Three is a crowd: Kenneth to the rescue 

(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

As soon as David and the children left, I went upstairs to get ready to go and see David’s father.

I had fallen asleep in the living room the previous night, and was certain I looked as bad as I felt, but even though David had done me wrong, and even dared to hit me, I refused to look like a victim in front of his father.

I did not want his pity; I wanted to remind him of the kind of woman his son had married, and let him compare that to the whore David had weaseled into their family fold.

An hour later, I stood in front of the full-length mirror in our bedroom, finally satisfied with my look; a pair of black trousers, long-sleeved olive-green blouse, my hair held back in a tight bun, and a simple braided gold necklace with matching earrings.

My make-up was light, and a faint bruise was still visible where David had struck me. I did not try to cover it; let his parents to see what kind of man their son was turning into, I told myself, as I picked up my purse and headed out to my car.

I arrived at David’s parents’ home within half an hour. Their housekeeper opened the front door when I knocked, and I strode past her to the dining room where David’s parents were still having breakfast.

Shocked by my rude entrance, his mother stared at me wordlessly, her expression a mixture of shock and fear. His father, on the other hand, appeared to take it in his stride.

“Diane! What a surprise! Have a seat and join us,” he invited me warmly.
“No, thank you; I didn’t come for breakfast, I came to find out why you’re letting your son’s prostitute run a family project,” I answered coldly, looking him straight in the eye as I spoke.

For a few seconds he did not say anything, and then his eyes darkened the way David’s did when he was really angry, and he answered, his tone low and even.

“Diane, you forget yourself, and who you are talking to; if you have something to say, then sit down and address me with respect. If you can’t do that, then get out of my house!”

I silently weighed my options, and then still holding his gaze, slowly pulled out a chair and sat down.

JULIE

Kenneth answered the phone on the fourth ring, just as I was getting worried he would ignore my call.

“Julie! This is a surprise,” he remarked dryly. “Kenneth, I need your help!”
“That’s an even bigger surprise; I thought David was all you needed,” he answered sarcastically.

“Kenneth please! It’s Junior! He’s sick and I’m really worried,” I pleaded desperately.

There was a moment’s pause before he answered. His tone had gone from sarcastic to caring and professional: “What’s wrong with him?”
“I don’t know; he was fine yesterday, but then he was a bit warm this morning, and now he’s really hot, and weak, and I don’t know what to do!” I cried.

“First of all, calm down; he’s going to be fine. Next, call a cab and bring him to the hospital; I just arrived and I can’t leave again to come pick you up, but I’ll have the front desk know I’m expecting you and they’ll bring you in as soon as you arrive; alright?”

“Okay, thank you, thank you!”
“It’s fine, I’ll be waiting,” he answered softly and hung up.

I ordered a cab as soon as he did, and was relieved to see in the app that it was only seven minutes away. I hurriedly packed Junior’s travel bag, before changing my top, running a comb through my hair, and when the cab arrived right on time, I was ready and waiting in the parking lot and we set off right away.

Kenneth had kept his word about telling the front desk to expect us, and minutes after we arrived, we were being shown through to his consultation room.

It was awkward seeing him again, and there was definitely a tension in the air between us, but it was easy to ignore or pretend not to notice as we both focused on Junior. Kenneth examined him, taking his temperature, listening to his chest, and gently feeling his glands.

“I’m going to send him to the lab to do some blood work; his temperature is high, but other than that, the rest is fine, and we’ll be able to bring that temperature down; so, don’t worry, he’s going to be fine,” he said reassuringly.

His calm, assured attitude gave me the reassurance that Junior would be fine, and it felt like a huge weight had been taken off me.

“Thank you,” I breathed gratefully.
“Don’t mention it; take him to the lab, and I’ll call you back in when the results are ready,” he instructed softly, and walked me to the door, pointed me in the direction of the lab, and closed the door behind me.

DAVID

I was normally very good at blocking out any personal thoughts and concern, and focusing on my job when I was at work, but for some reason that morning, no matter how much I tried to stay focused on the meeting points being discussed in the weekly department head meeting, my mind kept wandering back, switching between thoughts of Diane, Julie and Junior.

Diane had been difficult to read that morning; she had been stoic and cold, which was normal for her, considering the fight of the previous night, but because she would not so much as look at me, I couldn’t tell what was going on in her mind, and it was that that worried me.

What was she thinking? What was she plotting? What was she going to do to get her revenge?

As for Julie, she had texted me that morning, worried that Junior seemed sick, which in itself was out of the ordinary for her; she knew better than to contact me at work; so, the fact that she had, should have given me pause, and probably made me a bit more attentive to her concerns.

As it was, I had been preoccupied with the meeting coming up and had in effect brushed her off, which I now regretted and felt guilty about. While there probably wasn’t anything really wrong with Junior, she was a first-time parent; so, it was natural for her to panic over every little thing, and I should have been more patient and understanding.

My mind kept straying between these two trains of thought throughout the meeting, and as soon as it was done, I retreated to my office, shut the door, and turned my phone back on.

There was a missed call from Julie, but when I called her back, the phone rang and rang with no answer, which was literally unheard of for her; but considering her text about Junior, I assumed she was probably fussing over him in the bedroom and had forgotten her phone in the kitchen or living room. I turned my attention from her, to Diane.

Even though her attitude that morning should have told me she would not answer my call, I, nonetheless, tried calling her; just like with Julie, the phone rang and rang with no answer, and after a few tries, I gave up. It looked like I was going to have to wait for any answers.

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