“I love you so much and I look forward to being bald with you by my side,” she said, managing a wan laugh. 

 He leaned more closely and kissed her lips. 

 “Betty, my love, you will be fine.  My children and I can’t live without you and are waiting to help you get well.”

 The nurses came accompanied by Dr. Sylly Cougar Lyon who joked a bit with the stressed couple before escorting Betty to the operating room.

             Three hours later, Betty peered out of a dense drug induced fog.  The hovering countenances of Drs.  Frank Tigeres and Sylly Cougar Lyon floated near her bed. 

 “Betts, you had very little malignancy.  It was well contained in a small swelling and doesn’t require but one full dosage of chemotherapy for safe measure,” said Frank, sticking a stethoscope on her bosom.  “You are going to live a long life and give Shane, here, his proper upbringing.”

 “Ash and Leah came by earlier with your kids.  They are taking them to the soccer game tonight,” added Sylly. 

             And then the room was quiet and Shane’s beloved face came into focus.  She put her hand to up and stroked the edges of his mane. 

 “I am the luckiest female in the world to have such a husband as you and our wonderful children……and our friends are so caring…..” 

Her speech blurred and she gradually floated toward sleep as the narcotic injection took over.  Shane stayed another hour by her bedside and then went home to see their children.  It had been a long day. 

            First Lioness, Mildred, paid a visit to Betty when she felt better.  She was propped up in the hospital bed the day before her dismissal.  Mildred swooped in with Bernice Bear at her side.  She sat down by Betty’s bed with Bernice pulling a chair forward.  She took Betty’s frail hand in her paws. 

 “Betty, how are you, dear?”

 “I’m feeling better each day, Mildred.  And Shane and the children have been so wonderful.”

 Mildred, who had evolved from a low key house wife to a vigorous presidential mate, turned to the subject at hand. 

 “Betty, when I had breast cancer, I turned it into a plus for Kenya.  I hope you will do the same with your ordeal,” she stated with great import.   

 Betty who was still feeling rather pallid cast a surreptitious glance at Bernice Bear.  Bernice gave one of her remarkably effective winks with her richly lashed eyes.  These winks from Mildred’s long time secretary usually whispered, “Don’t take all of that stuff too seriously”.   Bernice was very aware of the gravitas that had nailed the Lyons to their current roles as the first couple of Kenya.  She had been there almost from the beginning.   

“Millie, let’s give Betts a chance to get her sea legs from this entire trauma.  I am sure, knowing this lady, she will be a ball buster for cancer,” said Bernice.

 “Mildred, I promise you I will be an advocate.  Fate works in mysterious ways.  I got hit by this and now I know where I can make a difference in my role as Shane’s wife.”

 “Bravo, Betty!  I know you will make such a difference.  I have always been in such awe of your intellectual abilities,” said Mildred. 
 

            The Vice President’s wife’s bout with cancer created a media blitzkrieg.  It hit television and newspapers across the globe.  As these things go, where Betty had once been a notorious figure, she became one of sympathy.  As the world tends to turn double agent, wherever she had once been lambasted, she was empathized with for having a cancer that was almost endemic in the female population.  Her release from the clinic resulted in a brief press conference held with Betty in a wheelchair and Shane behind her.  She spoke out for the need to focus on the early detection of cancer.  Tiring easily, Betty’s voice wavered.  That’s when Shane got her into his car and to their home. 

            After a filling and delicious meal prepared by Caitlin Cougar in her domicile, she and Luke Leoparde began to quietly see each other. It was a cautious exploration at first.  He invited her to Mombasa where he retained his most sophisticated home.  Cougars are a species of big cat that enjoy water.  Caitlin took to wind sailing, surfing and the other delights that Luke engaged in with his dearest friends, Leah and Ashley Lyon.  Ashley, being a fun loving, jolly and non-threatening sort of male lion, didn’t intimidate Caitlin.   She found him charming.  She fit like a final puzzle piece into the social life that Luke enjoyed.  They went for a day trip to the fishing waters off of Lamu Island.  Caitlin proved herself to be a fine hand at deep sea fishing.  She slipped without a glitch into Luke’s life and heart.

Luke Leoparde and Caitlin Cougar enjoy each other and the beach in Mombasa….

            Betty, home at last, enjoyed an emotionally fulfilling time before beginning chemotherapy.  She was visited by her dear friends, Wilda Wildebeest, Christine Cheetah and Leah Lyon almost daily.  Sylvia Cougar and Cynthia Cheetah visited too.  In the evening she doted on her husband and family.  The children were excited to get her back in the home; her husband was tender and supportive encouraging her to rest in bed at the slightest sign of fatigue.  Gloria and Chico, her brother and sister, visited daily, bringing her mother, Mavis, when there were no lions present.  Bertram, Lachlan and I walked to her home almost daily enjoying drinks on the veranda with Betty and Shane.  Being a publicly high profile figure, the house was filled with flowers sent by well wishers.  After a day’s time, Betty would have the driver transport most to the various senior citizens that inhabited the Amanda Leoparde Home for the Aging and Infirm.  She sent others to the Mildred Lyon Cancer wing of the Exotic Animal Clinic. 

             Given that Shane had made many official trips since his climb to the vice presidency, Ralph told him that there would be no more until Betty was stronger and could accompany him.  At any rate, the holiday season was very close, which is a time when Kenyans reduce their stress levels and simply enjoy the atmosphere. 

            Sloane Simba and his half-brother, Chris, having seen at close range the beautiful Caitlin, were considerably stirred.  One aspect of the lovely cougar female that they found especially fetching was her lack of aggression toward males.  She had not seemed the least bit impressed with them.  This factor, in a male lion, produces a certain amount of resolve.  Both Chris and Sloane were antsy to get to Caitlin.

            Chloe Cougar Simba left her son, Troy and the new additions, Tarek and Lucretia, in the care of Roy Lee and the nannies.  She took oldest daughter, Lee, out of school for a shopping trip to Paris and London.  This left Roy Lee much free time to be with his ex-wife and one true love, Janice Jaguar Gorilla.  He would see his son, Troy to his homework and the younger cubs tucked in bed then depart for Janice’s condo.  Sometimes, if Ashley was on a late or overnight safari flight, Leah would join her parents for a drink at her mother’s home.  The fact of their reunion was a wondrous thing in Leah’s eyes.  She had known that the best friend’s status they retained after their divorce covered a deeply ingrained love on both their parts.  Now, as Leah would sit with them over drinks, she studied the calm and contentment that showed in their faces and gestures toward each other.  This was the best Christmas gift that Leah could have, adoring both parents as she did. 

            Sloane Simba had Linda Cougar in his bed.  He was ready for a quiz whether she cared to indulge or not. 

 “What does this cousin of yours do, Linda?”

 “Which cousin, Sloane, I have dozens?” she asked, her mouth in a pout since she knew damn well who he was referring to. 

 “The new girl in the bush...what’s her name?  You know…the one you brought to the watering hole that night.”

 “Her name is Caitlin.  Why are you so damned interested?  She hates male lions.  You scare her,” scoffed Linda. 

 “She can get past that little malady with one fall on my sword.  I think you know the sword I am referring to, Linda.”

 “You have no manners, Sloane Simba.  Haven’t you heard that it’s rude to discuss one female on a date with another?”

 “Oh come now, Linda, you are the little pussy cat that had a three way with me and another female.  Don’t tell me you’re getting dainty all of a sudden,” he laughed.

 “What do you want to do with Caitlin?” growled Linda.

 “The same as I do with all females – fuck her!”

 Linda grabbed her purse and stormed from his apartment, leaving him amused and sexually aroused on his couch.  He went to his bathroom, grabbed a brush and attended his mane before spraying Christion Dior on it.  He then left for the Watering Hole Pub where the assurance of female delights awaited him. 

            Betty went with Shane for her first dose of chemotherapy.  The doctors had thought that intravenous, although prone to more side effects, was the best course of treatment for her.  She would get past it with greater haste and it was more effective.  Shane held her other hand while the nurse inserted the needle in her arm. 

             Chemotherapy hit Betty in the gut like a fast ball airborne at a hundred miles an hour.  By the time she was able to get off the bed and go home, she was as sick as the proverbial dog.  Shane got her in the house and in bed.  She had been given a sedative before she left the clinic.  She fell asleep quickly but was awakened by bouts of nausea throughout the night.  Her husband was there for her every step of the way.  Finally, she fell into a deep sleep toward dawn. Shane laid cradling Betty’s head on his arm, watching the faint light take over the sky.  He wondered if he was destined to lose another beloved wife.  Tears slid from his eyes, dampening the pillow.   

            Shane looked up from his desk as the door opened to his office.  Sam stood there.

 “I’ve come to ask you about Betty, Shane.  How is she?”

 “She started chemotherapy yesterday.  It’s hitting her very hard.  She was sick all night.  Thank you for asking, Sam.”

 “Tell her if she feels up to it, Josh and Jason will be there this weekend.”

 “We have plenty of household help.  I know she wants to see them.”

 “Good, they’ll be there.  Hang in there, brother,” said Sam and left the office.

 Shane looked after him. It wasn’t reconciliation but it was damn sure a start, he thought.   

            On a lovely Saturday morning in Shane and Betty’s backyard under the same tree that saw them wed, Tookie Simba and her yacht captain, Dick, said their vows.  The marriage ceremony had been slated for Mombasa but had been relocated so Betty could be there.  Betty lay back on the chaise lounge in a weakened state and observed.  A surprise guest was Sam and his wife, Allison.  They only stayed long enough to see the couple married and have champagne and wedding cake.  But while there, Sam and Allison spoke with Betty and wished her a speedy recovery.  There was no sign of Sarah Lee Simba at the wedding or Captain Dick’s human parents, who were not happy campers that he had married a lioness.  It was a small group that did include Leander Simba, Roy Lee, Chris, Bubba and his lionesses as well as Ashley and Leah.  Sefu and Cassandra called from Nairobi and sent a gift.  Shane drove Tookie and Dick to the airport where they boarded a flight to Nairobi and on to France where they would honeymoon. 

            Betty had been pulling clumps of long strands from her hair.  The pillow was filled with them in the morning.  She had her driver take her to Beau Visage where Paulette Poodle suggested a buzz cut. 

 “My God, I’ll be almost bald and a recently wed balder at that,” she told her good friend and stylist. 

 “It’s obvious he is a winner and loves you, Betts.  You’re losing it all anyway.  It will look better this way than getting thinner and thinner.”

 “You’re right, Paulette.  Do it, then.  I brought a turban with me.”

             The media, who were about, snapped a picture of Betty as she emerged from Beau Visage that day.  It hit the global news that night.  Betty past the nausea of that first treatment worked in her home office on some potential projects for early cancer detection.  She sent a press release to the State House, WMM-TV and the Masai Mara Daily, stating that she would soon be working on fund raising for some clinics to be built around Kenya for cancer testing.  The first lioness was ecstatic.  She went about the State House showing the fax Betty had sent.  Shane Simba was touched and very proud of his plucky wife. 

Betty caught on two occasions by the paparazzi in her new headgear…..

            Betty unveiled her buzz cut head at the dinner table that night.  The children applauded.  She had worn a turban to the table, unwinding it slowly for the debut. 

 “Fifi, I told you that you’d be a knockout with no hair and you are, “laughed Shane. 

             That night he made love to her for the first time since her surgery.  She had been cleared for action.  Afterward, when they smoked their cigarettes, Betty began to chuckle. 

 “What’s up, Fifi?”

 “I am so relieved you could get it up for me and my exposed head,” she laughed. 

 “I must be a pervert of some sort.  I really get off on your cranium  When our pride finally got television, I would watch the Kojak reruns.”

 “It’s so good to know, darling, that I remind you of Telly Savalas,” she giggled. 

             The following morning he took her for the final round of chemotherapy.  She emerged again a very sick puppy.  But the joy was in knowing that there would be no more.  Betty could face a future having been told that her cancer had vanished and the knowledge that her husband, whom she venerated beyond measure, had proved invaluable in her illness.  He had stood next to her, never waving in his compassion and gentleness mixed with a liberal dose of life sustaining humor.  Betty felt the whole ordeal was worth it in finding out the authentic and factual Shane Simba that lay beneath the legendary player and adulterer.