Maurice & Friends

Shane continued to seek counsel from Dr. Lachlan Lion. The lion psychiatrist would come during Shane’s lunch hour. He would walk openly into the State House with brief case in paw, winking at me if we passed in the process. When he had asked Shane if he wanted more privacy with his sessions, he had replied: “I am a crazy bastard. Why hide it from Kenya.” Shane would lock the door, informing his adoring secretary that he was not to be disturbed while being shrunk. The two lions were making progress. Lachlan was probing for details from Shane’s past.

“Describe your relationship with your parents, Shane,” requested Lachlan, one sunny day as he enjoyed a steak which had been brought to the inner sanctum of Shane’s office. Lachlan was fed quite well during his sessions. He joked to me that he was saving enormous amounts on lunch money as he worked with the president.

“My relations with both parents were quite rocky. Mom prized Sam who was always such a saintly little prick. Dad loved no one and nothing except his booze and boning his lionesses. And I rebelled against both situations.”

“Was your dad faithful to his pride lionesses?”

“Oh hell no, he went outside the pride and banged any single ones he could find.”

“You haven’t acted on your desires for Dina Myers, have you, Shane?”

“No, and I don’t plan to. I owe too much to Betty for that.”

“That doesn’t sound good, ‘I owe too much to Betty’. What is Betty to you? A possible mother that you never felt you really had?”

That snapped Shane around He had been gazing out the window as they talked.

“Damn, I hope not, Lachlan. That would make me very incestuous in addition to my multiple flaws. Betty and I have great sex together.”

“So then, why the desire for Dina?”

“You’ve got me there.”

“Do you still want her?”

“Yes, very much,” was his answer.

Stella Simba Lyon was pregnant and happy. She loved her husband, Daniel. She was beginning to take to her difficult mother-in-law, Maude Lyon. However, her favorite among the pride was her father-in-law, Ralph Lyon. She always had a cup of coffee waiting on her porch for him as he made his early morning way about the compound with his sun hat in place. They would sit and chat about everything under the sun. Stella’s day was always fun and pleasant. Stella shared her sister, Leah’s, sunny disposition and ability to relate to everyone and thing. Sometimes she would go to the super market in the early morning with Dodi Dik Dik Lyon in her yellow school bus. She had no end of pleasant animals to visit. She adored Dr. Sylly Cougar Lyon and her husband, Junior whose home was also in the compound. She spent wonderful hours with Elsa, Doris and Mildred when she was not away on her AIDS projects. In the evening, Daniel would arrive and tell her of his day. Some evenings Ashley and her sister, Leah, would visit. It was a win-win situation all the way around.

Betty and her presidential husband were sitting over drinks one evening. The day had been rain filled and the night was chilly. There was a roaring fire in the den.

“I’ve been thinking, Shane,” said Betty, tickling his ear with a blood red fingernail.

“Is that a good thing?” he teased.

“You still seem stressed. Why not let Kenya soothe you? We could take a good will junket about the country as we did before your election. Only this time it would be more leisurely. We could use a combination of train and small planes to do this. It would be fantastic, Shane.”

“Fifi, you are always a genius of design. Will you take care of the details?”

“Of course I will, darling. It will be so wonderful.”

Dina Myers stood at the coffee machine in Simba Brothers. It was early morning and a Friday. Sloane Simba came along, eager for his own caffeine fix. Dina fixed her face in the most nonchalant expression she could manage with this particular subject.

“Sloane, I haven’t seen the president at the club recently. He is such a good tennis partner, I miss those games.”

Sloane’s piercing golden eyes fixed on her, all knowing and serious.

“Dina, if you fall in love with Shane Simba, you will be making the biggest mistake of your young life.”

“In love?” she exclaimed, feeling the blood rush to her face.

“Yes, in love, Dina, because that is what you obviously feel for him.”

“No, Sloane, you’ve gotten the wrong impression,” she said, as she headed for her office.

When she got there, she closed the door behind her and burst into tears.

Shane got up on Saturday morning. Betty was in the midst of planning a two week trip for them which would take him away from the Mara. Betty lay in full slumber with her sleep mask on. He dressed quietly and drove to the sporting club in his new Mercedes. He knew what he wanted and he found her there. She was standing in the area around the tennis courts fully dressed for the game. He put a paw on her shoulder.

“Want to play, Dina?”

She turned around to face him and the pure delight in her blue eyes told him everything he needed to know. They played two tough sets. Each won one.

“It’s drink time. I’ll meet you in the bar after a shower.”

Shane and Dina reached the door of the club room at the same time. Shane hesitated, seeing the crowd inside.

“I have a new house in the bush. We can have a drink at my place,” she offered, her heart in her throat.

Shane was glad he had driven alone. They went to his car and drove toward the cottage where Caroline Cheetah had once resided.

Shane sat sprawled in a chair while Dina made him a drink. She brought him a double Scotch. They chatted of things pertaining to his future trip to South Africa. Then there was a silence filled with their desire for each other which was stripped bare and reflected in their eyes. Shane stood up, Dina joined him.

“I’ve got to go before I do something that I want to do badly and simply can’t allow myself,” he breathed.

She came next to him and stood looking up at his face.

“I want that too, Shane.”

“I can’t let myself, Dina. I’m afraid I’ll be lost in you if I have you. I can’t afford that.”

“I think I love you.”

“I fear that too. I’m one step away from loving you. That’s why I must leave.”

He leaned down to kiss her and then thought better of that inspiration. He rushed out of her house and sped his car toward the State Mansion.

Shane and Dina on her porch....

Sloane sat drinking his own Scotch at Caroline Cheetah’s apartment in Lyon Towers. They had taken their cubs to the Watering Hole Pub’s deck for ice cream. Sloane had returned little Georgy Simba to her mother and gone to Caroline’s after. He was deep in thought. Caroline lit a cigarette and decided to probe.

“I know a penny’s too cheap so how about a major fuck for your thoughts, Sloane? You seemed to be pretty consumed with them today.”

“I’ve got something sticky going on with an employee at the law office. It’s Dina Myers. I drove by her house Saturday to drop off some briefs that I wanted her to go over before Monday. Shane’s new Mercedes was in her drive.”

“Uh oh, don’t tell me the big daddy of Kenya is getting a little on the side and up to his old tricks,” laughed Caroline, gleefully.

“I’m afraid that’s the case and it just doesn’t happen to be all that amusing, Caroline. It could fuck up the smooth situation I’ve created at the office.”

“How can it do that? It’s her problem and Betty’s when she finds out.”

“She’s a damn good attorney and a marvel on African law. I need her to be fully at herself.”

Caroline got up and went to sit in his lap. She slid a paw in his always open shirt front and ran her claws gently across his chest.

“I do hope it resolves itself soon, Sloane. I need you to be fully at yourself too.”

“Okay,” he said, picking her up in his strong arms. “How about that major fuck I was promised for divulging my thoughts?”

“You got it, big boy,” she purred.

Betty and Shane, amid much fanfare, left on the train for their extended junket throughout Kenya. I saw them off, hoping it would work wonders for their relationship. Lachlan had told me that he was worried about their marriage. The presidential cars had been stocked with the best of everything. Two cars held the media reporters. The train pulled out of the station as the president and his wife waved to those gathered.

Chloe Cougar’s play opened at the arts center to a packed first night. The dinner afterwards was quite festive. Chloe and the two leopard actors had gotten numerous curtain calls. Roy Lee Simba had been nice enough to take in his ex-wife’s opening night. Chloe gave him a big kiss, ignoring Janice. The reviews were terrific the next day.

Roy Lee and Janice had undergone a major disappointment in their adoption of a human child from the orphanage in Nairobi. Although quite young, the baby had never lost its fear of the big cats who became his adoptive parents. The couple had to return him to the orphanage. Their sadness didn’t last for too long. Janice realized that she was pregnant. She and Roy Lee were thrilled. When they told his children by Janice and Chloe, they shared in their excitement. Tarek, Lucretia, Lee and Troy were becoming even closer to Janice. Chloe seldom called for them. She was too busy with her own life. The good news was that being just down the street, they could enjoy their wonderful maternal grandparents, Sylvia and Bernard Cougar.

Gerald Giraffe had a major bash at his barn. Bertram Baboon, his latest squeeze, Harold (the lion friend of Lachlan’s youth), Lachlan, and I went together. Gerald was covered in one of his many muumuus, greeting his guests in a drunken, affectionate manner. Charlotte Elephanti and hubby, Cappie Cape Buffalo, were in attendance. Of course, Montecore languished on a couch holding court as is his custom. Charlotte pulled me aside with her trunk.

“Now, Maurice, I want to hear about this lion that you’ve come with. I know he’s a shrink but is he your lover?”

“Yes, Charl, he is my lover and makes me very happy,” I giggled.

She took a major drink of her giant martini and whispered, “I want details.”

Caitlin Cougar has scheduled another exhibit of her sculpture at the arts center. She is working day and night on her pieces. Aside from bouts of togetherness with her cub, Georgy, she has no social life. Steven Simba’s phone calls go unanswered and not returned. Although pregnant with his cub, Caitlin has her mind on independence. Her thinking is that the way to that state is through her work. Sometimes, after Georgy is sleeping soundly next to her mother’s bed, Caitlin will take a cigarette break on the terrace and think of Steven and Sloane.

Steven Simba sat in his watering hole condo. He was on the couch and Cameron Caracal was next to him, her feet in his lap. Occasionally she would work a foot in his crotch. He seemed distracted, not at all like he had been when with her before Caitlin Cougar’s emergence in his life.

“My sister is living with your brother, Sidney, in a trailer behind your mom’s house. Did you know that, Steve?”

“I believe Mom did tell me that. I’m sure they’re blasted on drugs.”

“You might as well be, as spacey as you seem today. Is it Caitlin in your thoughts?”

“Yes, it is,” he replied with a frankness she could have done without.

The train pulled into its first stop at a village mainly consisting of the Samburu tribe. The night’s event was to be a feast and victory dance to honor the young lion president and his wife. Betty and Shane dressed casually for the occasion and made their way to the grounds where it would take place. Shane was relaxed and quite moved as the Samburu sang their ritual songs and danced. His arm was around Betty’s shoulder, holding her close. Later, after a feast of tasty Samburu specials, Betty and Shane returned to the train and their boudoir. Betty spoke of the evening’s events while getting ready for bed. When she finally pulled back the covers and got in, she realized he was already asleep. She lay in the curve of his arm, listening to his even breathing and wishing Lachlan had availed her of more sleeping pills.

Samburu dancers entertain the president and his wife....

“What do you think is wrong with Betty and Shane’s marriage?” I asked Lachlan.

We were in Mombasa on his boat which was anchored for purposes of catching some fish for our dinner.

“I am afraid he married too soon after Catherine’s death. I believe Betty soothed him with kindness and he sort of fell into marriage with her. She took over his children, him and his life and he bought it hook line and sinker. Betty meant it all very sincerely and unfortunately she will be the one destroyed by it all if it fails.”

I felt a shiver thinking of my long time friend and the possible folly of her marriage.

“Maybe, he will not divorce her because he is president,” I reasoned.

“I hope not but he seems to really have a thing for this girl in Sloane’s office. Of course he’s had frantic affairs before this. They’re nothing new to him and he never left Catherine but then I think Catherine excited him more than Betty does. Betty soothes, Catherine excited.”

“Oh shit, that sounds bad.”

“It is,” he said and then roared loudly. He had landed a big fish for the grill.