagement party for the couple, again in the bush house. Mildred and Ralph attended as well as Lewis and Gina Lyon along with some intimates of the engaged couple. The only ripple was when Jane and Luke Leoparde arrived. Alexandra went to greet them and was especially warm to Jane who lost her tenseness and enjoyed the rest of the gathering. I noticed that everyone, with Alexandra’s warm encouragement, had a splendid time. Lachlan thinks Shane hit pay dirt when he married Alexandra. I can’t help but agree. There was, of course, a showing of the Simba twins. Lachlan was mind boggled at the beauty of those two children with the strange DNA. Lewis took his dear friend, Shane, aside at one point.