Three is a crowd: Diane finds unlikely ‘joker’ and plays it well

(Continued from last issue)

David and Diane have been married for years; then there is Julie, the young secretary whose axis collides with the couple’s in ways none of them saw coming.

DIANE

We got to the lounge a little after one, and found David’s sister and her children already there. She had picked a table that overlooked a sunken children’s area and was sipping on a glass of wine as she watched the children swing off monkey bars and crawl through tunnels.

Dressed in a light airy dress that billowed in the slight breeze with a pair of dainty open heels, she looked as well put together and elegant as she always did, and I began to question if the blouse and jeans I had worn were a bit too casual – even for a Sunday.

She had always had this impact on me; she was very protective of her brother and thought of me as being lazy because I knew I had the security of his success to depend on.

I thought she was too nosy for her own good and should focus on her marriage rather than mine, but nonetheless felt compelled to prove my own successes, creating a sort of constant hostile competitiveness between us. She got right to it the minute we were settled in with our orders taken.

“How’s your shop doing?” she asked condescendingly, a plastic smile forced on to mask the insult in what she was trying to pass off as an innocent inquiry.

“The boutique is doing great thanks,” I answered with extra emphasis on ‘boutique’, the correction letting her know her insult had been noted and deflected, then went on with my own forced smile, “How’s work; it must get tiresome working for someone and doing the same thing day in, day out…”

Her eyes narrowed briefly, before that fake smile returned.

“It’s called ‘stability’ dear,” she answered smugly.

Just then the waiter returned with our food, putting an effective end to the back and forth, as our focus shifted to getting the children out of the play area to go wash up and then come and eat.

JULIE

As it turned out, despite his enthusiasm, Kenneth wound up arriving almost three hours after his call; his car had apparently broken down shortly after he left his home and the mechanic had taken ages to arrive and then ages more to get it fixed.

“I’m so sorry,” he apologised profusely once he finally made it.
“It’s alright, it was out of your control,” I shrugged understandingly.

“I know, but still, I kept you waiting and I hate that.”
“Well, at least you called to let me know what was going on, so I wasn’t waiting blindly, and cooked and fed Junior, so really, it’s alright,” I reassured him kindly.

“Thanks for being such a sweetheart about it, and hey, even though we’re kind of late for lunch, it’s only three, so I still have six hours before I need to go to work, and that’s more than enough time to still go to that lounge, if you’re still up for it?” he asked hopefully.

“Of course, that’s plenty of time,” I agreed readily.

Although this outing was mainly for Junior’s benefit, it had been a while since I had been out of the apartment, and I was ready for a change of scenery as well, so after only as long as it took me to get my shoes on, hand Kenneth Junior’s bag, and lock up the apartment, we were off.

Kenneth had not been lying when he said the lounge was close by, for it took us only about ten minutes to get there. Ever the gentleman, Kenneth opened my door for me, then took Junior so I could climb out unencumbered, before picking up Junior’s bag from the backseat, locking the car, and guiding me towards the arched entrance, Junior in one arm, his bag in the other, and me beside him.

We were only steps from the entrance when a group of children emerged running out of it; stepping aside to prevent being run over by them, I looked up at the smaller group of adults that had followed them – and froze. Walking towards us was David, his wife, and another woman I did not recognize.

David’s step faltered for a split second as our eyes met, but he did not stop moving, and held my gaze captive as the distance between us grew shorter and shorter.  

DAVID

Although Diane had readily agreed to the lunch, within minutes of us getting there, I realized it had been a bad idea. Her and my sister bickered worse than the children did, so far from being a relaxing afternoon, I felt like a referee caught between two warring parties.

By the time we were done with our meal, I had had enough, and used the excuse of the children starting school the next day to bring a quick close to the outing. We had just gotten out of the lounge into the parking lot when I saw her, or rather, saw them – not just Julie, but that blasted doctor too, carrying my son no less!

My first impulse was to snatch Junior from him, and then probably strangle Julie, but with my sister, Diane, and the children right there, I could hardly do either, and drawing on every inch of my will power, forced myself not to react and keep walking.

My sister was busy hurrying after the children, while simultaneously trying to call them back and carry on a conversation on her phone at the same time, and did not notice anything, but from the way Diane stopped short for a second, and then took a discreet step closer to me, taking my hand as she did so, I could tell she had seen them too. 

While our group kept walking, theirs stopped in their tracks; Julie stood frozen in place, her eyes as wide as a deer’s caught in headlights, guilt written all over her face.

The doctor on the other hand, stood more erect, his chest pushed out like he was bracing for a fight. Since I could not give him one then, I planned to walk right past them, but once we reached them, Diane stopped, and since she was holding my hand, effectively stopped me as well.

“Hello Doctor; fancy meeting you here,” she greeted him with a broad smile.

She did not so much as glance at Julie, which was just as well as if she had, she would have caught her staring at me.

“Mrs Mujuni. Good to see you,” he answered politely, then cast a quick, barely perceptible nod in my general direction.

The tension in the air was so thick it could be cut with a knife, but Diane seemed to be enjoying every second of it, and in no hurry to move on; so, it was a relief when my sister who had finally caught up to the children, interrupted by calling out to us that she was leaving.

“Let’s go,” I muttered tightly to Diane through gritted teeth.
“Alright,” she smiled up at me agreeably, in a way that was very out of character for her, and then turned back to the doctor.
“It was nice seeing you; have a lovely afternoon,” she said sweetly, before finally walking on with me.   

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