I have never been an avid fan of children. Although I consider myself a kind and caring animal, I suppose the fact of my gayness made me realize early on that I would probably have none of my own and tempered my response to them. However, there are two that I take a literal joy in being around. One is Shane and Betty’s son Solly and the other is that little peach of a cub, Georgy Simba. Some days, when her mother is working, Georgy will be delivered from school to Sloane Simba’s office in the State House. She charms the literal socks off everyone that works here. She’s precocious and with that shock of dark hair so like her father’s, is a budding beauty. Solly Simba is equally adorable. Quick on the take and as energetic as two kittens playing in a feed sack, he also has the ability to bring the birds from the trees so great is the force of his personality. They almost make me wish for my own.

Georgy Simba and her cousin, Solly Simba.....

Somalia was showing signs of backing off a real war that President Shane Simba had declared. Kenya had suffered many wounded but so had the Somalis. Their President, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, was not a hardliner. His problem was in not being able to control the militant factions in his government and country. He sent out S.O.S. signals to Shane, trying to end a war that was not going well for Somalia. Once Shane had declared war, Ethiopia had sent troops to be under Kenya’s command. Shane, however, was having none of another shaky peace process. He drew the line at anything short of full surrender and the handing over of weapons.

Meanwhile the war raged on. Shane had made Luke Leoparde and Ashley Lyon, who were flying needed supplies to the front, honorary Colonels in the air force. When his daughter, Staci, continued to fly with Luke Leoparde he granted her the rank of Lieutenant. Staci, with Luke by her side, would pilot in this war torn region. They would visit with her father and Luke's wife, Jane, Luke sharing news of cubs, Andrew and Catherine at home.

Betty sorely missed her husband, despite their recent problems. She went some days to the Masai Village where she worked on future projects involving the funding from her recent book which had hit the best seller list in its first few weeks of publication. Shane’s son, Sean, had gone to a camp set up for budding soccer players in Namibia. Betty was alone except for the household staff and her young son while her husband spent his time at the front. Her nights were restless, imagining Shane in the arms of Jane.

The concentrated atmosphere of war with its enormity and heightened sense of peril bonded the lovers more even more forcefully. They got little sleep but when it came they were usually in each other’s arms in the intimacy of Shane’s rustic quarters. They would awaken at four in the morning and drink coffee in the predawn light before heading out for another day of accompanying the troops to sites of the fiercest fighting. At any given opportunity for a lengthy privacy, Shane and his lover would plumb the depths of their thoughts, souls and dreams. They began to almost breathe, speak and move as one. In the intense heat of the border country, they would stop anyplace that was safe from snipers and take a break with their water filled canteens. Among the military personnel present on the base with Shane and his lioness lover, it was almost forgotten that he had a wife in the Mara. They were firmly entrenched in the minds of those around them as a totally devoted couple. News groups other than the Masai Mara Daily, whose information was under the control of Jane, caught the intimacy between Jane and her President, recording the images for posterity in newspapers and on television.

Jane reporting at the front

During one of Betty’s sessions with Lachlan, she posed a piercing question.

“I see him with her and know that he loves her beyond anyone he has loved before. Those news photos say it all, Lachlan. Should I let him go to be with her?”

“That’s a decision that only you can make, Betty,” he had told her.

Caroline Cheetah, in her new position as Shane’s press secretary, was busily organizing daily press conferences for either Vice President Daniel Lyon or me for reportage on the progress of things on the front. Daniel and I agreed that it would be the better part of wisdom to also give Betty some advantageous public relations by citing her work with the Masai and her ongoing visits to the wounded.

At last came the day where the President of Somalia came to the military base on the border and agreed to the terms of surrender, turning over the weaponry. Shane was there to meet him. Shane, realizing that President Ahmed was not in control of all of his nations’ factions, asked to place Kenyan troops just within Somalia’s borders so as to insure no further insurgency. Ethiopia also got in the act and offered to share that duty with the Kenyans. They had fought alongside our troops. That same day, a border military base in Somalia, raised the green, red and black flag of Kenya. Shane left troops on our bases so as to insure the peace. Kenya had been badly bitten before by treaties that didn’t hold. However, this had been a declared war and the Somalis knew our lion president was serious about the outcome.

Kenya and Somalia Presidents, Simba and Ahmed....

The presidential helicopter put down on the landing pad at the State House and once more crowds gathered to cheer our young leader in his military success. Betty was there to greet him and he put an arm around her as he spoke to the enthusiastic crowd.

That night before retiring to their bed, Betty asked Shane if he wanted a divorce in order to marry Jane.

“No, Betty, you and I are in this together. We are the first family of Kenya and this can’t be changed.”

This, to any other female, would have been cold comfort but for the obsessed Betty it meant a remaining position in the life of her husband that she was so madly and desperately in love with.

Jane returned to Luke, her children and the pleasant existence in the luxurious bush home. Once more she was lauded by her boss, Bob Bushbuck, for excellent reportage from the war front. Bob, being a savvy animal and the owner of two major newspapers, had finally gotten wise to the fact that his star reporter and general manager had more than a platonic relationship with President Shane Simba. It was a matter of he knew and she knew he knew but no mention was made of this fact between the two. Quite frankly, it bode well for Bob’s newspapers being able to get the total skinny on the President and his activities since Jane was his lover. He could count on the news coming directly from the horse’s mouth in the State House, Jane always being the first to know.

Jane completed her biography of Shane Simba and submitted it to a publisher in Europe. She accompanied Shane to Stockholm where he received the Nobel Peace Prize, covering the story with the amazing depth borne of her relationship with him.

Shane and his lover, Jane, in Stockholm, walking along the canal and in a restaurant...

The lovers booked in the Grand Hotel, a lavish five star affair. They spent four nights in the Nordic city, enjoying the marvelous cuisine and sight seeing. The Swedes, a super sophisticated lot, left them alone as they strolled along the canals arm in arm.

Shane deplaned in Nairobi and was greeted with a real hero’s welcome. Betty joined him in a convertible ride along the main boulevard in the capital city. The adoring crowds lined the streets to get a glimpse of the lion president and his wife. In less than a year in office he had brought Kenya into the forefront of nations that counted. We were now real players among the countries struggling for lasting peace, a real conservation effort, a first-class environment and better living for all their citizens.

Shane, in gratitude for the role Ashley Lyon had played in the war, enlarged his tourism ministry to include environmental issues also. This played well with the dashing Ashley’s role as a bush pilot and co-owner of two very successful safari clubs. Shane offered Luke Leoparde a ministry as well. Luke, filthy rich and already leading a life doing exactly what he wanted, declined gracefully.

Ashley and Leah were guests of honor at a dinner in the mansion announcing the extension of Ashley’s ministry. Their daughter, Imani, failed to attend. She was once again in the throes of detesting her jaguar spots resulting from DNA input from her grandmother, Janice Jaguar Simba.

“I can’t find a dress to go with these damn shitty spots,” she had screamed at her parents who were dressed and ready to go.

“So be it,” roared Ashley, leading Leah and their adopted leopard daughter, Kitty, out the door and to the car.

Ashley and Leah drinking to his extended ministry..

Deputy Mayor of the Masai Mara, Maude Hyena sat in Shane’s office with a look of great hurt on her face.

“I am concerned, Mr. President, that none of our young hyena lads were accepted into the army during our recent war. Are they being deprived of their civil rights?”

“Maude, I am unaware of any wanting to be included in the conflict. This was an equal opportunity war – anyone that wanted to fight could lose a limb or life just by signing up,” he groaned in his usual lack of patience with her ilk.

“President Simba, it is a fact that a Mara big cat organized a regiment and they fought in the war,” fumed Maude, pressing a hankie delicately to her lips.

“SO? Are hyenas bit cats? Did they try to enlist in his regiment?”

“I’m not sure any did,” she had to admit. “But if they had tried, would that big cat have accepted them?”

“You’re asking me something based on hypothesis and in the past. I have no idea what the general in that regiment would have said to a hyena trying to join his ranks. This could only be established if a hyena HAD tried to enlist and not been accepted, Maude. The next time you make an appointment and insist on seeing me, make sure it’s not a bunch of bullshit.”

She rose from her chair without further word. I could see the hackles on her neck rise as she left his office.

His next visitor that day was Carolyn Cape Buffalo who brought him an oat cake and revealed that she had created a fighting regiment among the young males in her herd for the next conflict if one should occur.

“That’s remarkable, Carolyn. Who heads this regiment?” he asked.

“Well I do, of course, President Simba.”

“Of course you do,” he laughed. “And I’ll bet those young males buckle down under your leadership.”

She got a beaming and flirtatious look on her face - that is as much as a cape buffalo can assume one of those. Hers was a pleasant visit. She had fallen under his spell during his first month in office.

The Cape buffalo, long standing traditional enemies of the lion, had been led to the sugar bowl. Under Carolyn’s leadership, the Cape buffalo had been dehorned, figuratively speaking, by Kenya’s charismatic president. On the other hand, due to the antagonism between Maude Hyena and Shane Simba, the hyena population was still very pissed and disgruntled.

That afternoon he walked the lawn between the State House and mansion. He left the elevator where Solly always awaited him this time of day. He went with his son to the library where Betty joined him with a glass of wine.

“So tell me what you did today, Fifi?” he asked, as she sat beside him on the long couch in front of the fireplace.